Creating the right digital marketing strategy is imperative for every business, but it can be hard to know exactly how to go about it. There are many digital marketing platforms and not every platform is created equal when it comes to different types of content. In this guide, we’ll explore which digital marketing channel works best for what you’re trying to achieve, whether it’s brand awareness, lead generation, or direct sales.
The main channels used in digital marketing are:
E-mail
Display ads
Mobile in-app advertising
Social media
SMS and
SEO
The first and most important step is to set your business objectives. Once you know what you want to achieve, you will be able to utilise the right channels to fulfil those objectives.
If your objective is brand awareness, the best channels to use are:
E-mail marketing
Digital advertising on popular websites
Social media advertising
Mobile in-app display advertising
Visual content
If it’s lead generation, you will need to employ:
SEO
Mobile marketing
Content marketing
And if your objective is direct sales, you should be utilising:
E-Commerce platforms
Display ads
Mobile responsive websites
Social media marketing
Of course, deciding on the right channel to market your business is just one step; there are other factors to consider and these factors are:
- Target Audience
Who is your target audience? What are their pain points and challenges? What platforms are they most likely to engage on and what type of content appeals to them? When and how do they spend their money? These are the questions you need to ask yourself in order to market your brand effectively.
- Budget
You need to decide first on your overall marketing budget and how much you want to spend on each channel as well as what ROI you’re expecting to receive from it.
- Availability of Talent
Will you be building your own, in-house team or partnering with a digital marketing company?
- Competitor Benchmarking
If you’re just starting out, it’s always a good idea to look at what similar brands to yours are doing with their advertising. Which channels are they using? What kind of offers do they have? Is their advertising effective? Looking to your competitors can help you get a good idea of what will work best.
Remember that deciding on your business objectives and utilizing the correct channels to accomplish them is the best way to get your digital marketing strategy off the ground and working for you as soon as possible.
