“Digital marketing” is exactly what its name implies: any marketing that uses digital media to deliver its message. This can mean distributing your message to a tech savvy audience using smart phones, emails, tablets, laptops, social media sites such as Pinterest and Twitter, and game consoles.
Perhaps the main benefit of going digital with your new marketing plan is that virtually the entire world has access to the internet these days, many readily using some form of internet device every day. Another benefit is that it can often be very cost effective: there is no need for expensive glossy printing for instance.
This happily opens up a whole new world for businesses and marketers, which now have the ability to spread their word using means that are very efficient and affordable even for a mom and pop running an ecommerce store from their garden shed.
While blogging may be one of the most popular ways to build an online following, there are far, far more ways to access a growing online audience. A clever digital campaign can result in a small home business thriving within a time frame previously unheard of. One of the keys to making that happen is using a skilled digital marketer, either you can learn these skills yourself or outsource to a freelancer or agency.
That being said there are some dodgy characters out there that you want to give a wide berth, namely people like Bulls Eye Joe, Meta Tweaker, Plugin Pete and Social Schmoozer listed here in this infographic.
21st CENTURY CHANGES
The internet completely changed traditional marketing. Nowadays, people have access to your business’s information any time they want it, any time of day. Additionally, the internet allows customers to voice themselves concerning your business. Meaning, if they like it, they can show their opinion in the form of online comments and reviews. Many a customer has been issued a speedy refund after their negative tweet on Twitter began to echo ominously around cyberspace.
For a business owner, one of the major benefits of marketing over the internet, is the ability to monitor the traffic circling your site. Using analytics you can actually watch people stumbling across your site, observing how long they stay, what attracts them most, and how many of them take action on your site in the form of purchases or emails. Such information can be later used to reshape and reassess your marketing strategy, honing in on weak areas and further building strong ones.
BLOGGING
One of the most popular tools in digital marketing is what is known as “blogging.” Blogging involves writing a series of articles that pertain to your business’s products or services. The idea is that as customers search for topics related to your business, search engines will pull up your site and its info and will point the customer your way.
The purpose of a blog is to offer your customers value. Articles can come in the form of tips, how to’s, trivia, or any other information that your customers would enjoy. In doing so, you establish yourself as an authority figure in your given field. You build trust with the knowledge you demonstrate, and customers grow to like you out of appreciation for what you offer them.
Trust and likability are surefire ways to engender a loyal customer base, this encourages customers to share your business via word of mouth.
So if you do decide to embark on a brand new digital marketing campaign, please heed the warning of this infographic and avoid the likes of Bulls Eye Joe, Plugin Pete and pals .:)
Infographic courtesy of Jon Harrison
