Everything You Need To Know About Doing Digital Marketing (7 Examples)

Digital marketing is a great way to reach and engage with your target customers.

Do you know…

Over 50% of marketers say keyword rankings and organic traffic are the top ways to measure the success of their digital marketing strategies. 

If you want to learn the basics of how to launch effective digital marketing campaigns, this post provides an easy-to-follow guide on how to do just that.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the use of digital channels to reach, engage and acquire customers for products or services. It encompasses all of the activities used to market products and services such as

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Content marketing
• Social media
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
• Email marketing
• and more. 

Unlike traditional marketing--which is static and often referred to as "one-way" communication– digital marketing is an ever-changing, dynamic process. 

Contrary to popular belief, customers can't interact with businesses through print ads or billboards. Digital marketing allows for two-way communication between businesses and their actual or potential customers.

How to create a digital marketing strategy

The goal of digital marketing is to increase website traffic, generate leads, convert those leads into customers and ultimately increase sales revenue.

Set Goals and Objectives.

Setting goals and objectives is the first step of any successful digital marketing campaign. Without measurable, specific goals you won't have an idea of what you need to do or if your efforts are succeeding. 

Start by setting realistic and achievable goals that will help you track your progress as you move forward. 

Examples of digital marketing goals can include:

• Increasing website traffic
• Generating leads,
• Improving website conversion rate
• Increasing brand awareness on social media channels.

Know your Audience and Know the Channels.

Knowing your audience is key to digital marketing success. Doing market research can help you discover who your target customers are and understand their needs, preferences, and behaviors. 

With this knowledge, you can create more personalized campaigns that have higher chances of resonating with your potential customers. 

Additionally, it’s important to identify the right channels where you can reach them in an effective way. 

Utilize a mix of platforms such as social media, email, or search engine networks for maximum exposure and engagement for your campaigns.

Establish Your Budget and Execute Ads.

Once you have your audience and channels identified and a clear idea of the messages you want to broadcast, it’s time to set up your budget in order to get your campaigns running. 

Use tracking tools such as Google Analytics to measure and understand how well the ads are performing. 

Also, consider using A/B testing on different versions of your campaigns so you can identify which ones work best. Then optimize your ad campaigns based on the results of these tests in order to maximize ROI and improve performance.

Analyze Results, Monitor, and Adjust Strategies as Necessary.

Once your campaigns have been running, it’s essential to analyze the results so you can make adjustments and improve them. Monitor your campaigns to identify where people are engaging and check whether they have reached the desired goals. 

Check user flows and engagement rates to understand if the ads are having a good effect. 

If not, try tweaking your messages or design layouts to see if that helps drive better results.

1. Optimize your website for Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website more visible and relevant in search engine results. 

From content creation to link building, SEO involves a variety of strategies aimed at helping your website rank higher in SERPs (search engine result pages). 

SEO: Why is it important?

Let's take a look at three aspects of SEO to understand its value.

What is SEO? 

To put it simply, SEO is the process of optimizing your website to get higher rankings in search engine results. 

By making specific changes to your website, you can increase its visibility in search engines and attract more traffic. 

The goal of SEO is to be found more easily for keyword searches related to your business or industry.

How Does SEO Work?

SEO works by making your website visible and attractive to search engine algorithms. To make your site more visible, you need to include keywords that search engines will recognize in the text of your pages. 

This helps search engines identify that your website is related to a given keyword term, thus increasing its chances of being displayed in search results for that keyword phrase. 

Additionally, SEO also focuses on creating quality content that can attract readers and provide value. By providing valuable information, you draw more visitors and convert more prospects into paying customers.

Set Goals and Identify Target Keywords 

Before you start tweaking your website and content to rank higher in search engine results, it’s important to set specific SEO goals and identify keywords you want to rank for. Make sure these goals are measurable, attainable, and relevant to your business. 

Then use keyword research tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Ahrefs' Free Keyword Generator to identify the best keywords that have high search volume and low competition rate. 

Incorporating these keywords into your web pages can help you boost your rankings in SERPs (search engine result pages).

Optimize Your Content for Your chosen Keywords

Once you have identified the keywords you want to target, focus on optimizing your content for them. This involves creating content that is interesting and informative, but most importantly, relevant to the keywords.

Your content should have a clear structure with subheadings devoted to each keyword, as well as related images and sources carefully embedded throughout. 

Aim to use synonyms and related terms within your written text to help search engines understand the theme of your content more effectively.

