Does Your Business Really Need Digital Marketing?
Are you asking yourself that question? Looks like you are living under a rock! Anyone who is not leveraging the power of digital marketing in 2023 is sabotaging their business growth. But don’t worry! We are here to rescue you. In this article, we will shine a light on the organic as well as paid digital marketing tools, so you can decide which ones are perfect for your business.
Pro Tip: A combination of paid and organic digital marketing tactics is essential to grow your business.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO, an unpaid digital marketing strategy, is one of the most widely discussed tools in 2023. It is the process of organically improving a website’s ranking on search engines through different practices, such as keyword optimisation. Good quality SEO can drive heavy traffic to your site. Industry experts say that organic SEO is 5.66 times better than paid ads. There are two types of SEO, first is the on-page SEO, where elements in a webpage or piece of digital content are optimised for higher ranking. On the other hand, off-page SEO concerns all activities done outside the website, such as guest blogging, building backlinks, staying active on social media, etc. All these strategies are aimed at improving the visibility of your site organically, i.e., through unpaid means.
Local SEO
In this day and time, when new businesses open every day, it is important for small establishments, such as bakeries, sweet shops, boutiques and home decor stores, to create a robust online presence. In this case, local SEO can work wonders. It helps improve the online presence of a physical store by optimizing website content and other social handles for a precise geographical location. Local SEO techniques enhance the visibility of a business in the said area. Google My Business is a free tool by Google that largely facilitates local SEO. It manages how a local business appears in Google Maps, search, etc. You can add address, working hours, pictures as well as reply to customer comments and more. To boost your local SEO, you can ask customers to drop in a good word for you in Google My Business.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Previously, search engine marketing was used as an umbrella term for both organic and paid ads. However, today SEM is referred to as a paid activity. Unlike SEO, here you pay a fee to advertise your business on Bing ads or Google ads. Google places such pages at the top of the search results, and these can be distinguished from organically ranked pages with the help of a little ‘Ads’ sign at the beginning of the URL. Since the pages are placed at the top, your website gets maximum visibility, and reach, and customers are more likely to visit your site. A healthy combination of SEO and SEM can significantly drive website traffic.
Content Marketing
When brands leverage videos, infographics, blogs, podcasts, case studies, etc., to promote their brands, it is known as content marketing. The goal of content marketing can range from entertaining the audience to sharing valuable information. Did you know that 62% of successful marketers have a robust content strategy? Content marketing can significantly drive traffic and increase sales. For instance, 55% of listeners have purchased a product advertised on a podcast. Content marketing helps in creating genuine engagement and offers versatility to potential customers.
Website Content
Forbes reports that in 2023, 71% of businesses have a website. But why is a website crucial for businesses? The purpose of a website is to increase your brand’s visibility and make it discoverable when consumers search for the solutions you provide. Any form of content – text-based, audio, or graphics, present on a website is known as website content. Written content makes up a large portion of website content. It tells your customers about who you are, what you do, how you can help them, your objectives and lists your products/services. With the rise in online shopping, having a website is non-negotiable. SEO plays a significant role in ranking your website at the top of SERPs, and studies show more than 25% of searchers click on the first search result.
Social Media Marketing
Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn are all social media platforms that enable sharing ideas, and interests, and facilitate two-way communication. The practice of using these channels to promote brands, products, and services and connect with an audience on a personal level is called social media marketing. These platforms let the marketers create easy-to-consume content, such as short-form videos, which incite engagement and shares. These, in turn, boost your visibility and reach. Presently, there are 3.5 billion active users every day. Therefore, establishing a social media presence can expose your brand to a larger audience than ever before.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an old rule in the digital marketing textbook. 64% of small businesses resort to sending cold emails to reach and communicate with customers. Here, companies send targeted ads via emails to customers or contacts in their mailing lists to promote their products, announce offers and discounts, etc. Cold email is not a new concept, but surely is a tricky one. These can often end up in the trash if the subject line and basic content are not eye-catching and keep the recipient hooked.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing Hub reveals that in 2022, 90% of marketers opine that influencer marketing is a persuasive form of digital marketing. Influencer marketing is basically putting an old wine, i.e., celebrity endorsements, in a new bottle, i.e., social media platforms. It has dominated the markets for the last few years and will continue to do so as consumers search for credible recommendations and product reviews. Influencer marketing is perfect for winning customers’ confidence in all niches, including gaming, parenting and child care, fashion and skin care, art, finance, fitness and lifestyle. One of the perks of influencer marketing is the widespread use of short-form content tools such as Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts that are easy to consume and effectively reach the target customers.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
Similar to SEM, pay-per-click is a type of paid digital marketing tool. Here, you have to pay every time someone clicks on your advertisements. You are buying the visit to your website. It is a suitable solution for small companies with a shoestring budget since it is not too expensive. WebFX states that for every dollar spent on PPC, the ROI is $2.
Note: It is worth noticing that all digital marketing mentioned above are interlinked with the other. For instance, SEO and website content or email marketing and content marketing. Therefore, these cannot be treated separately if you want results.
Final Words:
Digital marketing is not a standalone activity but an essential part of a company’s entire marketing game plan. It is driven by the organisation’s vision, mission, short-term and long-term goals. Please note that digital marketing strategies must be dynamic and should change over time. To unleash its full potential, you must have a holistic view of digital marketing and its tools. Although Dimensions Content Writing Services specialises in content writing & copywriting, we extend all vital services under the digital marketing umbrella.
