If you’re a business owner and have found yourself in a conversation with a fellow entrepreneur, the topic of digital marketing will surely have come up a few times. Many buzz terms tend to be dropped and tips shared, but how much do you know about digital marketing, and how is it different from any other kind of marketing?
We’re all familiar with the traditional forms of marketing: TV ads, radio ads, and print ads in newspapers and magazines. With traditional marketing, you’d typically try to pick a timeslot or section of a newspaper that tends to attract most people’s attention, place your ad and hope for the best. After all, there’s nothing further you can do but wait for your phone to start ringing if the ad gets someone’s attention. Digital marketing, however, isn’t just a singular platform where you post a straight-forward ad. It’s a far more intricate, advanced version of marketing, one that offers options traditional marketing never could.
Digital marketing is the combination of a vast array of different marketing platforms and types, all available as standalone or integrated into a strategy. Social media, blogging, search advertising, display ads and mobile are just a few of these. Using a hybrid of these various types of advertising, you’ll be able to reach significantly more people and speak to them in a language they relate to, where they are. The days of waiting for customers to come to you are over; now you can reach out and introduce yourself.
One key difference of digital marketing is that it allows you to target the recipients of your ads by a range of variables, including geographical location, personal interests, age range, or recent online search history, among many others. This allows you to spend your marketing budget far more efficiently, by cutting out any views from people who aren’t your target market. Not only do you spend your budget far more effectively, but you will also learn a great deal about your customer base through digital marketing. Ads and online interactions can all be tracked through analytics, providing you with vital information to help improve your marketing strategy over time. With expertly crafted planning and execution of a digital marketing strategy, your business will get the best possible exposure and opportunity to grow. Want to know more?
