Digital Marketing Channels
The digital landscape is is growing stronger and broader each year and it can be tough for businesses to keep up with all of the different channels available. Understanding the digital marketing channels that could be most effective for your business and industry can be overwhelming so we’re going to narrow it down and take a look at the top channels that will help you expand your online reach and build your digital marketing strategy.
Despite what some have said, email has still proven to be a very effective and viable channel to communicate directly to your core audience. As long as you are delivering good content, unique offers, and not Spamming your audience’s inboxes, there’s a significant chance that your emails will be opened and read. Add a lead capture form to your website to encourage website visitors to give you their email address and allow you to send them occasional emails. One way to grow your subscribers is to offer them something valuable in exchange for their email address. The offer could be free resources like an ebook, checklist, relevant template, product sample, etc.
Social Media
Many businesses still don’t realize the enormous value of having a presence on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+. Each of these channels provide a unique way to engage with your customers and build a community of influencers and passionate brand advocates. Social media is a great way to reach your core audience where they spend the majority of their time. It is also used by many brands to manage reputation by responding to reviews and comments left about their products and services. While it is not necessary to utilize each platform, it is important for businesses to identify the platforms most suitable for their business goals, engagement strategy, and location of their customers, and work hard to build a quality presence. There are also affordable advertising programs within the top social networks to help you grow and expand your reach event more.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of implementing relevant content themes and creating high quality content on your website to driving relevant traffic to your website, improve your rankings in the search engines, and increasing your overall online visibility. It is also what drives Organic web traffic, which is cost-free.
Paid Search/Search Engine Marketing
Advertising on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo is a great way to connect with online searches using specific keywords or phrases relevant to your ads and website. This includes platforms like Pay-Per-Click (PPC), in which advertisers bid on the phrases in order to show up in the Sponsored Ads or Links section on the search results pages. Investing in PPC delivers nearly immediate results, however, depending on your niche and the competitive state, bidding on certain terms can be expensive.
Product Listing Ads
Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are ideal for online retailers to advertise products through search engines and grow their sales. The ads can display relevant products specifically targeted to a user’s search query.
Display Prospecting and Retargeting
Prospecting and Retargeting banner ads are very useful in engaging with users based on their online behavior. With Prospecting, you can serve ads to users who may not be familiar to your brand, but who have searched topics that are relevant to your business. For Retargeting, you would serve ads to users who have engaged with your brand through your website previously, but likely did not convert or moved on to continue browsing elsewhere. Find a quality network and set a viable budget to take advantage of this highly targeted platform.
Affiliate
Marketing your products through commission-based affiliates such as deal/coupon sites, blogs, and other networks can introduce your products and services to untapped markets and customers. Carefully research the affiliate networks, their pricing models, and value to make sure that you work with one that will help boost sales, drive leads, and traffic to your website.
Content Syndication
If you have a website, then hopefully you also have a blog where you are writing and sharing valuable content with your customers and prospects. One channel where you can effectively improve your readership is through third-party publishers, known as Content Syndication Networks. You would essentially grant them permission to add copies of your content to their websites. When considering this channel, be sure the website audiences are relevant, the websites are quality, and that the proper tags are appended to inform the search engines that the content on your website is the original. This can save you from being penalized for duplicate content.
Local Search
Local Search optimization should be one of the top priorities for businesses that have a physical location where customers visit to buy products or get services. You have to ensure that your business is listed on platforms like Google MyBusiness, Bing Places for Business, Yelp, YP.com, and any other local search engines or niche directories that your customers use to find your location.
Video
Watching videos is one of the most prevalent activities that users are engaging in while they are online. While video is a form of content, more so than a channel, it is definitely a way to capture the attention of your target audience and provide them with valuable information. Channels like YouTube, Vimeo, and SnapChat enable you to publish quality, low-cost videos.
Mobile
Although all encompassing of the before mentioned channels, this is simply a reminder that regardless of the channel you choose to invest your company’s time and resources in, you must adopt a mobile-first mentality. Last year, mobile usage officially bypassed desktop so it is important to ensure each channel is optimized for best mobile experience.
What are the most effective channels that you’re using in your current digital marketing strategy?
To learn more about how RedCircuit can help you identify the best digital marketing channels for your business, contact us today.
