Digital Marketing: Everything You Need to Know

What comes to mind when you hear of January 1, 1983? That’s when the internet was born. Fast-forward 39 years later, it has grown to envelop every part of our daily lives. Think about the last thing you bought online. Perhaps it was a new washing machine or a printer for your home office. Regardless, you probably began by searching online to learn more about available brand options. Your ultimate buying decision was based on the reviews you read, the features, and the pricing you researched. That is the power of the internet. Today, the internet has become more than a haven for adorable cat videos and tutorials on making coffee but an asset for businesses to establish an authoritative online presence. Now, coming to our topic of discussion. Customers are always connected to the internet, thanks to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. With that, it’s safe to say that digital marketing is the fastest-growing form of marketing owing to its high reach, visibility, and measurability of results. Curious to know what is in this guide? Simply browse and jump to different chapters using the table of contents below. Quick links.

• What Is Digital Marketing?
• Why Digital Marketing Matters?
• What is the Difference Between Digital and Traditional Marketing?
• Different Types of Digital Marketing?
• Social Media Marketing
• Paid vs Organic Social Media
• Content Marketing
• PPC Advertising
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Email Marketing

Source: Thomas Marshall

1. What Is Digital Marketing?

Before getting into its importance, it’s necessary to understand what digital marketing is. As the name suggests, digital marketing takes a more tech-focused approach compared to more traditional forms of marketing. It encompasses a variety of marketing tactics and technologies used to reach customers online.

It allows companies to tailor messages to reach a specific audience, making it possible to market directly to people who are likely to be interested in their product. Digital marketing is also becoming an increasingly popular study for many people. In general, it will only grow more in demand in the future. Check this out: 2022 Marketing Trends: What To Watch Out For

2. Why Digital Marketing Matters

Digitalisation is everywhere. Just by looking around you, how many electronic devices can you see? The chances are that you are reading this on a laptop or mobile. So, why is digital marketing important? Keep reading! Offers wide brand exposure As mentioned above, the internet is now becoming part of everyday life for billions of people. Modern customers are increasingly moving toward a more digital experience when researching and purchasing. You only have to look around while walking in the mall to know that everyone is online and they’re spending a lot of time there.  Next time you take a walk in the mall, look around and you will notice that everyone is online and they’re spending a lot of time there. Provides trackable and measurable results It’s vital to monitor the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns. An enduring benefit of digital marketing is that it enables you to track how a campaign is progressing, allowing you to measure the results. For example, if you place an ad on a billboard, can you measure how many people saw it? With digital marketing, you can determine how many people saw the ad and your return on investment. These easy-to-use digital marketing analytics tools and software, can help business owners and marketers test different ads to see what resonates best with their target audience. Overall, tracking and measuring digital marketing campaign success allows brands to get more out of their marketing budget. Creates a two-way communication Two-way communication is one factor that distinguishes digital marketing from other traditional forms of advertising (which we will talk about in-depth below), businesses can take advantage of social media marketing as a tool for having conversations about their brand online. By engaging with customers online, companies can better understand customers’ needs which helps them develop better products and services. Doing so helps create brand loyalty. Targets the right audience You can have the most appealing website providing the best user experience and the highest quality products backed by top-notch customer service. Yet, none of these matters if you aren’t targeting the right audience. Digital marketing is one of the best ways to reach your target audience and get them interested in what you offer. It makes it easier to gain a deep understanding of who your customers are and what motivates them. The benefits of using this type of marketing are endless. A must read: Future of Digital Marketing

3. What is the Difference Between Digital and Traditional Marketing?

The debate between digital and traditional marketing is long and lasting. However, there’s a time and a place for both marketing strategies. It ultimately comes down to which one fits the needs of your company. When people hear “traditional versus digital marketing,” they think of old versus new. Let’s look at both in detail. According to HubSpot, traditional marketing is the typical form of marketing that helps reach targeted audiences via offline advertising modes like television, newspapers, magazines, posters, banners, radio, hoardings, etc. Traditional marketing still very much has a place in people’s lives. Standing out amongst the surrounding visual noise can be difficult. Have you ever pulled over on the highway to admire how a particular brand has promoted its product(s) in a clever, humorous, and innovative way? That’s the magnetic power of a brilliant billboard ad. Well, don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.

