If you’re reading this, you’ve definitely heard that digital marketing gets you more clients at a cost-effective price; and that’s if you understand your clients well to target them effectively.
Making digital marketing work for you is however the elephant in the room! So for starters, what is digital marketing?
You have probably Googled so many things today, or over the last week. From directions to the desired destination, to your potential employer, or even sought out more information on that new phone your friends can hardly shut up about. All these searches gave you results, top to bottom, and others, with options for a second page containing even more information.
Digital marketing is like air for your business. You can’t hold your breath for long, or can you?
There are 3 ways with which you can make digital marketing work for you and your business. Let’s call them channels for purposes of this argument.
1. Owned Media
Does your business have a social media page? Whether Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, all these platforms come at no cost (except the internet, of course). You simply set up and get going, after conceptualizing good content marketing ideas that resonate with your target audience. The website also falls into this category. You can run your content without the need to pay extra to communicate with your audience.
Aside from social media, other forms of owned media include platforms such as Google My Business to enable your clients to locate you on search engine result pages at no extra cost and Wikipedia where you can share a variety of content and a backlink that redirects to your website.
2. Paid Media
Let’s be honest, social media won’t get you enough leads for your business or even reach a wide enough audience for considerable brand recognition. You have to pay so these platforms can make money, and help you make money as well. So when you set aside money to sponsor your page to reach a wider audience or to get more prospects following your brand, then you employ paid media.
Paid media also entails buying ads on Google so that when someone searches for a phrase that is related to your business, then you will appear among the top options, if not at the very top. We call this search engine marketing (SEM).
Sometimes you visit a website and see either related or unrelated ads popping up intrusively, or other times neatly perched within paragraphs or right next to the heading on a web page. We call these web banners, and in such a case, the host website is acting as a publisher. This is a 3rd party platform on which businesses advertise, driven by the understanding that people looking for their businesses also visit the advertising website. Publisher platforms provide a wider option to enable your audience to see and interact with your brand.
Other platforms such as Google Display Network (GDN) and Eskimi provide an even wide array of websites that they don’t necessarily own, but whose audience information they have access to, enabling them to reach your target audience. We call this model of advertising programmatic advertising.
3. Earned Media
If you are a ‘do-gooder’ then you definitely know how good it feels to be praised. An example of doing good is me right here writing you this beautiful guide to digital marketing at zero cost.
Anyway, earned media comes in the form of reviews and testimonials you get from clients and peers who admire your service delivery or appreciate the product or service you provide. They can then share these reviews on their own social media accounts, or even share then on your branded account; whether social media or business listing.
Earned media is probably the most credible commentary on your business you can get, and clients who are really considering a purchase will want to know what people you have sold to think about you.
Are you looking for a kick-ass digital marketing strategy or day-to-day execution? Contact us via digital@shupav.com or fill in the form below:
[caldera_form id=”CF5e12d6f95f57b”]