Use Internal Linking and Monitor Your Rankings

Internal links are important for SEO as they help search engines understand the relevance of your content and direct users to other pages on your website. Be sure to include internal links to all relevant pages in each of your blog posts. 

Monitor rankings regularly by making use of free keyword tracking tools. 

These will give you insight into how well your keywords are performing, helping you fine-tune your SEO strategy and get the best possible results from it.

2. Invest in Paid Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a popular and effective advertising model that businesses use to generate more leads, increase website traffic, and boost sales. 

Explained in Simple Terms - How Does Pay-Per-Click Work?

PPC ads are typically displayed on relevant websites, rank highly within search engine results pages, and appear in social media feeds.

Research Keywords: Analyze and Let Google Do the Hard Work.

Once you’ve established your overall PPC budget and chosen a platform to use, it’s time to research which keywords (or search terms) are most relevant for your ad campaigns. 

To do this, use Google Ads' keyword tool - it will provide a detailed analysis of the prevalence of each keyword and its relative cost-per-click. 

Select specific keywords that relate to your business, as well as more general terms within your industry or niche that may be useful in attracting potential customers.

Set Your Maximum Bid & Budget: Calculate the Maximum You’re Willing to Pay Per Click

After selecting the keywords you are targeting, the next step is to set a maximum bid and budget. 

Estimate the maximum amount of money you’re willing to pay for each click on your ad - this will be the basis of your overall PPC budget. 

Calculate how much you can spend on click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates so that you remain within your budget while still receiving measurable results from your campaign.

Ad Copy – Writing for Words That Gain Clicks: Keep Copy to the Point and Bonus Points for Humor

Writing effective, clickable ad copy is essential for getting the most out of your PPC campaign. Keep your copy short and to the point – use catchy phrases, and attractive words and avoid technical jargon. 

Include bonuses or promotions, if applicable, in order to further entice potential customers to click on your ads. 

Source

Humor can also be a great way to gain attention and clicks just remember that it should still be appropriate for the audience and brand image you are targeting.

Test Ads, Monitor Performance & budget Settings: Check If It’s Doing Better Than Predicted

Once you’ve created and launched your PPC ad campaigns, the next step is to monitor which ads are performing best and tweak those that aren’t performing to your expectations. 

Check the hourly or daily budget you’ve set for each campaign and make sure your ads stop running when you reach that limit. 

You can often track how effective an ad is – such as how many clicks it receives per day – using Google Ads or other reporting tools available. 

Analyze the performance of each of your campaigns regularly in order to ensure maximum ROI on your advertising budget.

Measure & Report your Results: Stop Wasting Money on Lower CPC Campaigns

Measuring and reporting the results of your campaigns is essential to understand which ads are effective and which ones need adjustment. 

Compare the cost-per-click (CPC) with the conversion rate, lead quality, and other metrics available in order to accurately assess each ad’s performance. 

If an ad or campaign has a low CPC but poor results in terms of conversions or leads, you may choose to pause it together and focus on higher-performing campaigns instead.

3. Use Email Marketing

Email marketing is an invaluable tool for businesses wanting to maximize their reach and connect with customers. 

By crafting engaging content and leveraging email advertising best practices, you can build relationships, increase sales, and grow your business.

Understanding the Basics of How Email Marketing Works

Email marketing is a very popular tool for business marketing. This is partly because it requires the user to take action. An email will sit in an inbox until it is read, deleted, or archived. Email marketing is also one of the most cost-effective options.

Choose an Email Marketing Platform.

Once you’ve determined who your customers are and what they want, it’s time to choose a platform from which to manage your email campaigns. 

There are a variety of options available, so it’s important to assess the size and needs of your business before selecting one. 

• MailChimp
• Constant Contact
• ActiveCampaign

Create Your List and Segment It Appropriately.

An important component of any email marketing campaign is the list. 

In order for your emails to be effective, you need to ensure that your messages are reaching the right people. 

To do this, you’ll want to segment your list into different groups and tailor your content accordingly. 

This allows you to ensure that the message you’re sending is not only relevant but also reaches those who are most likely to engage with each individual message.

Develop Compelling Content for Your Audience.

Creating compelling content is at the heart of any successful email marketing campaign. 

It’s important to craft messages that are both informative and engaging to appeal to your customers and get them to open and read your emails. 

You’ll also want to make sure your content provides value, such as useful advice or helpful resources related to their interests, which give them a reason to click through your message and visit your website or store.

Craft Your Email Subject Lines Carefully.

