Digital Marketing: What is It and How Can I Start?
Starting your own business and struggling to understand the worlds of marketing? You're not alone. It might seem like the digital marketing landscape might only be accessible for big corporations, but in the age of the Internet, anyone can understand and apply digital marketing skills for their own small business. Whether you have a team working for you or you're running a solo-show, you can learn how to compete against big companies in the game of marketing.
In this article, we're going to break down everything you need to know about digital marketing and how you can use these skills for your own business. Whether you're running a cozy coffee shop, a one-on-one consulting service, or an online boutique, we're going to provide you with all the insights to help you harness the power of the Internet to grow your small business.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing (a.k.a online marketing) allows you to promote your brand and connect with potential customers using the Internet and other forms of digital communication, such as social media and online collaborations. Digital marketing includes marketing campaigns, online videos, display ads, search engine marketing, or paid social ads. Compared to “traditional marketing” (magazine ads, billboards, direct mail, etc.), digital marketing helps you reach a huge potential audience across the globe. All you need to understand is how you can use it to your advantage to help you connect with as many people in your target audience as possible.
Why is Digital Marketing Important?
Any type of marketing helps your business thrive, but digital marketing has become increasingly important (especially for small business owners) because of how accessible digital channels are. About 59.6% of the world uses the Internet (more than 4 billion people!), and with the right digital marketing strategy, you can find yourself doing business with people miles away from you.
Types of Digital Marketing
There are dozens of digital marketing types out there, and it can get confusing understanding how to utilize each type. In this segment, we’re going to slowly break down the most useful types for you to get started on your own digital marketing journey.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is technically a marketing tool, but it allows you to reach potential customers who are actively searching for aspects of your business. All you need to do is understand how to reach them. SEO essentially allows search engines (like Google, Firefox, and Explorer) to get the highest possible ranking on their search engine results pages (SERPs). For example, when you search up a phrase like “dog adoptions in my area,” what are the first results to pop up? Ever wonder why those results are the first ones you see? It’s because of great SEO tactics. Search engines have a complex process when deciding to place certain results first, but there are some aspects they look for when making this search, such as:
Quality of Content
Level of User Engagement
Mobile-friendliness
Number and quantity of inbound links (links from another site that lead to your website)
Using certain keywords also allows search engines to place your website higher on their results pages. For example, we utilize words like, “South Asian brides,” or “South Asian weddings,” because we specialize in preparing brides for their South Asian weddings, and we want to be able to reach them via their Internet searches.
If you want a more in-depth look at understanding SEO, check out our recent blog here: Why Understanding SEO Can Help Your Small Business
2. Content Marketing
Content marketing includes adding blogs, newsletters, or videos/audio on your websites and/or promoting these types of content on your social media pages. Your goal here isn’t to entice people to buy something from your business, but instead to provide entertaining and valuable information for your current and potential audiences. Your content is free, relatable, and attractive in some way for them, which makes them want to learn more. This type of digital marketing can be seen as an “add-on” to the products or services you already provide; it’s giving your business another source of value even after they purchase something.
3. Social Media Marketing
This type of marketing is more prevalent nowadays due to the ever-rising popularity of social media apps like Instagram and TikTok. Billions of people regularly check their social media pages every day, and your content might be one page that they decide to visit. Because of the fast-pace of social media, make sure you update your social media accounts constantly (at least once a day) so that your pages continue to stay relevant. Social media is amazing for highlighting your brand, products, services, and culture. Make sure to post high-quality content that is engaging, informational, or provides entertainment for your audiences. If you can’t find time in your busy day to keep up with your social media pages, you can also hire a social media manager to support your efforts.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing essentially means promoting another person’s business. You can either be the “promoter” (the person who will receive a commission every time someone purchases an item you promote), or the “merchant” (the person who pays someone else for every sale they help you make). In either scenario, you’ll receive benefits from this type of marketing. If you’re the promoter, you get money directly from the commissions you make. If you’re the merchant, you’ll receive more sales from the person you’ve hired to promote your products. In order to form these kinds of relationships with others, you’ll need to make a connection with them in some way, and social media is an amazing way to do this.
5. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is very similar to affiliate marketing, but instead of hiring someone from another business, you’ll be hiring an influencer to promote your products or services. Influencers have a lot of power in the social media world, and because of their huge following, they can more easily reach a larger group of people who might be interested in your products. Whenever an influencer recommends a certain product or service, their followers will want to at least try it out or learn more about it. However, many influencers can have not-so-great online reputations, so make sure to partner with reputable influencers because they’re essentially representing your brand.
6. Email Marketing
Email marketing is essentially sending promotional messages to your consumers who have signed up for them. It’s important to make sure that these emails are wanted; otherwise, your customers might see them as ads or gimmicks to get them to buy more products (which can get annoying). Make sure to clearly state what kind of emails your consumers will be getting, and always offer an unsubscribe option, making it absolutely their choice in whether they sign up for these campaigns. You want your customers to see your emails as a valued service, so make sure to provide individualized, informational, and entertaining content in your messages.
Benefits of Digital Marketing
Not only does digital marketing allow you to reach the entire globe, but it’s also cost-efficient, helps you get quantifiable results (because you can receive analytics on how many people visit your social media pages and websites), and helps you to make more connections with your customers. Digital marketing also allows you to easily personalize the content you put out because of the customer data it offers. The more you know about your clients’ likes and dislikes, the easier it is to release content that they will appreciate.
How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy:
1. Set SMART Goals
SMART stands for “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.” When you start setting up your goals for digital marketing, make sure that you can realistically achieve what you want; aiming impossibly too high not only causes you immense stress, but it only sets you up for failure. However, making attainable goals for yourself not only helps to alleviate some stress and makes you more likely to succeed. Make sure to give yourself a time limit as well, so you can become more motivated to begin your own journey towards success.
2. Identify Your Audience
Identifying your target audience is one of the first steps in starting your own business. In order to create content that your consumers will like, you first have to understand your actual consumers. Does your audience prefer feminine, elegant, and classy businesses? Or do your clients want a rugged, manly, darker business? Understanding your brand, your aesthetic, and your content all stem from understanding your target audience.
If you want to learn more about identifying your ideal clients, check out our blog here: Understanding Your Audience
3. Create a Budget
Digital marketing is cost-efficient, but that doesn’t mean you won’t spend any money on your digital marketing journey. Make sure you have the funds necessary to start the tasks you want to complete. However, there are several free tools that can help you get certain analytics in the meantime, if you aren’t ready to put money away for digital marketing. Tools like Google Analytics and Instagram business analytics are great ways to start understanding your digital marketing efforts.
The world of digital marketing can seem confusing and hectic, but with the right mindset and tools, you can easily start your own journey. Digital marketing is a fundamental tool if you want your small business to thrive in the world of the Internet, so make sure to not take it for granted. Even though the Internet is constantly changing, it’s a realm where your adaptability and creativity can lead to remarkable success.
If you want to read more about Barbie’s journey as a small business owner, or if you want to learn more small business tips, check out the rest of her page at barbiepatel.com. Or if you want to read about our bridal services at Cinderella Bridez, visit cinderellabridez.com.