Demystifying Digital Marketing

Demystifying Digital Marketing

From small companies to large, you will hear the cry ‘we don’t have time for digital marketing’, or ‘we are too small to get into all of that’.  This is a false impression, for if you have a website, you are already undertaking digital marketing, simply by providing information online for your customers or clients.  Taking digital marketing to the next level, and reaching out to new and existing customers is not as difficult as you may think.

What is Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is the way you connect with customers online.  By uploading information to your website, you are providing content for your online audience.  Adding regular news items, events, and information keeps this content current, and gives your audience a reason to keep returning to your site.

Where does social media fit in

Taking it a step further, if you have any social media channels for your company, such as a Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, which you update regularly, you have yet another channel for your digital marketing activities.  Getting the picture?  Digital marketing does not have to be formal online advertising, banners or pop ups, it can be as simple as online communication designed to create conversation, awareness and drive business.

What about SEO

Now, take it yet another step further, and think about your website SEO (search engine optimisation).  You have probably had someone check your website for keywords, meta tags, image optimisation and so on.  All this helps search engines to find you, and bring you up on specific online searches….  This too is a form of Digital marketing, ensuring your website and your brand appear in online searches.

For many businesses, this may be enough to create an awareness and an online market for your business.

And now for PPC

To support further growth of your business, and once you have all the above communications under control, you might like to venture further into the heady world of Google AdWords, Pay Per Click, Display Advertising, not to mention promoted posts on your social media channels.  We have all seen the pop-up ads when we are browsing online, and noticed banner ads from pages we have recently visited appearing when we visit other websites – all this is possible using Google.

The beauty of Google is that all this has been simplified for just about anyone to manage and master – you only need the time.  That, however, is where it is worth investing in someone with experience in these matters. Not because you can’t handle it yourself, but because your time is valuable and probably much better spent in other areas of the business.  The world of digital advertising is highly quantifiable, using online tools such as Google Analytics you can easily monitor expenditure and results.

So, before you dismiss Digital Marketing as ‘not for you’, look at what you are already doing, what you are achieving, and what more could be achieved with a little focus and dedication.