Your email subject line is what will get your emails noticed, so it’s important to choose words that will draw your readers in and make them want to open and read your message. 

Be creative and take the time to optimize this element of your email marketing campaign for maximum results. 

Try to limit subject lines to four or five words and make sure the language is clear, concise, and action-oriented.

Utilize A/B Testing to Perfect Campaigns.

A/B testing your emails will let you determine which approach works best and can even help you determine the ideal time to send an email. 

Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, calls-to-action, content length and style, images, or other elements of your message. 

This process of experimentation helps you hone in on what your readers respond to best so that you can optimize campaigns for maximum efficiency.

4. Develop a Content marketing strategy

Content marketing is a great way to attract and engage an audience, boost your website traffic, and increase brand awareness. 

But what key elements should you include in your content marketing strategy to ensure success?

Conduct a Detailed Competitor Analysis.

Conducting a thorough competitor analysis is an essential step in the content creation process. 

It gives you insight into what your competitors are doing and how they’re doing it, enabling you to identify opportunities for improvement and stand out from the competition. 

Take note of topics your competitors are covering and look for ways to add unique value—maybe by including fresh perspectives or more detailed information than they provide.

Set Goals and Objectives. 

Every content marketing strategy should begin with a clear definition of what you hope to accomplish. 

Set realistic and achievable goals such as:

• Increasing your website traffic by 10 percent
• Earning more social media shares on top posts
• Reducing bounce rate
• Any other metric that’s important to your business. 

Outline measurable objectives related to those goals and make sure they can be evaluated at the end of the campaign. 

This will help you track progress and determine if changes need to be made in order for you to reach your desired results.

Assess Your Resources and Skillsets Needed.

To create a successful content marketing strategy, you must assess the resources and skillsets that are needed for the process. This includes the time, budget, and personnel needed to execute your plan. 

Evaluate what your team is capable of handling in-house versus tasks that should be outsourced to an external partner. 

Set a realistic timeline for each stage of your campaign and determine who will be responsible for meeting each task. 

Establishing these requirements ahead of time can help ensure good results within the given timeframe.

Review the Different Types of Content You Will Create and Publish.

Once you have the basics down for your content marketing strategy, it's time to get into the specifics. 

Review the types of content that will be used for your campaign - for instance,

• Blog posts
• Press releases
• Visuals
• and eBooks. 

Consider topics that fit within your overall message and pick formats that will help deliver it in the best way possible. Also, consider how many pieces of content should be produced at each stage of your strategy and estimate how long they will take to create. 

This information can help you develop a clear schedule that sets expectations around when each piece of content will be delivered.

Establish Distribution Strategies for Each Form of Content

Every piece of content needs a plan for distribution so that it can reach its intended audience. Identify the channels you will use to get your content out into the world - such as:

• Your website
• Email newsletter
• Podcast
• Social media accounts. 

Take into account both organic (such as SEO) and paid promotion strategies when planning how you will distribute your content. 

For instance, if you want to increase traffic to your website through organic search engine results, incorporate search engine optimization into the plan. 

Knowing the right channels and having a well-thought-out strategy in place is essential for any effective content marketing campaign.

5. Utilize Video Content

Video marketing is an effective business tool that leverages engaging video content to attract, entertain, and inform audiences. With the right video strategy, you can increase customer engagement and grow your business.

Video Marketing 101 - What Is A Video Marketing Strategy?

Learn how to create an effective video marketing strategy and why it matters.

Understand Your Target Audience.

It’s important to understand who you are targeting with your video content before starting on the rest of your video marketing strategy. 

Knowing the demographics, interests, and pain points of your target audience can help you create effective, relevant content that will attract them to watch your videos and develop a relationship with your brand. 

Make sure you research your target audience thoroughly in order to create effective video content geared toward them.

Identify Your Goals and Objectives.

Before putting together your video marketing strategy, determine what goals you want to accomplish with it. Goals and objectives should be measurable and specific, such as increasing website traffic or leads by a certain percentage or boosting sales by a certain dollar amount. 

Once you’ve identified your goals, use them to craft an effective video marketing strategy that will help you reach those goals. 

Research tactics used by successful brands and use their experiences to create your own unique approach.

Research Video Channels You Can Utilize.

Before you start making videos, take some time to research the different video channels available. Social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook have large user bases that can be tapped into for your brand’s benefit. 

Additionally, research streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu to find out what types of videos are performing well on their platforms. 