Source: Creativebloq

Digital marketing, on the other hand, uses web-based media to reach customers. In this era of modern technology, digital marketing is the preferred strategy to reach a target audience cost-effectively and measurably. The availability of various channels and the accessibility of digital devices make digital marketing campaigns more effective in reaching a larger audience. What are the Pros and Cons of Each Marketing Strategy? Some businesses wonder whether they need to abandon traditional marketing methods and instead focus on digital marketing efforts. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each. Traditional Marketing Pros and Cons Pros

• More permanent – Think of it this way. A hard copy can be easier to process and performs better when brand recalling. Direct mail can take less effort to read and process than email. A brochure may be easier to skim through than a white paper. A 30-second commercial on TV may be more digestible than a three-minute YouTube video.
• More memorable – Traditional marketing is consumed differently from digital media because there is often less noise from flashing banner ads to pop-ups seen on most websites. Information in hard copies is easier to process, remember and recall in the future.
• Connects with local audiences – Traditional marketing helps reach local audiences and interact with customers personally. Traditional channels such as newspaper ads and local TV commercials can place your business in the heart of your community. As a result, efforts to reach your target audience feel more organic.

Cons

• More difficult to measure campaigns – Did 20 or 200 people see your poster? Without conducting formal research into audience behaviour in relation to marketing efforts, it can be challenging to gauge the success of a campaign.
• No interaction with the audience – It’s a more passive form of marketing as there is very little engagement unless it’s an experiential marketing campaign.
• Often expensive – Newspaper, magazine, radio, and television advertising can cost a lot more money to produce compared to digital.

Digital Marketing Pros and Cons Pros

• More options for engagement – Customers can interact directly by rating products, leaving comments, and sharing content. You can make your communication more conversational as it helps build relationships and keeps your target audience engaged.
• Easy to measure campaigns – It’s much easier to track real-time results by using analytics on who visited your website, how many people saw a social media post, and how many times they shared the content. This data allows you to focus your efforts on what works and what doesn’t so you can adjust your marketing efforts.
• Access to a wider audience – The world is your oyster in digital marketing, as you can target many people. It offers the opportunity to tap into a new market. As of May 2021, Facebook was the most used social media site in the United States, accounting for 71.8 percent of all social media visits. Also, Pew Research Center shows that as of 2021, more than 8 in 10 adults in the U.S. adults go online at least daily. This is an example of the power of digital marketing.

Cons

• Dependability on technology – In instances where links do not work, this may create dissatisfaction among prospective customers. Moreover, it relies on internet connectivity which could disadvantage people who have limited access.
• High competition – It’s often challenging for new businesses to make a splash in their field – at least right away. Any brand that looks to enhance its online visibility needs to compete with other brands in its niche.
• Time-consuming – Planning is needed to optimise online advertising and create suitable content for promotions. Continuous content must be edited, approved, and published. Comments replied to, and sites and pages maintained.

There is much to learn to reap the benefits of your marketing efforts. We hope you’ve understood the various aspects, along with the pros and cons of traditional and digital marketing. Understanding the difference between these two methods is vital to getting the most out of your marketing budget. Which one to use? Connect with us. Let’s discuss how we can assist with an overall marketing strategy to help you succeed.

4. Different Types of Digital Marketing?

Yes, there are different types of digital marketing – social media marketing, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimisation, email marketing, and more. They all work together to create a foundation for your business: attracting prospects and nurturing relationships. Let’s look at each in detail below.

5. Social Media Marketing

Source: Pexels

Social media marketing refers to creating tailored content for social media platforms to drive engagement and promote a brand. Great marketing on social media can bring remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand advocates and driving leads and sales. Your profile, posts, and interactions with followers form an approachable persona that your audience can familiarise, connect with, and come to trust. Social media marketing requires an evolving strategy with measurable goals and includes:

• Maintaining and optimising your profiles.
• Posting pictures, videos, and stories that present your brand and attract a relevant audience.
• Responding to comments, shares, and likes and monitoring your online reputation.
• Following and engaging with customers, and influencers to build a community around your brand.

In an analysis done by the Global World Index, individuals spend an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media per day. This presents an exciting opportunity for businesses to utilise social media platforms to reach these potential customers. If you’re not taking advantage of social media within your digital marketing strategy, you’re missing out on reaching almost half of the world’s population. To put things in perspective, let’s outline 5 reasons why marketers need to leverage social media to meet business goals. Why is Social Media Marketing Important?

Understanding what resonates with your target audience is paramount to fostering an engaged community on social media.

