Marketing your business online is an essential practice these days. It can be hard to know just which form of digital advertising to pursue, though, because there are so many.
Fortunately, many of the ways to advertise online are affordable and intuitive to use. You can also get some help along the way if you need to. We’re going to explore some of the types of digital advertising that are sure to bring you results, hopefully sending you in the right direction as you start your campaign.
Let’s get started:
1. Social Media Marketing
Marketing on social media is an excellent way to start reaching people as soon as possible. The great part about social media platforms is that they take so much demographic information from their users and can use that data to target their ads.
From your standpoint, that means you can identify your target audience and place your content directly in front of those users. Your ad budget won’t go toward anyone that falls outside of your target market, and you’ll only be charged for the engagements you get. This is because social media platforms operate with something called “PPC ads.”
“PPC” stands for “pay-per-click,” and means that your ads won’t charge you a cent unless someone clicks, likes, or engages with it some way. Additionally, you can set an ad budget so your ad will never exceed the amount of money that you’re willing to spend on it.
That number could be as little as $5, all the way up to tens of thousands of dollars. The users who see your ad but don’t engage will also have their first exposure to your brand, so all of the interactions you have with users through social media ads will be beneficial to you.
2. Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing (SEM) is similar to social media marketing in a number of ways. The value here is that you’re able to target users based on their search behavior. By researching keyword topics and gearing your search engine ads to them, you can reach people who are searching for your specific product or service.
This can be more effective than social media marketing because those users simply fall into your target demographic, they’re not necessarily looking to purchase anything.
Search engine ads pop up in user searches among the top of the search results. As we’ll discuss in our next point, landing in the top search results is a really beneficial way to boost your business’ success. It’s smart to take other routes to place your content there organically, but working with SEM can really expose you to vast audiences that people work tirelessly to reach.
3. Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the process of tailoring your website and content to meet the preferences of the search engine algorithm. You curate your online material in response to the keyword research you do.
You can identify what your target audience is looking for or curious about through quality keyword research. It’s possible to choose an area and a demographic within that area and see just what they’re doing online. When you find the popular terms, the idea is to pinpoint those that are experiencing traffic and don’t have tough competition.
For example, you might see that “used cars” is a popular term, but the top results could be bogged down with posts from titans like Ford and Chevy. The better move would be to find a slightly-less popular term that has less competition and optimize for that.
Over time, your SEO efforts will pick up steam and start to boost your search rankings across the board. You need to keep up on the research and content creation, but your posts will continuously rise up the ranks through your effort. The result will be organic exposure that doesn’t cost you a cent and the popularity online will have a snowball effect.
4. Work With an Agency
One effective route to take is to work with the professionals. Keep in mind that it’s possible to manage your digital marketing campaigns on your own, but it can be difficult to stay on top of all the things that need to take place for success.
There’s enough work to warrant hiring another employee because most business owners are pressed for time as it is. Hiring a new person can be more costly than working with a performance marketing agency, though.
An agency can manage your social media, SEM, SEO, PPC, and much more. Further, they can manage those factors of your campaign with an expert touch and a near-guarantee of success. It’s possible to get lucky with your own marketing or discover that you have a talent for it, but professionals can help you scale up your success to a point that really impacts your success.
You can keep most of the creative control as well. It’s scary to put your brand into the hands of someone who’s new to your business, but remember that most digital marketing lies in the research and analytic phases. You clearly state what your brand voice is, how much money you want to invest, and which platforms you have in mind.
5. Guest Posts and Features
Another way to market yourself online is through the successful websites of others. A lot of site owners are happy to offer you a guest post spot if your knowledge base falls into their niche.
All this requires is that you reach out to someone with a website in your field, write a piece of content that could fit well into their blog, and send it their way. People are happy to accept this offer because content helps their site’s SEO and you normally have to pay for it.
It’s a win-win that exposes you to a whole new audience that is closely tied to your niche.
Want to Research More Types of Digital Advertising?
There’s no shortage of types of digital advertising out there, and all of them might be the key to opening up your success. We’re here to help you if you need a little guidance.
Explore our site for more ideas and insights into digital marketing and everything it has to offer.
Leave a Reply