Research also allows you to identify key opportunities for your brand’s message and target audience.

Produce a Video Strategy Content Calendar.

Before you start creating videos, create a content calendar that outlines your video schedule. 

This is the best way to keep track of video deadlines and ensure you have enough content to sustain an entire video marketing campaign. 

Think about how you want to break up your videos in terms of length, topics, and frequency. 

You should also consider what type of videos you will be producing (tutorials, webinars, lifestyle, etc.) when they will go live, and who your target audience is.

Analyze Performance and Optimize for Success.

In order to see which videos work and which don’t, you have to analyze the metrics. Once you determine which videos are performing well, create more of them or similar variations. 

Ask yourself questions such as: 

• Has my watch time increased compared to last month? 
• Are viewers engaging with my videos? 

To get even more granular, you can use tools like Google Analytics YouTube reports which will measure how much traffic your channel is receiving from different sources, like organic search and direct referrals. 

From there, you can make optimizations and improve your content strategy.

6. Leverage Social Media Platforms

Social media marketing is essential for any business looking to increase visibility in the digital world and engage customers. 

To get the most out of your social media strategy, it’s important to plan ahead, track metrics and adjust your approach accordingly.

How to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy

Learn how to create an effective social media marketing strategy that will drive more leads and conversions!

Set SMART Goals.

Before you start creating a social media strategy, it’s important to set SMART goals. 

SMART stands for 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant 
• Time-bound

As you create your marketing plan with well-defined goals, be sure to keep previous successes and failures in mind as you determine what works best for your business. 

This will help inform your decisions and allow you to track progress against your objectives.

Identify Your Target Audience.

Identifying the target audience of your social media marketing plan is key to success. 

By understanding who you’re targeting, you can craft tailored messages and content to align with their needs and interests. 

Your target audience should be segmented according to demographics such as age, gender, geography, and other categories that may be pertinent to your business. 

Each segment will have different wants and needs; getting a good understanding of them can help you create more effective content that resonates with each of these groups.

Assess Your Current Presence.

Before your social media marketing strategy can be effective, it’s important to assess your current presence. 

Include an audit of which platforms you are currently using, how long they have been established, and how often you post content. 

You can use these details to create a plan for how you want each platform to be used in the future, such as the topics and types of posts for each platform.  

This will help make sure that each piece of content created is relevant to your target audience on the platform it’s posted.

Perform an Audience Analysis.

An important part of creating an effective social media marketing strategy is to perform an audience analysis. This will help you understand who your target audience is and what platforms they use the most. 

Knowing this information can help you tailor content for each platform as well as create awareness about your brand, leading to increased engagement with potential customers. 

Additionally, it will help you decide which platforms are going to be the best fit for your business’s goals.

Establish a Tone for Your Brand Voice and Content Style Guide

Establishing a tone for your brand voice and content style guide is an important part of any effective social media marketing strategy. This enables you to communicate with your audience in a consistent way and ensure that your messaging is clear and cohesive across all platforms. 

A few key points to consider when creating a content style guide are the language you use, the types of content you share, how often you post, and how you engage with followers. 

Keeping these elements consistent will help give your brand a distinct personality.

7. Hiring a Professional Marketing Agency

Hiring a professional marketing agency can be a great way to boost your business. From gaining valuable insights into your customer base to an experienced team of experts handling all your marketing needs, partnering with a marketing agency comes with numerous benefits.

• Gain Access to Valuable Experience and Insights - When you hire a professional marketing agency, you will have access to an experienced team of professionals who are well-versed in the ever-changing world of digital marketing.
• Save Time and Resources by Outsourcing Core Tasks - In-house teams often don’t have the capacity or expertise to take on every part of a marketing strategy. Outsourcing core tasks to an agency allows you to free up resources and save time, making it easier and more efficient for your in-house team to focus their energy on the things that truly matter.
• Identify More Efficient Strategies for Reaching Your Audience - A professional marketing agency can help you find cost-effective marketing strategies tailored to fit your business needs, ensuring that you are targeting the right audience and getting the maximum return on investment.
• Benefit From Their Network of Experts and Professionals - By enlisting the services of an experienced marketing agency, businesses can benefit from their established relationships with professionals in various industries.
• Leverage a Team-Based Workflow for Obtaining Results Quickly - Not only does this reduce your stress levels, but it gives you the opportunity to focus on other areas of your business while still obtaining measurable results.

If your business is searching for the top digital marketing strategies, contact NewReputation, a full-service digital marketing agency that gets results.