Reason 1: Create brand awareness At Channel Reach, we believe that a brand conveys what the company stands for. How does this play into social media? Brand awareness is how much customers or the general public know about your company and the qualities that set you apart based on the products or services offered. In other words, it’s how people recognise your business and separate it from the crowd. Better brand awareness means better results with all of your other campaigns. Therefore, to resonate with your target audience and build brand awareness, you need a strategy with unique content tailored for each platform. Effective social media marketing does provide a new level of engagement that brands can leverage to increase brand awareness. By way of further reading, we recommend this blog on The Importance Of Brand Management In The Digital Age. Reason 2: Build relationships with your audience A business that connects the most with its customers can grow immensely on all levels. Why? Because customers not only trust your product or service but can get to know your business on a much deeper level. Understanding what resonates with your target audience is paramount to fostering an engaged community on social media. It also makes it easier to create targeted advertisements that appeal to your existing customers and attract new ones. Consider this:

• Customers are 6x more likely to purchase from a product page that includes pictures from social media.
• TikTok is the fastest-growing social network with 105% user growth rate in the US over the past two years.
• Instagram dominates social streaming services in terms of engagement – 81% engagement versus Facebook’s 8%.

The above statistics show why it’s vital for brands to invest in social media marketing. Reason 3: Learn about your competitors Today, data can help you succeed. By viewing the conversation around your industry topic across multiple social channels, from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, you can discern whether you or your competitors are having a conversation from an earned social perspective. Tracking mentions of your competitors might reveal pain points with their products or services that you could reach out to address and win new customers in the process. There are many monitoring tools to choose from – Hootsuite, SEMrush, etc. Use them to see what your competition is doing. Where are they active? What keywords do they use? What are they posting? What posts are doing well? Answers to these questions can help you know your competitor better and understand what strategies work best to attract different audiences. Reason 4: Partner with influencers One way to drive social word of mouth is to partner with influencers – people who have a large following on social media and can draw the attention of that following to your brand. Single Grain defines influencer marketing as strategy businesses use to promote their products and services by partnering with popular social media users. For example, say you’re a sportswear company. You’d want to partner with an influencer within that community, like a basketball player or a Formula One race car driver. The relationship is contextually relevant, and the customers they’d bring will likely be interested in your services or products. While you’re here: Learn about the Changing Role of Influencer Marketing – Now and Then Reason 5: Establish your brand as an industry authority Becoming a thought leader means positioning yourself or your company as an expert within your field, a place people go to when they want answers, ideas, or analysis. Customers are constantly turning to genuine and authentic voices when making purchasing decisions. Consistently posting relevant, helpful, accurate, and factual content on social media can help establish your business as an industry authority. Of course, establishing yourself as an authority on any topic is not a simple or quick task. It’s worth getting right, though, as the long-term benefits can be enormous. How can you leverage social media channels to build thought leadership?

• Understand your target audience
• Post quality content regularly
• Join relevant groups and participate in discussions
• Network with industry leaders and influencers
• Answer questions related to your niche

Of course, social media marketing is a big topic that goes well beyond what we have discussed. That’s why we created a guide to help you get started with some of the basics of social media marketing. [fancy_box box_style=”color_box_hover” icon_family=”none” color=”accent-color” box_alignment=”left” border_radius=”default” image_loading=”default” min_height=”10″]

🔎 Key Takeaways

• A unique social media presence is the key to connecting with your audience.
• Social media marketing can improve site traffic and increase your reach.
• Brands must choose the best social platform for their specific customer segments and goals

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6. Paid vs Organic Social Media

Organic and paid social media are marketing tactics used to obtain different goals. Organic social media is cost-effective as it does not cost to publish. The most successful businesses create a balance of quality, organic content, and paid social media. A major part of social media marketing is knowing the two types: paid and organic. The challenge lies in understanding the specifics – how to get started, what to spend, and how each social media platform operates. While these two can and do work in tandem, it’s vital to understand the differences in both to fully leverage their strengths. Let’s look at each in detail. Organic Content Firstly, organic content is free! It requires a well-thought-out content strategy that can help position your brand as a thought leader. Organic content is commonly used by brands to build and engage with an online following, establish their personality, and voice, and enable more efficient customer service. It’s like the movie Field of Dreams that “if you build it, they will come.” Although it was true for the movie, it couldn’t be farther from the truth for social media. Keep in mind that you won’t see results from organic marketing immediately the way you would with paid advertising. Organic marketing requires time, effort, and dedication to work for your brand. Here are a few tips on getting started with an organic marketing strategy.

• Analyse current traffic habits – This allows you to develop content that your audience wants and place it on the required platforms.
• Optimise your website and content – SEO is constantly changing. Make sure your meta title and description contain your most relevant keyword.

