Digital marketing is a broad and complicated area that can quickly render business owners feeling overwhelmed. For example, how many different types of digital marketing are there? Which should you be focusing on? Are they easy to handle in-house or should you hire the professionals?
In this article, we’ll outline the primary digital marketing categories and shed some light on which ones you should be focusing on as part of your strategy.
The 8 main types of digital marketing
There are 8 primary types of digital marketing and they are:
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- PPC (pay per click advertising)
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Mobile marketing
- Marketing analytics
- Influencer marketing
Let’s give you a brief overview of each and then we will identify which are the most valuable for new business owners.
1. SEO
SEO refers to the process of optimising your website to make it easier to find online. The end goal is to climb as high up the Google SERPs (search engine results pages) as possible, for the various keywords and search terms that are most relevant to your business.
So for example, a Miami based SEO company would ideally want to rank #1 for the local search phrase “Miami SEO Company”. Naturally, that’s a very competitive search term so it would be good practice to work on other, long-tail keywords as well, such as “the best Miami SEO company near me”, and so on.
SEO is arguably the most important digital marketing method on the list as it allows businesses to build up their ‘organic’ presence over the long-term.
2. PPC
Pay per click, as the name suggests, refers to the process of creating adverts that cost you money every time someone clicks on them. Whenever you type anything into Google, you’ll typically find three links at the top with ‘Ad’ in bold text next to them.
PPC is a great method for getting quick, short-term traffic.
3. Social media marketing
SMM, as you likely already know, refers to using the various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to market your business and build an audience.
SMM is ideal for connecting with your ideal audience, engaging with them, and bringing life to your brand.
4. Content marketing
Content marketing is the process of producing engaging and informational content for the purpose of helping your audience better understand your industry, products and/or services.
Google favours websites that produce helpful content that perfectly answers the right questions. So, for example, if you run a travel & tourism business in Miami, your content marketing efforts should be focused on helping potential visitors get as much information as possible about the destination and what it has to offer (e.g., 21 fun things to do in Miami).
5. Email marketing
Email marketing is widely thought to be ‘dead’, and yet when executed properly it can generate a serious ROI. With over 4-billion daily email users, adopting this method of marketing is a great way to tap into an immense user-base.
6. Mobile marketing
Mobile marketing refers to the process of advertising to your audience via their smartphones and tablets. This can be via text message, social media, or mobile applications. Given that almost 50% of respondents in a Statista survey said that they spend between 5 and 6 hours a day on their phones, it’s a great opportunity to connect.
7. Marketing analytics
Data is arguably the most valuable commodity in digital marketing. The fact that digital marketing is so easily trackable and measurable, marketing analytics can be leveraged to make highly refined and well-informed business decisions.
8. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing (aka affiliate marketing) is a trending form of marketing where businesses partner with influential figures on social media in order to promote their products and services. Simply research the top influencers in Miami, find one that resonates well with you and aligns with your brand, and negotiate a deal that works for you both.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is important, period. But, which type of digital marketing should you be working on?
Ideally, you should focus on everything as part of your long-term strategy, however, you should begin with establishing a solid online presence via SEO and social media marketing and then expand from there.
