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Home » What is digital marketing? A beginner’s guide

What is digital marketing? A beginner’s guide

Digital marketing is a deceptively simple-sounding term, but this umbrella term covers every aspect of your online marketing strategy. To design a solid strategy, it is essential to be aware of all the aspects. Let’s examine the components that comprise a fully functioning digital marketing system.

1. Marketing via video

Video marketing is any video you produce for your business. This includes advertisements, content that you upload to YouTube, videos that you upload to Facebook demonstration videos for your product, and live streams.

Based on the HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2017 report, 45% of people have at least an hour’s worth of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. Cisco predicts that in 2023, video will account for 82% of all consumer usage, which will make it a crucial component to a well-rounded advertising and marketing plan for digital.

The addition of video to your marketing strategy is now easier. Easy video creation tools and simple video editors along with the rise of mobile and wireless Internet speeds make video more affordable to create and more accessible to customers.

Video is a great addition in your strategy for digital advertising:

Choose the best type of video that works for you There are numerous styles of video. Choose a platform that works with your business — something that you like doing and that you will be able to continue doing regularly.
Make it fit on the right platform. When you look at video content via YouTube or Facebook We are looking at different factors. To give your video the best chance of success, adhere to the best practices of each platform.
Be specific about your goals The content your produce should support an exact, quantifiable marketing objective. In the process of creating (and adhering to) the guidelines of a content calendar will aid you in staying on the right track.

2. Pay per click and display advertisements

Pay per click and display ads allow marketers to advertise their products to a targeted consumer base. What’s the distinction between these two options?

PPC ads are PPC ads are the paid links that appear on the top of results of a search engine when you search for a certain search term. These PPC ads were displayed when we searched for “shoes.”

Display ads are ads that you see on different websites. They usually contain images. Display ads can appear depending on the theme of a website or a keyword. This advertisement for Squarespace appeared on the right side of a Mashable article on Facebook Messenger for kids.

Both types of ads are very effective in getting your products and services in front of the right person.

The most effective PPC and display advertisements include:

Highly targeted: When you are creating your advertisements, make sure you are selective (and specific) in the terms of your parameters. This narrows down how many customers will see your ad but it also increases the odds that it will show up before the correct individuals and result in an increase in conversion rate!

A part of a larger digital marketing strategy: Ads can be more effective when they are utilized in conjunction with a sound method of marketing through content. Moreover, if you implement an effective SMS marketing strategy it will produce results more effective.
Well-thought out There are several simple guidelines to follow to ensure you have a effective ads for PPC.
Very carefully tracked: Keep track of the effectiveness of each ad campaign you run and make use of the data to consistently improve you conversion rates.

3. Content marketing

Nowadays, consumers have more choice about who they deal with than they ever have. The creation of content that is helpful and answers the real issues and allows buyers to make informed decisions will propel you to the front of the line. It can be anything from blog posts and infographics to videos and free microlearning videos.

In order for visitors to discover your website it is essential to optimize it for search engines. Search engines such as Google seeks to present users with only the best results possible and therefore, it scans every website to learn what that page is about.

Imagine your ideal customer is seeking a method to travel to Oz and you offer red slippers. The blog post you write with the words “travel towards Oz,” “time travelling red slippers that will take your into Oz,” and “quick way to get to Oz” will inform the search engine what your blog post is about, and the next time an adventurer isn’t looking to rely on freak cyclones and storms, your post will show as a result in searches.

To create content that delights both search engines and readers make sure to keep it:

Specific Content that will help the reader you want to reach solve real problems. The more niche-specific you achieve, the more relevant.
Informative and helpful Do not post the same content or duplicate your competitors. Create unique content that is based on your clients’ real concerns. Aren’t sure of what they are? Ask.
Easy to read The eyes weren’t designed to be able to read screens, so it is important to write content that is easy to read. Keep sentences and paragraphs short, use subheads to break up text, and add images and ensure that you leave plenty of white space.

Social marketing via media comes in two flavors: paid and organic.

Organic marketing is when you create a profile on your chosen social media platform and consistently share great content that people like and share. Paid marketing is the act of buying and using ads to reach a broader public. Each social media platform has an ad manager that is their own.

To be efficient it is essential to be smart. While it’s tempting to jump into and master multiple channels at the simultaneously, it can put a strain for your budget. Instead, concentrate on building your presence on only one platform at a given time beginning by identifying your ideal audience’s preferred.

To master the platform you have chosen:

Plan your strategy: Don’t just post haphazardly. Determine from the beginning what you want to gain from this channel, create measurable goals and follow them.
Create an online content calendar for social media for your posts: plan your content in advance to meet specific marketing objectives or promotions.
Post regularly and consistently: It’s easy to become caught up in the day-today activities and neglect to update. However, if you’re looking to expand organically (always is a good thing even if you’re using ads to complement it), you need to be visible. Utilizing a social media dashboard to plan your posts in advance is an excellent way to set your business up for success.
Engage: Don’t simply share your words and then ignore your followers. Engage them in comments and respond to questions- social media is a dialog that goes on in two directions.

5. Email marketing

Email marketing encompasses all of the different emails you send your customers, like newsletters, nurturing sequences sales sequences, promotional emails as well as blog post updates.

The aim with email marketing, is that you develop trust between your customers by constantly providing value by sharing knowledge and exclusive offers. If your customers trust you then they’re more likely to stick to your products and to listen when you’re advertising something.

Effective emails:

Have a purpose You must respect your customer’s time and provide them with an incentive that is useful — whether it’s a special promo or a really interesting idea.
Have a strong CTA: Always end an email with an explicit call to action and let the reader know what you’d like them do in the next.

6. Marketing through affiliates

Affiliate marketing occurs the process whereby a group of individuals who like and use this product (affiliates) offer it to their followers in exchange for a portion of the sales.

If done correctly This type of relationship can be incredibly profitable for both the business and the affiliate. Patt Flynn from Smart Passive Income built his career on affiliate marketing. He provides a wealth of detailed advice about getting started from an affiliate’s viewpoint.

What does this partnership appear like? Let’s take a look at the way SiteGround, a hosting platform handles it.

SiteGround built an entire resource that explains the commission structure and tells prospective affiliates precisely what to expect. The team put many hours into structuring the page and created marketing materials that affiliates can utilize in their promotions. Potential affiliates may then sign up to the affiliate program and offer SiteGround hosting plans to their customers.

The best affiliate-business relationships are described by two factors:

A shared audience: Those who work with the same target audience, but sell non-competing products are a great choice for affiliate marketing as you are speaking the same language.
A common understanding that customers are becoming more sophisticated, the person who sells your products matters. Someone who runs a blog that is based on ketosis is not going to be the ideal partner for sugar-free cookies. The gap between their personal opinions and the brand could cause distrust with their customers.
Trust in the product We’re getting sick of false advertising tactics. The most knowledgeable affiliates understand the benefits of your product and dig it. The ideal scenario is that they will use it as part of their day-to-day.

In the realm of digital marketing

We looked at the different aspects of online marketing. If you’re transitioning from mostly offline strategies, pick one type of digital marketing. Then, you’ll need to create a plan, and build an audience. Once everything is running smoothly then add another and after that. Do not try to accomplish more than you can handle at the same time unless you’ve got the team and capital to support your efforts. Best of luck!