Have you ever wondered
how some businesses seem to be everywhere online? One moment you’re scrolling
through social media, and the next, you see an ad for a product you were just
thinking about. Seems like magic, but it is not. It is simply digital marketing .
In simple terms, digital
marketing is any form of marketing that exists online. It is how you
connect with your customers and promote your business using the internet and
digital devices like computers and phones. Think of it as a modern way of
advertising, but instead of putting an ad in a newspaper, you are putting your
message in front of people on websites, social media, and search engines.
It might seem
complicated, but all you really need to know is that digital marketing helps
you reach your customers where they spend most of their time: online. A Statista
report from 2023 shows that the average person spends over six hours a day
on the internet, which means there are a lot of opportunities to connect with
them.
Digital marketing is a
group of different activities that all work together. Let's look at the most
important parts.
The Main Types of
Digital Marketing
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing is about creating and sharing valuable, helpful
content. The goal is not to sell directly but to attract an audience by giving
them something useful. When you create content that your audience loves, they
will start to see you as a trusted expert. This is an excellent way to build
your brand without coming across as pushy.
Examples of content:
- Blog Posts: A coffee shop owner could write an article
titled "5 Ways to Make Better Coffee at Home." This attracts
people who love coffee and might also want to visit the shop later.
- Videos: A fitness coach could create a short video on Instagram or
TikTok showing a quick 10-minute workout routine.
- Free Guides: A web designer could offer a free guide
called "How to Choose a Website Builder" in exchange for a
user's email address.
The Content Marketing
Institute reports that 80%
of business-to-business (B2B) marketers use content marketing to generate
new leads, showing how effective this strategy is.
2. Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of making your website appear
higher in search results on Google, Bing, or other search engines. When people
search for something you offer, you want your website to be on the first page,
because most people do not look past it.
Examples:
- You are a local plumber, and someone
searches for "plumber near me." You want your website to show up
in the top results. You achieve this by making sure your website has
information about your services and your location.
- A food blogger writes a recipe for
"simple vegan lasagna." To improve SEO, they use words like
"vegan lasagna recipe" and "easy plant-based dinner"
in the title and throughout the blog post.
Think with Google has found that nearly 70% of clicks on
search results go to the first page, which shows why ranking high is so
important.
3. Social Media
Marketing
Social media
marketing involves using
platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) to
connect with your audience. This can be done in two ways: organically
(free) and paid.
Examples:
- Organic Social Media: A small clothing brand posts a photo of a
new dress and asks a question like "Where would you wear this?"
This encourages people to comment and engage with the brand for free.
- Paid Social Media: The same clothing brand pays Instagram to
show an ad for the new dress to people who are interested in fashion and
live in a specific city. This helps them reach new customers quickly.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most powerful and direct ways to
connect with your customers. You build a list of people who have given you
permission to send them emails. This allows you to talk to them directly in
their inbox.
Examples:
- Newsletters: You send a weekly email to your
subscribers with a short, helpful tip and a link to your latest blog post.
- Promotional Emails: You send an email to your list to announce
a special discount or a new product launch.
- Automated Emails: When someone signs up for your newsletter,
an automated email is sent to welcome them and thank them.
A Deloitte
report on digital marketing shows that email marketing still has one of the
highest returns on investment (ROI) compared to other channels, making it a
very effective tool.
5. Pay-Per-Click
(PPC) Advertising
PPC is a type of online advertising where you pay a
fee each time someone clicks on your ad. The most common form of PPC is a
search ad, which shows up at the very top of search results.
Examples:
- A company sells running shoes. They create
a PPC ad that appears at the top of Google when someone searches for
"best running shoes." They pay Google every time a user clicks
on the ad.
- You run an online flower shop. You can
create a PPC ad on Facebook that shows beautiful photos of your flowers to
people who are interested in gardening or gifts.
6. Analytics
Analytics is the practice of collecting and studying data
from your website and marketing efforts. This helps you understand what is
working and what is not. By using tools like Google Analytics, you can see how
people find your website and what they do when they are there.
Examples:
- You see that your blog post on "how to
bake sourdough" gets a lot of visitors from search engines, but your
post on "chocolate chip cookies" does not. Analytics tells you
that you should write more articles about baking bread.
- You see that most of your visitors are from
Lagos. This tells you that you should focus your marketing efforts on that
city.
A McKinsey &
Company study found that companies that use data to make their marketing
decisions are 23 times more likely to get new customers, showing the
power of analytics.
How Does It All Work
Together?
Digital marketing is
not just about using one of these tools. The different parts work together to
create a full strategy. This is why it is often called inbound marketing—because
it is about attracting customers to you, instead of you pushing your message
out to them.
Here’s an example of
a full digital marketing strategy:
- A potential customer is looking for
a new blender. They start by searching on Google and find a helpful blog
post titled "The 10 Best Blenders for Your Kitchen." This is
part of your SEO and content marketing strategy.
- After reading the post, the customer sees a
pop-up to sign up for your newsletter to get a free "smoothie recipe
guide." This is part of your lead generation strategy.
- After the customer signs up, a welcome
email is sent to them automatically. This is a form of marketing
automation and the start of your email marketing campaign.
- Later, a paid social media ad for
your online store shows up on the customer’s Instagram feed, showing a
special discount on your most popular blender.
- Finally, after the customer buys the
blender, you use analytics to see which ad or email led to the sale.
You use this information to improve your next campaign.
All these actions, from
the first search to the final purchase, are connected and work together to lead
the customer through a journey.
Starting Your
Digital Marketing Journey
Digital marketing may
seem big, but you do not have to do everything at once. The best way to start
is to focus on one or two channels that fit your business.
- If you have a small local business, start with a Google Business Profile
and use social media to show photos and connect with your local
community.
- If you are a blogger or content creator, focus on SEO and content
marketing to bring free traffic to your platform.
- If you want fast results for a specific
goal, a small budget for PPC
advertising can help.
The most important
thing is to start. Every big business started with a single step. By
understanding what digital marketing is and how the different parts work, you
are already on your way to building a strong online presence and growing your
business.