In today’s digital world, businesses face fierce competition for customer attention. With over 2.1 million ecommerce businesses in the US, only a few will successfully grow their online sales. Digital marketing is crucial for the success of any online store, but what exactly does it involve and how can you do it effectively? Let’s explore.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Before the internet, businesses relied on billboards, TV ads, and direct mail for promotion. Today, with consumers online, marketing has shifted to digital channels like social media, search engines, websites, text messages, and email, which together form digital or online marketing.
Why You Need Digital Marketing
Though the traditional channels are still in play, the digital marketing world offers several advantages.
With online marketing you can reach global audiences.
Personalization allows you to target and segment more effectively.
Efficiency and automation allow you to maximize your marketing impact while minimizing costs, even with a small team.
Your brand can attain greater visibility across digital channels.
Software makes adopting digital marketing strategies faster and easier.
You can communicate with customers more rapidly and frequently.
Types of Digital Marketing
To succeed in the digital landscape, you need a comprehensive marketing strategy that uses multiple channels. Marketers who use three or more channels see 250% higher engagement and purchases. Key tactics include social media, paid ads, email, influencer and content marketing, SEO, Google Ads, affiliate marketing, and conversion rate optimization. Text marketing, which has higher conversion rates than email and ads, should also be part of your strategy, as 61% of marketers still don’t use it.
11 Top Digital Marketing Tips
Emotive helps ecommerce businesses leverage texting as a key part of their digital marketing strategy. Along with texting, we’re sharing our top digital marketing tips to drive success.
1. Understand Your Customer
Understanding your target audience is crucial in ecommerce marketing. Conduct market research, such as surveys, to create buyer personas and map the customer journey from prospect to loyal buyer. Segment customers by factors like age, gender, income, and location. Use this data to craft targeted campaigns and gather customer feedback to improve your offerings and brand experience.
2. Create Compelling Content
Creating valuable and relevant content is key to attracting visitors to your website. While clickbait may grab attention, it won’t lead to sales if it lacks value. Effective content can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts. Here are some tips for creating impactful content.
Post content regularly.
Create content that's entertaining, informative, and empathetic.
Ensure your content is original and reflects your brand values.
Make use of infographics and video.
Customize content for different digital platforms.
Consider asking customers to create user-generated content, featuring your products.
Don't skimp on photography or design: aesthetics matter.
3. Regularly Optimize Your Website for SEO and Conversions
Optimizing your website for conversions is crucial for boosting sales. Ensure it’s easy to navigate, has a clear call-to-action, loads quickly, and offers a seamless checkout. Use customer data, such as purchase history and browsing patterns, to identify areas for improvement. Include relevant search keywords in your content to improve SEO, using free tools from Google and other platforms to optimize your site and content effectively.
4. Build a Presence on Social Media Platforms
To leverage social media for marketing, identify the platforms and communities where your customers spend time. Monitor their discussions and feedback about your business and industry. Share content that entertains, educates, and addresses their needs, not just about your brand. Engage regularly with followers and use high-quality images and videos, as they are the most engaging content types
5. Create Mobile-friendly Content
With 65% of traffic from mobile devices, it’s crucial to optimize your website for mobile. Ensure it looks good, loads quickly, and is easy to use on all devices, including mobiles, tablets, and laptops. Fast page load speeds are key to keeping customers engaged. When creating mobile-friendly content, focus on responsiveness and speed.
Keep your content short and straightforward.
Use infographics and video content.
Create a presence on social media as mobile users spend most of their screen time on social media platforms.
6. Integrate Marketing Across Multiple Platforms
Integrating your messaging, branding, and campaigns across multiple platforms is crucial for success in digital marketing. While managing content across channels can be challenging, it’s essential for effective online presence. Here are some tips for seamless integration.
Develop long-term digital marketing strategies that map to your mission and goals
Use a CRM tool to track customer data and better understand audience behavior
Run A/B tests and pay attention to conversion metrics like open rate, CTR, etc.
Create a content calendar and socialize it across your organization
Maintain consistent branding (fonts, colors, writing style) across channels
