Earlier people used to rely on newspapers, magazines or brochures to get that perfect car, product, job, service or travel destination. But now the time has changed. Now there is only one place where people find answers to all their questions and it is the internet. Needless to say, businesses are also taking their products and services on the internet to find their potential customers. They are constantly improving their presence online as a marketing tactic. This type of marketing is nothing but digital marketing.
Digital Marketing: In a Broader Sense
Digital Marketing is a marketing effort that uses the internet or any digital medium to connect with the current or prospective customer. For example, businesses use social media, email, website, search engine or any other digital marketing platform to raise their company’s presence online. The reasons businesses are leveraging the benefits of digital marketing is clear:
- It users to find an extensive range of information;
- It makes possible for users to compare similar products or services;
- It allows users to quickly compare prices;
- It is extremely dynamic and allows users to quickly acquire new services, or purchase products online.
Digital Marketing Platforms and Their Benefits:
Following are the digital marketing platforms or strategies businesses can use to boost their company’s image online:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
SEO is one of the best practices to boost a company’s online image. It helps in showing up a company’s website and web content on search engines like Google and Yahoo. Not only this, it also allows the company’s website to appear higher up and earlier in search results. Lacking the ability to be found on search engines can lose your potential customer base. Thanks to SEO, your website becomes more discoverable.
2. Social Media Marketing:
Today almost every adult uses an active social media account categorized under Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and many others. As these digital marketing platforms provide a huge customer base to businesses, it can boost company’s online presence abruptly. With proper advertising and content sharing, one can drive more traffic and generate leads for the business.
3. Pay Per Click (PPC):
PPC is a method of driving more traffic to a business website by paying the publisher. Here the publisher gets paid whenever a user clicks on the company’s advertisement. One of the common types of PPC is Google AdWords that allows any business to display ads on Google’s top slots. Other channels include:
- Facebook paid ads
- Twitter promoted tweets
- LinkedIn sponsored messages
4. Content Marketing:
Content Marketing is one of the best examples of digital marketing strategy. It is a sure shot way to improve the company’s presence over the internet. Promoting relevant, qualitative content through blogs, informative videos, descriptive images or articles can boost your company’s reputation and recognition. Here it is necessary to use keyword specific content for making sure it reaches the target audience. But you also need to avoid keyword stuffing as it is not advisable.
5. Local Directories:
Local directories work in a similar way to any physical directory of businesses like Yellow pages. The only difference is the directory is available online. Make sure to use directories like Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, Yahoo Listings, and Yelp as a digital marketing effort. Listing your business and information on these directories can help make your business visible in your local market.
6. Email Marketing:
Businesses can leverage the advantage of their email lists to reach current as well as potential customers. It is a good digital marketing tactic for boosting a company’s image online. Email can be used to promote events, discounts, content or direct traffic to the company’s website. Email marketing campaigns may include one of the following:
- Blog subscription letters
- Promoting proposals to potential clients
- Follow up emails
- Loyalty Program promotions
- Content Promotion
Conclusion:
There are several digital marketing tactics and platforms to boost a company’s presence online but one needs to analyze how each will affect a business before actually going on further. It is important to consider how a digital marketing strategy will translate online.
About The Author
Dharmik Babariya
I am Dharmik Babariya. I am SEO Analyst and Content Writer working with India based app development company – Tecocraft.
