Digital marketing refers to marketing activities done online to get in touch with customers or prospects and to promote products and services. The goal is to achieve specific and measurable objectives. Digital marketing, therefore, puts the customer at the heart of its strategy, unlike traditional marketing.
In this article defining digital marketing, we will introduce you to 10 digital marketing tools.
What is marketing?
Before understanding what digital marketing is, it’s important to understand the goals of marketing itself. What is its function and what is it for?
Marketing actions make it possible to promote products or services and increase their visibility to a target audience. It is a science that consists of designing the offer of a product based on the analysis of consumer expectations.
So what is the definition of digital marketing?
From your company’s website to the different aspects of online branding (digital advertising, email marketing, web brochures, etc.), digital marketing covers a wide spectrum of tactics and content. The best marketers know how to precisely link each type of content and tactic to strategic objectives. Here are the most popular forms of content and tactics:
– Website
– Blog posts
– E-books
– Infographics
– Interactive tools
– Social networks (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
– Free online presence (social networks, comments)
– Web brochures
– Branding elements (logos, fonts, etc.)
Why do digital marketing?
Companies use digital marketing or hire a digital marketing agency because a digital strategy offers multiple advantages, applicable to all types of companies, of different size and means:
– Digital marketing allows direct interaction with the customer;
– The information obtained on consumers helps you tailor the offer and provide a personalized product or service that meets their needs;
– Digital marketing promotes customer loyalty and satisfaction through a lasting and quality relationship;
– It also saves cost and budget: affording a website costs less than setting up a physical store;
– Digital marketing creates a 24/7 availability of your business;
– International openness is made easier;
– The gain in visibility improves your brand image and allows you to reach a wider audience.
Ten digital marketing tools
1. Emailing or email marketing
Businesses use email marketing to communicate with their audiences. Email is used to promote content, specials, and events, and to redirect contacts to the company’s website.
2. Natural referencing or SEO
It is about optimizing a website so that it obtains the best possible ranking in search engine results and thus attracts more natural (free) traffic.
3. Commercial links within digital marketing
Sponsored links are advertising links in text format that appear on search engine results pages. We are talking here about Google Adwords ads to ensure its promotion on the internet.
These links appear mainly at the head of search results pages, with the little acronym ad.
The advertiser is billed on the number of clicks (CPC).
4. Online or display advertising
Display advertising refers to all forms of digital marketing using graphics or videos as communication media. Until then we spoke of online advertising or online advertising.
There are several forms of display advertising:
– The classic display
– The video display
– The display displayed on the computer
– Display on mobiles and tablets
5. Affiliation
This performance-based advertising method involves receiving a commission in exchange for promoting third-party products or services on a website.
6. Content marketing
Content marketing or content marketing refers to practices that aim to provide prospects or customers with a certain number of useful or entertaining content to promote products and services.
Content marketing has several objectives:
– Generate more visits and leads (prospects)
– Provide customer support
– Build customer loyalty
– Promote sales growth thanks to product descriptions and videos
– Promote a brand, its image, its e-reputation, etc.
7. Social marketing
The notion of social marketing can have two definitions depending on its context of use. In the first context, it is about marketing actions aimed at promoting social causes.
This type of action is generally carried out by NGOs, associations, or brands which seek to promote responsible behavior among their consumers.
But social marketing today takes on a new connotation, these marketing practices are much more common on social networks.
8. Mobile marketing
Mobile marketing is a pillar of digital marketing. Indeed, mobile represents 60% of the time spent viewing online content, compared to 40% for computers. As a digital marketer, it is therefore imperative to optimize your advertisements, your web pages, the images published on social networks, and the other elements of your online presence for mobile. If your business has a mobile app that allows users to interact with the brand or purchase products, that too falls under digital marketing.
The main techniques and applications of mobile marketing are:
– Use of mobile-optimized websites and mobile applications
– Advertising on sites and mobile applications
– Store locator functions
– SMS
– Push notifications of mobile applications
– Geolocation applications while on the move
– Applications related to cars and connected objects while on the move
– Commercial links displayed on smartphones
– Local SEO
– Promotion techniques for mobile and ASO applications
– Taking mobile into account in points of sale (showrooming, beacons, etc.)
– The use of social networks now mainly consulted on mobile
– The marketing micro-moment
– Taking into account cross-device issues
9. Marketing via social networks
This practice consists of promoting content and a brand on social networks to improve brand awareness, attract traffic and generate leads.
10. SMS marketing
SMS marketing is usually implemented using the same technical solutions as emailing. SMS (Short Message Service) is, therefore, a communication tool widely used by companies wishing to communicate quickly with a specific target. SMS is also used as a recovery solution for abandoned shopping carts in e-commerce.
Conclusion
It is therefore essential for all companies in 2020 to be present in digital. Digital marketing will be a boost for each structure. So remember to set aside a budget for your digital marketing.