Remember, organic content is about building high-value brand equity and industry authority. The goal is not to drive sales but to engage and educate your target audiences. While on the subject of content, did you know that over 72% of marketers agree that creating relevant content is the number one SEO method? Here’s an example of an organic social media post.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1655458970820{border-radius: 35px !important;}”]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]What are the Benefits of Organic Social Media? Authentic connections As Sprout Social explains, “The majority of customers say their loyalty to a brand increases when they feel connected, and more than half (57%) say that they’ll increase their spending with a brand and buy from that brand over a competitor (76%) when they feel connected.” Organic posts provide a brilliant opportunity to engage customers at every stage of their buyer journey. It helps drive traffic When you want more people to see your website, a solid organic marketing approach can help drive traffic and generate leads. You can also use social credibility to enhance your site’s value. Like with reviews or testimonials, social proof brings the human voice into your brand experience. Organic content can be evergreen Organic content like blog posts can continue to bring in more traffic if they retain relevancy. This is called evergreen content. While not all organic content is evergreen, brands can create content that stands the test of time and continues to rank in search engines months or even years after publishing.

💡 Channel Reach Top Tip: Host Facebook and Instagram Live sessions, which generate more organic interactions than other social media posts.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Here’s a link on how paid and organic social media works Now let’s talk about … Paid Social Media Leveraging paid social campaigns is a fantastic way to take your social media accounts to the next level. We’ll let you in on a secret – paid social media ensures that your campaigns get seen. You’re essentially paying for your audience’s undivided attention. If used correctly, a paid social media strategy can help you: Achieve faster results One of the main advantages of paid social media is generating results quickly. With organic posts, you can only show your message to those who already follow your page. Depending on your budget and objectives, paid social media can get your business in front of people at the right time and at a larger scale than you can organically. Boost brand awareness Social media advertising is a cost-effective way to create exposure for your brand – a great way to improve your overall brand awareness. By using paid ads, you can get your brand in front of your ideal audience by showing up at the top of the search engine results without waiting for your organic content to take root. As your ads show up more frequently, brand recognition will naturally increase. Target ads more effectively With paid ads, you can get your ads directly in front of your target buyers. Here’s an example of a paid social media post.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]

💡 Channel Reach Top Tip: With the right strategy, you can use paid social media to move new and existing customers through the customer journey, turning clicks and shares into revenue.

So, What’s Better – Paid or Organic Social Media Marketing? The answer depends on your business goals, audience, the platforms you are using, and how much content you can create. Combining both paid and organic social media strategies can help you increase conversions, improve engagement rates, and grow your customer base by leaps and bounds. You don’t have to do it all on your own. Connect with Channel Reach to learn how we can help you develop a balanced social media strategy for your online presence.

7. Content Marketing

“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis What is Content Marketing? The Content Marketing Institute defines: “Content marketing as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” Content marketing is about using content to attract and retain visitors and eventually turn them into customers. It can be challenging to create new ideas and keep the momentum going. We have written this article to help make the process as smooth as possible. Why Content Marketing? Have you ever heard the phrase, “content is king”? Behind every great brand is a wealth of valuable and relevant content that connects with the company’s audience. Content pulls the audience in and encourages them to reach out to a company for more information on their product or service. Well-developed content establishes trust among the audience and builds a positive brand reputation.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

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With consistent, engaging content, you can hit touch points on your audience members’ online journeys, build connections with them, and position your brand to be top-of-mind.

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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Content marketing is a vital element of organic marketing. Why? Because inbound marketing depends on the creation of informative and relevant content to attract, engage, nurture, and convert prospective customers. It’s also the glue that holds together your campaigns and ultimately helps make them succeed. Don’t believe it? According to HubSpot:

• Over 60% of marketers measure the success of their content marketing strategy through sales.
• The top 3 goals marketers achieve through successful content marketing are generating brand awareness, building credibility and trust, and educating audiences.

