What is Digital Marketing ?

Digital Marketing is the marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers. Digital marketing and advertising can be confusing for those without experience in this field. From programmatic ads to PPC search terms to running a blog, it's easy and normal to be confused by the ever-changing options.

The speed and ease with which digital media transmit information and help grow a business are incredible, Failure to properly promote your business can lead to a slump in sales and you to end a business before it starts properly or terminates an existing business quickly. By understanding the basics of digital advertising, you can avoid this fate and plan an effective advertising strategy that will increase your revenue and keep the doors open. You can use digital technologies to reach, convert, and retain viewers, but leaving an online footprint is incredibly difficult. With so much competition and useless information competing for your attention, your customers need to find you easily. But how can you do this?

‍Know what search engine marketing (SEM) is

‍Purchasing of text ads in search engine results is derived from pages. You can buy ads based on individual keywords, brand keywords, or even entire phrases. These ads then appear above, next to, or below the search results, depending on the type of ad you purchased.

For example, you bid on the keyword "orange." You then realize that you made the highest bid. When someone searches for that term, your ads will now appear at the top of the results page. The key technique here is to share engaging posts and the right content created for the desired audience. Then the viewer helps by sharing the content more, which in turn reaches more.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to keep track of offers as SEM is constantly in motion. As soon as someone bids more than you, your ad will scroll down the list. The most popular and common search terms can be extremely expensive. Worse still, each search engine has its bidding process - for example, if you learn how to buy ads on Google, this may not translate to other companies.

And one more thing: search engine marketing is not the same thing as search engine optimization (SEO), which aims to create content that organically leads to better rankings on search results pages. A Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Manager is responsible for overseeing the performance of websites and web pages.

‍Do's and Don'ts

SEM is an extremely time-consuming process and the environment is constantly changing. You may not be able to afford a dedicated marketer with SEM experience, but remember that your customers need to find your business – landing on page 10 of the search results can ruin your business.

So instead of skipping the SEM, identify which keywords you can choose from among the necessary or useful options. Next, determine the prices of the different keywords and how they will affect your overall budget. Based on this information, create a plan to get the most out of your return on investment.

Optimize for your customers

Define and segment your audience. Buyers today expect a personalized experience at every touchpoint. Consider your target audience. For example, if you know your target audience is very tech-savvy, invest in the latest ways your customers can search for you. Think about where your customers are looking for your products and create a list of ways to reach them. In the short term, focus on goals that are easy to implement and within your budget; Keep other goals in mind for long-term planning.

‍-Make ads and videos work well

Display and video ads are also essential for most businesses. However, buying these ads can be very confusing and your results can vary greatly.

-Programmatic and traditional advertising

Digital marketing is often compared to "traditional marketing" such as magazine ads, billboards, and direct mail. In the dark ages, businesses bought advertising space directly from publishers such as newspapers, magazines, and even billboard owners. Advertisers knew ahead of time when and where their ads would appear and had a rough idea of ​​the audience that would see them. Some companies still buy digital ad space directly from certain websites, but programmatic advertising is much more common these days.

Smart Insights defines programmatic advertising as "automated bidding on ad inventory in real-time for the opportunity to show ads to a particular customer in a particular context". This process can be very confusing and lacks transparency. It also means that a company has less control over where its ads are ultimately served. There are also many opportunities for fraud.

-Be aware of ad fraud

Ad fraud is a billion-dollar problem that continues to grow despite calls from advertisers, businesses, and politicians to fix the problem.
Because fraud is so rampant in this industry, buying digital ads can sometimes seem like a daunting and pointless task. However, there are ways to combat bot traffic, reduce fraud, and ensure your campaigns are performing well.

‍-Monitor and optimize your campaigns

Reducing ad fraud is an ongoing process. You should regularly update your fraud protections and review your campaign reports frequently. How these protections are set up depends on whether you are using an internal team or outsourcing your marketing activities.
The first thing you need to know when running your ad campaigns is what your success metrics are. These could be conversions, revenue generated, sessions created, or various other categories of data.

Choose a few that make sense for your business and create custom reports that you can easily view. Review these metrics frequently and don't be afraid to change or terminate campaigns that aren't performing as you want them to. Various tools provide information about the type of traffic campaigns created and how different campaigns are performing against common performance indicators.

If you're using an agency or other company to run your digital advertising, find out how they handle ad fraud. Ask about why your campaigns are not successful or if the data is meaningful. Ask for reports on where your ads are viewed most often and what kind of traffic comes to those sites. The more actively you demand transparency, the more likely you are not to spend money on fraud.

‍-Create quality content

With so many competing offers, customers can afford to be picky about where they spend their time and money. Providing relevant, high-quality information increases customer trust and loyalty. This should go beyond the standard ad, video, and promoted ads you create and include any content that can be improved or boost SEO on your site.

-Has Great Product Descriptions

This may seem obvious, but too many online companies fail to create informative and helpful product descriptions. This is an error. Product descriptions do more than explain what a product is; it also helps with SEO, increases conversions, and give companies a competitive advantage over other vendors.

Some quick tips:

• Add high-quality images.
• Provide information you might want to know about a product if you were to purchase it.
• Go beyond specifications and general manufacturer information – but be sure to include them.
• Note anything about your listing that might be different or unique (custom colors, wider size range, etc.).

Provide Content Customers Need

Consider your social media strategy. It's great for your audience to see your latest post, but it's even better if they comment or share about it. Some companies write blogs, white papers, or specialty research. Other companies provide buying guides and in-depth case studies. Still, others focus on social media or long-form video tutorials that provide useful information. There is no set way of providing the content.

The key is to provide content that is relevant to your audience in a format they will enjoy. If you know that your customers mostly shop on their mobile phones, you will want content that is easy to digest on mobile. If your products appeal to a business crowd, you may want longer-form content that provides deeper descriptions optimized for desktop or tablet landscape view.

Digital marketing not only reaches a wider audience but also costs less than traditional marketing, but if you don't have the time or money to invest in content creation, consider which little bits might be most useful for your particular audience. This may include FAQs, product manuals, customer references, or expert tips. Choose pieces that are easy to put together and test them in different formats to see what resonates with your audience. A quick video reference on Facebook will get more engagement than the same video embedded at the bottom of your product page. Once you find content that works, use it in multiple formats to reach the widest digital audience.

‍Plan Your Strategy

The more you embrace the possibilities of digital marketing, the more you can realize your company's growth potential. As with anything, starting with an informed strategy and working towards well-defined goals will keep your company on the right track.

‍Know Your Budget and Timeline

Budget is an important consideration for digital advertising. Some ad formats are very expensive or do not provide the right results for your target audience. Consider how much you are willing to spend on both general and individual marketing initiatives. Set clear goals for when you want to see the return on investment and how you plan to measure it. By defining these details now, you can easily assess the success of each campaign and determine where to cut back later.

‍Try and Try Again

Digital marketing should be one of the main focuses of the overall marketing strategy of almost every business. No one gets it completely right the first time…or probably never. Owning a business is a constant game of trial and error, and so is advertising. Sometimes it works and other times you need to rethink, adjust and try again.

Instead of getting frustrated, take note of what worked or why a particular campaign or piece of content failed. Sometimes, a simple change to a single keyword can make the difference between an influx of new customers and no response.

Managing a business in the digital age can be difficult, but advertising it properly is a big part of being successful. Spending time and money planning an effective strategy can help you build an active customer base. By setting up your campaigns correctly and monitoring them as they progress, you can spend more time focusing on operations and making sure everything is running smoothly. This will make your customers happy and keep them coming back for more.