Does my brand really need a digital strategy?
Traditional marketing is all about making connections between your brand, products or business to an engaged audience. So, where are most of our audiences today? Online.
Enter digital marketing. Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Think of search engines, social media, email and other channels to connect with current and prospective customers.
When it comes to digital marketing and advertising, there is a core philosophy to consider before setting your strategy. Social media is crucial and necessary in this digital age, but so is social advertising. With a robust audience for each niche and brand on social channels, it is vital to strategically place ad dollars behind your brand to reach those who are directly interested. Marketers cannot wait for the audience to come to them anymore, we have to seek out our followers through paid efforts. There is currently no other place where you can pinpoint audiences so closely.
What is digital advertising?
Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels. It leverages mediums such as social media, email, search engines, mobile apps, affiliate programs and websites to show advertisements and messages to audiences. Below are the most popular and generally effective faucets of digital advertising and can impact the consumer into purchasing a product or service.
Social media advertising
Social media advertising is one of the most effective types of digital advertising.
Currently, Facebook ads earn the highest ROIs and result in an average
click through
rate of 0.90% while standard display ads only earn an average
click through rate of 0.05%.
Let’s look at the Facebook algorithm. Facebook now prioritizes “meaningful interactions” from friends and family over content from brands and companies, making it trickier than ever to ensure organic content from businesses get the screen time it deserves. However, after placing ad dollars behind your content, you are ensuring to get in front of the right audience.
Search engine marketing
Search engine marketing is the practice of marketing a business using paid advertisements that appear on search engine results pages. Advertisers bid on keywords that users of services such as Google and Bing might enter when looking for certain products or services, which gives the advertiser the opportunity for their ads to appear alongside results for those search queries.
Display advertising
Display advertising refers to visual ads that appear on third party websites as banner ads, text ads, video ads and more.
Native advertising
Native advertising is similar to display advertising; however, they’re more strategic and intentional when it comes to placement and audience targeting. They are sponsored listings that are integrated and camouflaged into the feed.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a type of online advertising that will show your business to bounced traffic after they leave your site. When people visit your site, you drop a cookie on them so that, as they travel around the web, your ads will appear over and over to remind them about your product or service.
Success in digital advertising
Now that we’ve debriefed the most popular faucets of digital advertising, let’s discuss how to ensure success for your campaign. It may go without saying, but it’s vital to communicate your strategy with each department of the company. All teams should be on the same page in order to maintain a successful digital campaign. When this is lacking, departments become siloed and consistency will fall through the cracks. Consistency is key and will allow your digital campaign to go the extra mile.
On the topic of consistency, keep your active campaigns in mind when drafting and creating content. Focus on all channels with placed ads, web, search and social. Do they interact with each other, establishing the same messaging? You want to have a message that you're reinforcing again and again so you stay on top of your customers minds.
On a final note for success, digital marketing is not a one-size-fits-all process and it’s not a “set it and forget it” mentality. It requires constant reporting and measurement tools to be most effective. Do not ever throw money into an advertisement without knowing where it’s going and checking on it. What makes digital advertising so effective is the ability to edit, change and remove quickly. It’s a fluid form of advertising, unlike plastering ads on billboards.
Final thoughts
If you’re not taking advantage of user information and interests to promote your brand, you’re missing out. Matchbook is skilled and proficient in all forms of marketing, including the specialized fields of digital marketing and digital advertising. If you’re lacking one or the other, contact us and let us help create a strategy that fits.