Why is Content Marketing Important? With the internet becoming part of our daily routines and social networks becoming our way to interact and socialise, companies now have a direct, constant connection with their audience. It’s clear that content marketing isn’t going anywhere soon, so if you’re looking to learn more about it, you’re in the right place. Let’s look at the benefits of what content marketing brings to your journey towards a more well-known, trusting brand. Reason 1: Generates more leads and boosts conversions When your audience views your content, they are more likely to purchase from you in the future. The end game is to attract new people so that you can sell your products. According to Search Engine Journal, quality content marketing campaigns tend to convert higher than most marketing techniques. Reason 2: Helps build brand identity Content marketing has the power to help establish a personal connection with prospects. By producing high-quality content consistently, you can build the trust of your audience that will help you better establish yourself as a brand and enhance your company’s brand image. Reason 3: Builds trust with customers Nobody wants to feel like they were forced into a purchase or made a poor decision with their money. Your customers want to feel like whoever they’re handing their hard-earned cash to is worthy. That they can trust that you will deliver on the promises you make. When your customers know they can trust you, they are more likely to support you and seek your advice and recommendations. Reason 4: Enhances your SEO What is content marketing if it won’t increase your SEO? Quality content supplemented with a good SEO strategy creates long-lasting results that compound over time. Once created, content has almost unlimited potential to drive earned, organic traffic to your site without competing over the top spots for ads. The more high-quality content you produce, the better your site will rank. The better your SEO rankings, the higher your website will be on the search results page, resulting in more people finding you when they type in their search queries. Top Types of Content Marketing:

• Blogs
• Social media posts
• Email newsletters
• Podcasts
• Live videos
• E-books
• Webinars

Source: SocialMediaExaminer

For a deeper look at content marketing, check out our blog post on how to consistently create high-quality engaging content for marketing success. What About Storytelling? Storytelling is another form of content marketing that gives your brand that human touch. In business, storytelling is the X factor that makes your brand unforgettable in a crowded marketplace. It’s a critical component of creating content that stands out and builds long-lasting relationships between you and your target audience. Storytelling is also an excellent opportunity where your brand can shine through a different lens. Neil Patel says, “those who focus their energy on telling good stories, no matter the platform or context, will win in the long run.” Research by Search Engine Watch shows that  62% of B2B marketers hold storytelling in high regard as an effective content marketing tactic. What does that mean? If you want to sell your product, you must first grab the public’s attention and create an emotional bond with them. And the best way to do that is by telling an engaging story that represents your brand. Lastly, with all the information mentioned above, it’s easy to see that content marketing is an effective growth method for businesses. Consider the benefits and be on your way to creating valuable content that helps boost conversions and improves customer retention. Related Content: Brand Storytelling: How to engage your target audience on social media[/vc_column_text][fancy_box box_style=”color_box_hover” icon_family=”none” color=”accent-color” box_alignment=”left” border_radius=”default” image_loading=”default” min_height=”10″]

🔎 Key Takeaways

• Content marketing involves creating and curating unique, relevant content that your customers can find useful and valuable.
• It creates content that drives inbound traffic and leads.
• Valuable content helps to connect with your audience on a more humane level.

[/fancy_box][vc_column_text]Consider our Content Creation Services as an option to boost your content marketing game.

8. Pay Per Click Advertising

What is pay-per-click advertising? Is it worth the money? Does it produce profitable results? Let’s discuss! What Is PPC? Pay-Per-Click is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their online ads. Simple, you only pay for advertising if your ad gets clicked. PPC advertising gives your business a leg up by putting your brand and products in front of interested users who may never have found it otherwise. Google is the largest provider of PPC services. Its platform, Google Ads, is often the first stop for people starting their PPC marketing journey. When an ad gets clicked, sending the visitor to a landing page or the website, a small fee is charged. It’s a targeted form of buying website visits that can turn into conversions, whether it’s a sign-up or a sale. By monitoring the performance of your ads, you can fine-tune your keywords, ads, and website to increase the effectiveness of your campaigns. How Does it Work? Fair question! A lot goes into building a winning PPC campaign: from researching and selecting the right keywords to organising those keywords into well-coordinated campaigns and ad groups to setting up PPC landing pages optimised for conversions. Why Should You Use Pay-Per-Click?

• Immediate results – As soon as your ads are approved, they will reach your target audience. With optimised PPC ads, you can shoot yourself to the top of the SERP within hours of launching your campaign.
• Highly targeted – You can target people by their online behaviours and interests. Choosing the right keywords allows advertisers to show ads to relevant audiences.
• Boosts website traffic – You can gain more exposure and brand visibility as targeted traffic is directed to your site.
• Improves your SEO strategy – You can run multiple ad campaigns for each keyword.

