Everything I Wish You Knew About Digital Marketing
Before you start your next strategy and probably during
Digital marketing and I go way back. In 2019, when I started my undergraduate degree in Business Management and a minor in marketing, I secretly wished that minor would be — yes, digital marketing. Not because I didn’t find marketing as a whole interesting enough, but because everything seemed so digitalized to me, that traditional marketing stopped making any sense, or even looking remotely worth investing in.
Before graduating, I dedicated most of my free time to learning everything I could about it. From how to create content efficiently, how to generate my first email marketing campaign, what things I should have in a website, algorithms, SEO and SEM. Applying every bit of knowledge into helping grow my small business.
Once I started my masters in Integrated Marketing at NYU, I learned that traditional marketing was still relevant, even though most of its efforts had been duplicated in digital.
I also learned that digital marketing had a lot more to it than what met the eye. Here’s a breakdown of everything I wish I had known when I started:
Choosing Your Platform Matters:
When it comes to digital marketing, finding the right platform for your audience and brand is extremely important. Digital marketing can take place in any space in the digital world. Whether that is via social media, email marketing, a website, a blog, or even digital ads in billboards or public transportation. Choosing the ideal platform for your brand will depend on who you plan to reach, the type of content you think would work best for them, and what that platform is associated with. You will want to consider the number of traffic it receives, how people interact with it, and how much it will cost.
Storytelling Is Everything:
After you have settled on a platform — or maybe a number of platforms — you will need a story. As a brand in general, having a story that can genuinely connect with people is key. However, when it comes to digital marketing, your story is everything. It will impact the way that you create content, the type of visuals used to sell your products or services, and how you brand sounds overall. As humans, we inevitably connect with things that appeal to our emotions, our needs, and our wants. You will want to create a story that tells who your brand is to the consumer to perfection, and stick with it.
Your Metrics Talk:
Now if you are on the digital realm, one of the greatest benefits is the possibility of analyzing and receiving real time metrics. Unlike putting up a poster in a crowded street, where you maybe can calculate the number of people who walk by, you can’t necessarily measure whether or not they saw it. With digital marketing, however, this is possible. You can get an exact number on the amount of clicks, opens, impressions, likes, follows, shares, comments, and interactions of anything you choose to share. These metrics are valuable pieces of data that can tell you more about your consumer, what they like, what interests them, and how to best talk to them.
Listen to Your Audience:
If you are paying attention to your metrics, then you will know that listening to your audience is essential to succeeding, just like with any type of marketing. Before, during, and specially after your strategy, you will want to listen to your audience. This will help get a better understanding of what things need to be changed, what they want to see next, and will help measure satisfaction and loyalty in ways traditional interactions can’t.
Act Quickly:
Finally, if anything goes wrong — and there is always that chance — you will want to act as fast as possible. For this, having a clear communications plan should be a main part of your brand even outside of a digital marketing strategy. In that same order, consider also acting quickly when it comes to jumping in trends, and news, as long as they are relevant to your brand image and audience. Also, think about what is the best way to optimize the way your customers interact with you on these platforms. Most customers also view brand’s digital channels as spaces for customer service. Therefore, making that pathway and execution as clear as possible, will only benefit you both in the end.
Now that everything is set and done, when can we start your digital marketing strategy?
