Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is how brands promote themselves using online platforms like websites, emails, social media and search engines. It makes sense to have digital platforms in your brand’s marketing mix given the amount of time we spend online.

Businesses are allocating more money to digital marketing. To avoid a ‘scattergun’ approach, and to minimise the risk of wasting valuable resources, an experienced digital marketing agency can help you maximise the effectiveness of your marketing dollar.

Popular digital marketing tools

Our mobile devices and computers have become so firmly entrenched in our lives it feels like they’re an extra appendage. Think about it: when was the last time you went somewhere without your phone? With the click, or tap, of a button we are instantly connected to home or abroad. With digital playing such an important role in our lives, here are the platforms we recommend for your online marketing mix:

Company website
We have said it before and we will say it again: your website is the hardest working employee you will ever have.

It works 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is often the first exposure potential customers have with your brand online. They may find your website through a Google Ad or by typing specific keywords into a search engine.

Make your website welcoming by displaying valuable information about your brand that is up to date and easy to find. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one tactic you can use to help consumers find your brand online.

Social media
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are key platforms for most businesses looking to promote their brands.

Remember: social media is all about quality – not quantity. Do your research and choose the right platform for your brand.

You do not need to be in all places on social media – just the right place at the right time to connect with your target audience. Post content consistently to your platforms and keep it interesting.

We manage social media campaigns for many of our clients and can assist if this is an area you would like help with.

Email marketing
Email marketing has been around a long time and it is anything but old school. With a quality design and quality information, it is a great way to connect directly with your target audience. You can use it as a platform to make important business announcements, share customer testimonials and promote special offers.

Email marketing is great for your lead generation strategy too because it funnels new and existing customers back to your company website where you have more opportunity to make a conversion like a sale or registration of interest.

Another great feature of email marketing is that you can automate (i.e. pre-set) your company messages so your brand is ‘touching’ people at specific times in their customer journey. The fact your messages are automated means your resources are not compromised because your email marketing system is doing all the work.

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems can also be integrated with email marketing platforms to monitor customer behaviour and recording if a person has read a specific email or acted on an email. Insights like these can be particularly valuable in determining brand message effectiveness and creating opportunities for refinement.

Why invest in online marketing

We don’t tend to play favourites when it comes to traditional marketing versus digital marketing because we believe both have a role to play. It all depends on the product or service being promoted but here are some of the reasons we recommend digital:

Added value
Digital marketing typically offers more value than traditional marketing because you have more chance of reaching the right audience, and making an impression (i.e. getting seen), compared to the more traditional ‘scattergun’ approach of mass media advertising. You can generally get more bang for your buck than you might using more traditional channels.

More responsive
Digital marketing allows you to make immediate changes to a campaign. Just log in, make the change and hit save. There’s no time lag to action an update.

Easy to manage
If you have your own social media account, or blog, then you can already manage basic online tasks such as writing, editing and posting content. Call in an experienced digital marketing agency, like us, for anything more complex.

Highly targeted
Unlike mass media, digital marketing can be targeted so you know your advertising is reaching your desired target audience. Digital marketing allows you to target your audience based on where they live, their age, occupations and income and their behaviours. Most platforms have the functionality to create ‘look-a-like’ audiences which means you can serve advertising to new audiences who are similar to your existing customers. Data is digital marketing’s best friend.

COVID-19 Response
Online business is booming since the pandemic. People are either having to, or choosing to, stay at home so they are heading online – and that means your brand has a captive audience.

The importance of online audits

Interested in building your brand online? We suggest you start with a digital audit before you develop your strategy and begin spending money. The purpose of a digital audit is to analyse your brand’s presence online. This is an important step because you have a chance to review how your brand is performing, the platforms you are using and if you are making the most of their potential.

Audits also allow you to compare your activities to your competitors; a valuable exercise in finding out what your business is doing well and what can be improved. When you know what is working and what isn’t, you can adjust your spend accordingly and invest in digital marketing activities that are proven to generate a return on investment.

An audit also enables you to look for opportunities for your brand: is there a platform your competitors aren’t maximising yet which you can use to engage your audience first and generate more leads?

The findings from your digital marketing audit will inform your digital marketing strategy.

Developing your online strategy

The digital space is constantly evolving which means your brand needs to be agile.

With a digital marketing strategy in place for your brand, the digital marketing activities you undertake can be easily managed, monitored and adjusted to ensure you are using the right platforms to reach the right target audience and the right time to grow your business.

You can’t ‘set and forget’ your digital marketing investment. Digital marketing is dynamic, responsive and exciting and your strategy will outline your brand’s:

• goals and objectives
• strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• primary and secondary target audiences
• mix of digital marketing platforms
• budget allocation for your digital marketing activities
• timeline for activities and the resources required to implement them
• process for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of your digital marketing

Getting started

It can sound like a lot to manage but it is easy when you have a good digital marketing agency. Depending on your level of online experience, we can help you with a little – or a lot. Our digital team has extensive experience in developing strategy, monitoring and interpreting analytics, social media strategy and online advertising.

Like to know more? Contact us for more information about how we can work together to grow your brand online.