How many times a day do you hear someone say, “Let me Google that?” Probably more than you can count. PPC Metrics to Track Here are some key metrics to track within your PPC campaign. Clicks refer to the total number of clicks you receive on an ad. This metric is affected by your keyword selection and the relevance of your ad copy. Cost per click (CPC) measures the price you pay for each click on your ad. Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the percentage of ad views that result in clicks. This metric determines how much you pay (CPC). CTR benchmarks vary by industry. Impressions are the number of times an ad is viewed. Cost per mile (CPM) is determined for every thousand impressions. Impressions are most relevant for brand awareness campaigns. Ad spend is the amount you are spending on your ads. You can optimise this by improving your Quality Score. Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the ROI of your ad campaign. This metric calculates the revenue received for every dollar spent on ads. Conversion rate refers to the percentage of people that complete the call-to-action on your landing page and become a lead or customer. Cost per conversion refers to the cost to generate a lead. This is calculated as the total cost of an ad divided by the number of conversions. Quality Score (QS) determines ad positioning, so it’s an important metric to keep an eye on. By paying close attention to each of these metrics, you can increase the ROI of your paid campaign and spend less for better results. For further reading: 6 Website Metrics You Should Analyse in Your Online Marketing Campaigns

💡 Channel Reach Top Tip: Choose keywords wisely. Avoid being too general, but select words that customers are likely to use when searching your niche.

In summary, PPC advertising is a great marketing option for your business. If you’re unsure where to start, click here to learn about the principles of pay-per-click advertising.

9. Search Engine Optimisation

Source: Blue Corona

When you want to know more about a particular topic or subject what do you do? We guess that you turn to Google. Why? Because it’s Google’s mission to provide fast, relevant information. According to Google’s mission statement – Our mission is to organise information and make it universally accessible. Optinmonster defines Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as: “the practice of increasing the search engine rankings of your web pages so that they appear higher in search results, bringing more traffic to your website”. When you do SEO, you’re helping a search engine’s ‘spiders’ to crawl and understand your content. You’re also telling the search engine your content is relevant to queries, so your web pages appear in the right search results. SEO is constantly changing, and you need to stay on top of the latest trends to ensure your content strategies are effective. If done right and in combination with other marketing and technical strategies, SEO can help your business get good rankings and land on the front page of Google search. To better understand this concept, stay with us through this article. Here are a few principles of SEO: How Can You Improve Your SEO Strategy? An SEO marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan to get more visitors to your website through search engines. But before jumping in headfirst, it’s worth taking the time to think about your goals and what you want to achieve. While there’s no magic bullet, there are steps you can take to soar to the top of a search engine results page (SERP).

1. Target accurate keywords

Gone are the days of optimising your landing pages and blog posts for single keyword targets. Researching keywords for your content helps develop the framework of your piece and enables you to understand what your audience wants to read so you can build a content strategy that caters to them. Keywords act as signposts to Google’s spiders, signalling topics and providing hints as to the nature of the content on the website. Dive deeper: Voice Search SEO: A Complete Guide

2. Create high-quality content

Content is the lifeblood of any online page. To drive more traffic to your website and increase its popularity, you need to give visitors a reason to keep coming back. That is why you need to create relevant and engaging content. Did you know that 60% of people research a brand online before purchasing? Knowing your target audience and having sound knowledge of your products and services will be a starting point for coming up with quality content. High-quality content should be well-written, error-free, and match the searcher’s intent and expectations. If you can do that, your visitors will stay if they need to read through everything, which will help strengthen the page’s ranking.

3. Improve page loading speed

Overall performance and site speed go hand in hand. Much of technical SEO optimisation ensures every aspect of your site works properly to keep up with speed expectations. Today, more than half of all website traffic comes from a mobile device. If you want to rank well, your site needs to perform well on mobile. A slow website will also impact the way your website visitors engage with your pages. How slow is too slow? Research also shows that 40% of visitors will abandon websites if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load. On the other hand, faster page loads will keep people coming back.

4. Get high-quality backlinks

Generating backlinks should be a big part of your strategy. To increase your website’s authority and rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs), you need to build authoritative, relevant, unique, and natural backlinks. In other words, you need to follow effective link-building strategies that deliver results. Earning high-quality backlinks is probably the most challenging part of SEO. Here is a list of top free, tried-and-tested backlinks checkers:

• Ahrefs Backlink Checker
• Backlinks (Neil Patel)
• Monitor Backlinks
• Rank Watch
• Cognitive SEO

5. Optimise images

Image optimisation has many advantages like better user experience, faster page load times, and additional ranking opportunities. You need to create unique images because the more original pictures you have, the better your odds of ranking on relevant searches. However, to give your brand the best opportunity to succeed with SEO, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Image file size and format – Use JPEGs. They load faster than PNGs.
• Descriptions and names – Include alt tags, image file names, and image titles.
• Copyright – Make sure the images are yours.
• Relevancy – Ensure the images are relevant to the content.
• Mobile-friendliness – View the image to ensure they have the correct mobile dimensions.

