Digital Marketing: How Does It Help a Business Grow?

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, traditional forms of marketing are becoming less effective. And due to the heavy online presence, businesses should try to leverage it for their growth.

Digital marketing is a popular modern approach that utilizes various online platforms to promote products or services. With its growing popularity, many businesses, big or small, have started incorporating digital marketing strategies into their overall marketing plans. But what exactly is digital marketing, and how can it help your business grow?

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing refers to any form of advertising or promotion through electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets, and other internet-enabled devices.

Any business would be at a disadvantage if its marketing strategy did not include tactics such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), content marketing, email marketing, paid advertising, and social media marketing.

Fortunately, businesses have learned to adapt and integrate digital marketing tools to curate top-notch strategies that resonate with their audience and can yield immediate results.

Many companies do not have the resources to employ an in-house digital team. Fortunately, many digital marketing agencies in various niches are ready to help your business gain a competitive edge against your competitors. Alternatively, you can enroll your current team in a digital marketing course to help them get the necessary skills. This will help them save on their jobs and the cost of hiring a new team.

What are the Popular Strategies of Digital Marketing?

When your business effectively utilizes digital marketing strategies, it will experience significant growth. And since there are many strategies, your marketing team must determine which delivers the best results. Below are the top digital marketing strategies.

Inbound Marketing

It encompasses all the strategies, tools, and tactics marketers use to convert website traffic into paying clients. These include SEO, email marketing, lead generation and nurturing, marketing automation, website optimization, and analytics.

The primary purpose of inbound marketing is to attract, nurture, and delight prospective customers. As such, it focuses on developing a long-term relationship with them.

Many companies prefer inbound marketing because it’s affordable, instills trust, and is credible because it focuses on solving customers' problems.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

It optimizes your website and content to rank higher on search engine results pages. By incorporating keywords related to your business, SEO helps increase your website's visibility and drive more organic traffic.

To use SEO, you must produce high-quality content optimized based on relevant keywords and user needs. You must also include meta information. Lastly, ensure that your website is optimized for search engines.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a proven method of generating leads. It involves creating valuable and relevant content that attracts and engages potential customers and promoting it via digital channels. This can include blog posts, videos, ebooks, infographics, and other media that showcase your brand's expertise while providing value to your audience.

For instance, if you run a business selling water sports equipment, you could write an article about all the items a beginner needs for their first adventure in the water. You can also write a guide on how to best care for the equipment and where to find trainers.

Content marketing as a digital marketing strategy aims to provide your readers with valuable information that will convert them to buyers.

Email Marketing

Despite being one of the older forms of digital marketing, email marketing remains a powerful tool for businesses. With targeted email campaigns, companies can reach their audience directly with personalized messages promoting products or services.

Email marketing aims to nurture leads, build brand loyalty, and promote your brand directly to your audience. It also helps keep your brand memorable and encourages repeat purchases.

Paid Advertising

Also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, this form of digital marketing allows businesses to place ads on various online platforms such as search engines or social media sites. It offers targeting options based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and more, which help businesses reach their target audience effectively.

Social Media Marketing

With more than 4.8 billion active users daily, social media has become an essential platform for businesses to connect with their target market. Social media marketing involves using different social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Twitter to promote products/services and engage with customers in real time.

Video Marketing

Human beings are visual creatures, and since not many like to spend time reading, it would be best to incorporate video marketing in your strategy. Some of the videos to make include:

• Instructional videos
• Announcement videos
• Behind the scenes
• Events videos

Why Should Businesses Adopt Digital Marketing in 2024?

According to recent studies by Statista.com, the number of internet users worldwide is expected to surpass 7 billion by 2024. This is a significant increase from approximately 3 billion in 2015. This shows the importance of businesses' strong online presence through digital marketing strategies to reach this vast global audience.

What are the 7 Positive Effects of Digital Marketing on a Business?

Discussed below are the positive effects of the effective utilization of digital marketing strategies,

1. Helps Reach a Global Audience

You are no longer limited to your region when incorporating digital marketing into your business. This is because a large number of people across the globe are using the internet, thus giving you a wider reach.

There is also a massive opportunity for business growth through various online platforms, such as Google, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

2. Helps in Precise Brand Audience Targeting

With digital marketing, businesses can access valuable data and insights about their audience. This allows them to target specific demographics, locations, interests, or buying behaviors, increasing the chances of conversions.

Analyzing your business data and analytics enables you to adjust your target when curating an ad campaign.

3. Helps You Craft a Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy

Marketers are happy when their marketing strategy achieves their set goals within the set budget. This is often not the case with traditional marketing methods, as they are expensive and usually do not offer measurable results.

Digital marketing, on the other hand, offers cost-effective options such as social media advertising or email campaigns that allow businesses to reach a larger audience and enhance conversion rates at a fraction of the cost.

4. Provides Data-Driven Insights

Utilizing digital marketing channels ensures that you can easily track your campaigns. This includes information such as the people who click on your ads, website visitors, and followers. This data gives you the insights you need for the next steps.

For instance, it informs you how to adjust your campaigns to ensure they run effectively for better results. This helps them make informed decisions regarding targeting strategies or product development. This is where the A/B test comes in handy.

Some of the popular tools that help you track and report on digital marketing metrics include:

• Google Analytics
• MarketingCloudFX

5. Enhances Customer Engagement

Businesses can engage directly with their customers through social media, newsletters, or email marketing and build meaningful relationships. By responding to customer inquiries or feedback, companies can show that they value their audience and create a strong brand image.

6. Increases Brand Awareness

With the help of digital marketing, businesses can increase their online visibility through various tactics like SEO and content marketing.

This helps attract potential customers and increases brand awareness and recognition. Studies show that online ads increase a brand’s awareness by approximately 80%.

Every business's first step is to create awareness. This, in turn, increases the chances of turning leads into actual customers.

7. Increases Conversion Rates and Sales

Any business's ultimate goal is to drive sales, and digital marketing has proven to do so effectively. Businesses can increase conversions and sales by targeting the right audience with personalized messages.

Customize Your Digital Marketing Strategy

With digital marketing, you can precisely target your market. Through the various tools and online platforms, you can effectively create your profile with complete details, which gives you credibility and allows you to engage your customers and potential customers directly.

You must be consistent and aim to create engaging content that encourages visitors to spend more time on your site.

You cannot just adopt the strategies; you must customize them for your brand. You can start by tailoring your marketing approaches according to customer habits and preferences to ensure they resonate with your audience.

You must find your audience where they are. This can be done by ensuring you can be found via Google search and social channels. This will help brand positioning and nudge your audience to choose your products and services.

Since you have opened several platforms, ensure you use one voice across them. Your messages must be clear and concise. This helps instill trust, which translates into conversions and sales.

Final Thoughts

Digital Marketing offers numerous benefits for businesses looking to grow in this fast-paced digital world, from reaching a global audience to increasing brand awareness and driving sales. It has become an essential tool for any successful business strategy. So, if your business hasn't yet embraced digital marketing, now is the time!

Stay ahead of the curve by incorporating these modern techniques into your overall marketing plan for maximum growth opportunities.