Getting into digital marketing can feel like taking a dive into the unknown for a lot of small business owners, especially if you don’t spend all your time online yourself. But relax.
Nobody starts at the deep end, nobody has all the answers before they begin and, even better, getting going is probably cheaper and quicker than you might think.
Speaking of budget, there’s plenty you can do in the realms of digital marketing without spending a penny – but when it comes to reaching new audiences, that’s when a little budget can go a long way.
Every part of your digital marketing is a great opportunity to learn something – so it’s all about starting small, testing, learning, and growing over time.
In this guide, I’m going to take you through the easy-access ways to get started – from making the most of search engines to buying your first online ads.
All the channels will be familiar to you – Facebook, Twitter, Google, email, and your own website – but I’ll give you the steps you need to feel confident you’re testing and investing in the way that’s right for you and the growth of your business.
“Nobody starts at the deep end, nobody has all the answers before they begin and, even better, getting going is probably cheaper and quicker than you might think”
What you’ll find in this guide has a lot to do with what we call inbound marketing – the tactics you can use to attract, convert, close and delight visitors to your website, social and blog.
Digital platforms are great for this because we now have more ways, places, and routes to attract people to visit our website where, we hope, they’ll become our customers.
We can also be much more creative with this kind of marketing because it’s not just about what we think of as traditional outbound marketing activity.
With all of these opportunities at your disposal, you need to consider what’s the impact on your target customer.
This is because your audience expects a great experience with your brand at each digital touchpoint. If you can provide a great experience at every touchpoint, you’ll turn more visitors into leads, and more leads into customers.
Though I have to admit, it’s easier said than done!
It’s your website, blog and social media channels that are at the heart of any digital marketing plan—so always keep in mind that you’re optimising for these destinations when planning digital marketing tactics.
What is Digital Marketing?
This is an umbrella term for all of your online marketing efforts. Businesses leverage digital channels such as Google search, social media, email and their websites to connect with their current and prospective customers.
From your website to your online assets like digital advertising, email marketing, online brochures and beyond, there’s a huge spectrum of tactics to consider. The best digital marketers know which channels their audience uses and they have a clear picture of how each asset supports their overarching goals.
What is Inbound Marketing?
This is about using marketing to bring potential customers to you, rather than having your marketing efforts fight for their attention. Sharing is caring and inbound marketing is about creating and sharing content with the world.
By creating content specifically designed to appeal to your dream customers, inbound attracts qualified prospects to your business and keeps them coming back for more.
What is Content Marketing?
This is a marketing program that centers on creating, publishing and distributing content for your target audience – usually online – the goal of which is to attract new customers.
While inbound marketing can be looked at as a methodology, content marketing is a more specific inbound strategy of writing content that your audience will find valuable.
Buyer’s journey
This is the process buyers go through to become aware of, evaluate and purchase a new product or service. The journey is a 3-step process:
- Awareness stage: the buyer realises they have a problem
- Consideration stage: the buyer defines their problem and researches options to solve it
- Decision stage: the buyer chooses a solution
Plan your strategy
Strategy, in spite of being a word favoured by the shiny suits of the world, really means thinking about why you’re doing something before you do it.
So, starting your digital marketing strategy is as simple as starting with why you want to do it, deciding what you want to do, how you’re going to do it, what you expect to happen, and when and how you’ll measure your success.
4 reasons you’ll want to create a Digital Marketing strategy
Brand Awareness
Do you want more people to know about your brand (or your products and services)?
Acquisition or lead generation
Do you want to reach people who’ve never bought from you before and bring them into your buyer’s journey?
Growth from existing customers
Do you want people who’ve already bought from you before to buy more frequently or buy a different kind of product?
If possible, set a specific goal
Your metrics should be tied to your goal and include a time limit. These might include:
- X Number of leads from a piece of downloadable content in 1 month
- % of old customers buying a secondary product within the year
- % of follower growth on social media within 2 weeks
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