When thinking about traditional marketing types, thoughts of billboards, ads in newspapers and magazines, commercials, and phone calls come to mind. However, the rise of tech and various forms of digital media have transformed the way that we look at marketing.
Now, the main types of marketing are the different forms of digital marketing.
If you want your business to be successful in 2017 and beyond, it is important that you understand how to harness modern marketing techniques.
Here’s what you need to know about utilizing the right digital marketing tools to benefit your company.
Essential Types Of Digital Marketing
The best thing to understand from the beginning is that not all marketing types are created equal. Just as no one specific type of traditional advertising fit all companies (some preferred print, some preferred TV, for example), there isn’t just one digital marketing strategy that fits all businesses.
With that said, inbound marketing remains one of the single most effective types of digital marketing.
What makes inbound marketing so effective is that it is one of the least intrusive forms of marketing out there. Instead of hassling and bothering customers about making a purchase, you draw the customers into you with your content so that they want to learn more about your product.
This upfront value (the value that a customer receives without paying for anything) helps the customer to trust your company. That trust is what eventually turns them into converting customers further down the road.
Here are some of the most effective forms of inbound marketing:
- Blogging
- Content creation (videos, for example)
- Lead generation
- Newsletters
- Webinars
Hubspot summarizes inbound marketing as a simple four-step process. That process is as follows:
1) You first have to attract the right visitors to your website. The ‘right’ visitor is the type of visitor that matches your buyer persona.
2) Once you have the right visitors on your page, you need to convert those visitors to leads. To do this, you at least need their email address. However, people do not usually give up their email address for free. You can get it by offering something like an eBook, whitepaper, or guide.
3) After converting your visitors to leads, you then have to close those leads and turn them into paying customers.
4) Finally, once you have converted a visitor to a customer, the goal is to keep them satisfied with your product. If your product or content is no good, your customer likely won’t come back for more.
In its simplest form, inbound marketing is about establishing trust between you and your customers. By being able to trust you as an authority, it makes them more likely to buy from you and come back as a repeat customer.
Other Forms Of Digital Marketing
While we believe that inbound marketing is the most effective form of digital marketing, there are several other highly effective forms as well.
These are a few of the most important:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): If people cannot find your website, how are they going to become customers? Having a strong SEO in Vancouver strategy in place is one of the best ways to get organic leads.
Email Marketing: Email addresses are one of the most valuable forms of currency for a digital marketer due to the power of email marketing. While you want to be sure that you avoid becoming spammy, reminding people that you exist is a good way to keep them coming back to your site.
Social Media Marketing: Having a presence across the major social media networks is one of the best ways of increasing exposure to your brand.
Get Your Plan In Place
No matter what types of digital marketing you plan on using for your business, the most important thing that you can do is to have a strong plan in place. Spreading yourself thin or not concentrating enough on what is working well will end up holding your digital marketing strategy back. Think about your goals, who your customers are, and what type of activity your customers exhibit online. Once you have a plan, execute to the best of your ability.
Need some help with your digital marketing? Get in touch with Edkent Media, Canada’s top seo company to see how our team of experts can grow your online presence.