Use this guide to know more about the best image sizes for social media platforms.

6. Use videos

An important thing to acknowledge regarding SEO is that it’s not all about text. YouTube ranks as the second largest search engine, and if you aren’t considering that, you are missing out on key SEO and content opportunities. If used correctly, video can be a powerful form of content that contributes to your overall SEO strategy in more ways than one. To rank well in search engines, you need to:

• Create compelling videos that people want to watch (ideally to the end) and are worth linking.
• Leverage playlists that people want to use to guide their viewing.
• Include videos from other channels in your playlist.
• Get people to embed your videos to drive more view time to them.
• Consider paid campaigns to drive more view time into your video.

Here’s a short video explaining the 8-Step SEO strategy for Higher Rankings. A few tips to improve your SEO success. If you need help creating a strategy to improve your SEO rankings, Connect with our Channel Reach team.

🔎 Key Takeaways

• Staying on top of search techniques and best practices is vital for continued success.
• By increasing your search visibility, you can bring more visitors and in turn conversions and sales.
• Checking your traffic and search ranking will help validate your SEO strategy.
• Always make minor adjustments to improve your SEO for the long term

10. Email Marketing

As a savvy marketer, you’ve likely seen the reports showing that:

• There are 4 billion daily email users. This number is expected to climb to 4.6 billion by 2025 – Statista, 2021
• 64% of small businesses use email marketing to reach customers – Campaign Monitor, 2021
• 35% of marketers send their customers 3-5 emails per week – Not Another State of Marketing, 2020

Below we will discuss email marketing, its benefits, and getting started. First things first!

10. Email Marketing

Email marketing provides a reliable form of communication between your brand and your customers. It’s both a direct and digital form of marketing. It plays a crucial role in lead generation, brand awareness, customer engagement, and relationship building. You may be thinking, “Do people still use email? Isn’t social media the best way to reach prospects?” While it’s true that social media is an important channel for any digital marketing strategy, email allows you to create targeted and personalised messages. Key Benefits of Email Marketing:

1. Build relationships – Email marketing is a great way to build one-on-one relationships with current and potential customers. By reading the engaging content, emails, and newsletters that you deliver directly to their inbox, customers get to know your business and its services. For example, your favourite restaurant, might send an email on your birthday offering 30% off a meal. This kind of personalisation helps the restaurant develop and maintain a relationship with you, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty.
2. Boost brand awareness – The key to developing brand awareness through email marketing lies with consistency, providing purposeful content, and highly personalized and optimised campaigns. Doing so helps your brand stay top of mind. Simply put, it’s the most important component to any brand awareness-building strategy.
3. Cost-effective – Email marketing is relatively inexpensive compared to direct mail and print media. While these traditional print marketing tactics require you to spend money on printing and advertising space, email marketing requires only a small investment of time and resources in developing content.
4. Generate leads – Qualified leads are the lifeblood of nearly every business, both online and offline. 83% of customers say email is one of their preferred methods of communication with brands.
5. Promotes key content – Email marketing doesn’t have to be all about delivering coupons and sale information. In addition to emails designed to drive traffic to your business, you can use email marketing to send unique pieces of content that your subscribers can enjoy reading – or watching.

While this is covered in detail in our Elements of an effective email marketing strategy blog, let’s walk you through getting started with email marketing to help you achieve business success. What are the Different Types of Emails? Do you know what types of emails you should be sending to your email list? You probably know that email marketing is the best way to sell online, but after you grow your email list, what next? Here are a few common types of emails:

• Welcome emails
• Promotional emails
• Newsletter emails
• Survey emails

Let’s take a closer look at how you can use these email types to better communicate withs your subscribers. Welcome emails – Are the start of a business partnership. It’s the first step in forming a good business relationship. It’s a simple email that tells them how happy you are that they’ve subscribed and then lays out some of the things they can expect to receive in their inbox. Welcome emails have 4 x more opens and 5 x more clicks than other email campaigns. Promotional emails – Whilst you’re aiming to engage subscribers, it isn’t the be-all and end-all of your email campaigns. The bottom line will be to drive sales and increase revenue. A great way to do this is to create content in line with your promotions. Newsletter emails – Newsletters are very popular and get sent out on a consistent schedule. They often contain the company’s blog content, upcoming events, and any updates that would be of interest to your subscriber. Survey emails – You’ll only get better at what you’re doing if you ask for feedback. The survey email gives insight into what you’re getting right and what you can improve on. It can also help you understand your customers better and what they’re interested in receiving from your brand. Now that you understand the different types of emails, it’s time to look at your email campaign strategy and apply all this newfound knowledge. Suggested Reading: 5 Techniques to Implement into Your Email Personalisation Strategy Today! What are the Steps to Building an Email Marketing Strategy? A good email marketing strategy acts as a roadmap towards achieving your goals and can be the difference between building a relationship with your customers and sinking without a trace. As Tom Kulzer, CEO, and founder of AWeber, says, “The most effective email marketing strategies adapt, grow, and innovate.” You’re probably asking:

• How do I get started?
• What are the steps I need to take?
• How do I build a list?
• How do I measure success?

