When it comes to digital marketing strategies, listing them all would result in an endless scroll that could barely include all the technologies and tools available today. Discussions about which strategy is the most effective have been going on since the beginning of digital marketing, and while some could bet their life on one or another option, we believe this is an argument that will go on for a very long time.
With so many options available, there is no way to know for sure which of them is the uttermost valuable, as each business has its own individual needs and goals. The key to choosing a winning strategy is to take into consideration these needs and goals and only use the tools that are most likely to help you achieve them.
From search engine optimization to content marketing and social media, there are countless ways to use digital marketing to take your business to the next level. They all, however, revolve around one entity – your customers.
Understanding your customers
No digital marketing strategy, regardless of how well it is designed, will be effective if you don’t have a clear understanding of who your customers are when they are likely to buy your products, and for what reason.
Before you even begin drawing out your strategy, take the time to get to know your customers, and explore various demographics. Draw out an ideal description of who you want your customers to be, including their cultural and social preferences, their demographics and beliefs, and tailor your campaign to match the customers you want to attract.
Here’s how understanding your customers can help:
- Defining the marketing channels that suit your customers best
- Learning how to express your brand image in a way that reaches them
- Understanding their pain points and coming up with solutions
- Predicting buying patterns
- Focusing on growing your brand image rather than the products
After identifying who your customers are, it’s time to choose one or more marketing strategies that suit your needs best. While there are many options available, we have selected three of the most important ones.
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1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Many dare to say SEO is the pinnacle of digital marketing, and we can’t argue with that. While the Google algorithm may seem confusing and unfriendly at times, the more you get used to it, the simpler it will seem.
To put it simply, SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that it ranks high in search engine results for keywords that are relevant to your business. The more keywords you manage to rank high for, the more people will be likely to learn about your business. Why is this important? Because, as research suggests, the top 3 organic results on Google capture 61% of the audience. After the first three, the click-through rate experiences a dramatic drop.
The goal of SEO is to direct more organic traffic to your website, based on your target audience. For example, if you are an interior design business, SEO can help you rank high in searchers for keywords such as “interior design company” or “minimalist bedroom design ideas”. These keywords may seem very different at first, as the first one is transactional, and the other one is informational, but they do serve the same purpose – prompting potential customers to get to know your business.
As Jet Saini from Drip Digital explains, when it comes to digital marketing strategies, SEO should be treated as something mandatory. Feel encouraged to spend time tailoring your SEO strategy to direct customers through your buying funnel.
2. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)
PPC is a form of advertising that works based on auctions. How it happens is that you bid on keywords that you believe are relevant for your ads, and when a user searches for those keywords, the ad is triggered to appear at the top of search results. When a user clicks on your ad, you then have to pay only for that click. This results in a very cost-effective form of advertising, as you don’t pay for advertising space, but for results.
When considering a PPC campaign, try to focus on transactional keywords, which are believed to bring the highest ROI.
The goal of a PPC campaign is to reach customers that are at the very end of the buying process, meaning they are ready to actually buy your products and are not just searching around aimlessly.
For businesses that are just getting familiar with digital marketing, PPC can be a very useful tool, as it basically pushes your website to the very top of search results. This is a good way to boost your search engine ranking, especially if your website usually ranks on the second or third page of Google. This is why PPC and SEO usually work so well together and can be some of the most valuable tools to achieve your marketing goals.
3. Video Marketing
Video content has become the most popular content on the internet, so it is only natural to want to include it in your marketing campaign. Video content is engaging, sharable, and helps businesses reach a broader audience. There are many types of videos you can create, including informational ones, announcements, behind the scenes footage, or videos from an event you are hosting or participating in. We can’t tell you which type of videos to use, as this can differ based on your audience’s preferences. Test things out and observe which type of video content has the highest engagement, then focus on creating more similar ones.
The goal of video marketing is not necessarily to draw sales but to increase brand awareness and create a stronger relationship with customers. U.S. adults spend more than 5 hours a day watching video content, so you need to be where your audience its. Keep videos short, make sure they have a strong and clear message, and make it a habit to post constantly. Keeping your audience engaged will only improve your connection with them and establish your brand as trustworthy and reliable.