We got you covered!

1. Build an email list

Give customers a good reason to subscribe to your emails and establish trust with your audience. When customers trust you enough to give you their email addresses, avoid sending unrelated promotional content that can make them unsubscribe.

2. Add lead magnets

An effective lead magnet is a strong strategy for maximising your signups. With premium content, you can grow your email list faster. Create checklists, eBooks, reports, etc. that your user can download for free in exchange for their email address. Discounts and special offers are a great way to attract more customers and provide them with certain benefits when they subscribe to your newsletter.

3. Write intriguing subject lines

It’s one of the most important lines of text in your email. It’s the first thing your subscribers see even before opening your message. Make a good impression with your subject lines and people won’t resist opening. Your subject line needs to stand out and build curiosity in a few words – 40 characters. You can draw attention by asking a compelling question or including a deadline for urgency. Still with us? Great! Here’s where it gets exciting!

4. Personalise your emails

Email personalisation is one-way marketers can grab attention, build effective emails, and improve digital marketing campaigns. A recent McKinsey report says that 71% of customers expect companies to offer personalised communication. This shows that email personalisation is an excellent investment when done right. Personalised emails are a crucial way to reach out to your existing customer. That’s because customers open emails with a personalised subject line at a 50% higher rate than those that do not. Personalised emails cultivate a strong foundation of trust between your brand and the recipient and creates a bond that can grow over time. Imagine this: You receive an email from Company A that says “Hi. We’ve launched a new watch.” Simultaneously, you receive an email from Company B saying “Hello (your name), we are excited to let you know we have launched our all-new new watch.” Are you more likely to buy from Company A or Company B?

5. Be more inclusive

With marketing becoming increasingly globalised, it’s important to ensure that your campaigns reflect and support the variety of customers your business has. Do your images represent all people? Does your language usage promote stereotypes? When a brand addresses representation in its marketing, it can boost customer loyalty and drive sales.

6. A/B test your email subject line and content

We get it: The digital marketing space can be unpredictable, and marketers cannot always rely on intuition and hope for the best. By performing an A/B test, they can make incremental improvements that yield quicker, and more positive results. You can test different email subject line formulas, content formats, and CTAs. See which ones get the best engagement and stick with that approach. Keep testing until you find what works best for your subscribers!

7. Monitor results

Comparing results, along with analysing metrics and reports will give you an understanding of what worked for you. It will not only help you find the flaws in your strategies but also an opportunity to find the sweet spots that attract your audience. Metrics to look at are: Open Rate – The number of people who opened the email divided by the total number of emails sent. Click-Through Rate – The number of people who clicked on the link in your email divided by the total number of emails sent. Unsubscribe Rate – This is the number of people who have unsubscribed divided by the total number of emails sent. Bounce Rate – The number of emails that failed to be delivered divided by the number of emails sent.

💡 Channel Reach Top Tip: Email marketing is the long game. You’re not likely to see increases in revenue and customer relationships instantly. Put in the time and keep finding ways to raise the bar for your subscribers.

Are You Feeling More Confident in Getting Started with Email Marketing? Email marketing is a powerful driver of sales & revenue for your business and has a greater reach and return on investment than any other channel available to marketers today. With email marketing, you can build your brand, out-do your marketing goals, and set yourself up as an expert, all without breaking your budget.

Taking the Next Step in Digital Marketing

The future looks ever-so-bright for digital marketing. The digital marketing landscape is fast-paced and continues to grow. To perform well, businesses need to communicate effectively with their target audience. In addition, digital marketing helps to reach prospective customers through multiple channels, resulting in increased opportunities. With the right strategy and understanding of all the latest digital marketing tips and tricks discussed above, you can reach your audience, drive traffic to your site, and optimise conversions. The time to build an outstanding online presence is now and our Channel Reach team can lead you there. Connect with us to find out how we can help your business achieve its marketing goals and get noticed in the digital space.[/vc_column_text]