Since the advent of the pandemic, online media has seen a significant increase in the number of its users. Stuck between the walls of our homes we, more often than not, prefer to shop online. We see the term digital/online/internet marketing coming into use often nowadays. But do we have an idea about what it is exactly and how it can be implemented to benefit us?
Also, why is it so significant and what are the different types of digital marketing? Online users and shoppers have now become tuned towards content that specifically interests them. In simple terms, we can define digital marketing as advertising techniques that use digitization to connect with consumers/customers.
Let’s discuss all the different types of digital marketing strategies and tactics.
1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Search engines like Google, Bing, etc. are the most commonly used sites by people. People, more often than not, usually use keywords or phrases to search for a particular topic, product, or service.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s all about cleverly incorporating and optimizing frequently used keywords and phrases into your web page so that they rank higher on the SERPs. It comes under the umbrella of organic marketing as unpaid traffic is targeted rather than direct or paid traffic. Based on the search query type, different elements like maps, images or videos might be included on the SERPs by Google. Tools available online like Google Keyword Planner, Bing Webmaster, Moz, etc. can help with SEO.
Analyzing competitors’ backlinks as well as developing your own is crucial for optimization. Tools like Ahrefs, BuzzStream, GroupHigh can be used for competitor analysis. Almost all forms of digital marketing campaigns, channels, and platforms need SEO in one form or the other.
The types of SEO include; On-page SEO (optimizing the content on your web page), Off-page SEO (what doesn’t happen on your web page), Technical SEO (enhance user experience through actions performed to help search engines crawl your web page), and local SEO (rather than national or international, it focuses on a specific area).
2. SMM (Social Media Marketing)
Social media marketing can be defined as the use of social media platforms and websites for the promotion of products and services. It might not be surprising to know that social media platforms are the second most visited sites after search engines.
It is an ever-evolving beast. Most of us are used to killing our time there. Brands cannot miss the opportunity effective social media marketing to grab as much attention as they can from this media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc. provide space for effective two-way communication making it easier for businesses to cater to their customer’s needs and requests.
The content, context, hashtags, shares, and engagement are some of the important parameters when developing your SMM strategies. You can also hire agencies that will provide you with the best SMM services.
3. SMO (Social Media Optimization)
Social Media Optimization or SMO is the implementation of social media strategy to grow a business’s internet presence and make its message reach to target audience. Awareness with regards to new products and services, connecting with customers, or limiting damaging reviews is done through SMO as an internet advertising strategy.
Often we get confused between SMO and SEO. SEO mainly focuses on improving the rankings of a website on search engines. On the other hand, SMO focuses only on driving traffic via various social media platforms.
In order to improve your reach with SMO, use the following tips:
- Choose the right platform(s) for your audience;
- Encourage the employees to share;
- Leverage visual content;
- Have a YouTube presence;
- Use hashtags but don’t overuse them;
- Analyze your audience;
- Perform competitive analysis, and
- Finally build a strategy based on your findings.
4. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Marketing
PPC marketing is a type of online marketing model used to drive traffic to websites; where advertisers pay a fee each time someone clicks the advertisement. The Pay-Per-Click advertising agency provides such services to increase your revenue. The two main categories of PPC are; paid searches (to have more visibility on SERPs) and paid social media marketing.
Ads are either published on first-tier search engines like Google and Bing or social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. PPC strategies are ideal for creating a short-term, dramatic boost in visibility and hence, sales.
5. Content Marketing
This is one of the forms of online marketing that creates valuable and relevant content to attract, acquire as well as engage the audience using blogs, eBooks, social media posts, podcasts, graphics, videos, etc.
In case the buyer finds the content useful, the brand awareness of the business increases along with establishing a trustworthy relationship with customers as we move along the sales funnel. Nowadays, customers and buyers alike are constantly bombarded with a stream of marketing messages leading to an environment of attention scarcity.
This creates a challenge for marketers who have the task of producing engaging content where people won’t lose interest. Not only does a well-crafted content marketing strategy place your business in the position of a thought leader, building brand preferences but also aids the buyer in taking a well-informed decision. That’s the importance of content marketing! Content marketing is a relatively less costly approach than others.
6. Affiliate Marketing
It’s a type of internet marketing model where a company hires a third-party publisher to generate leads or traffic to the company’s services and products. The third-party publishers come under affiliates. Affiliates are typically paid on a sale basis rather than clicks or impressions. The guidelines and prerequisites may be different for every seller. Affiliate advertising is comparable to a commissioned sales job.
7. Email Marketing
Email marketing is the act of delivering a commercial message, usually to a large group of people using email. Advertisements, sales solicitations, donation requests, or business proposals usually come under this category. All emails sent to potential or current customers fall under the umbrella of email advertising. You could alternatively hire email marketing agencies that can help you step up your email marketing game.
8. Mobile Marketing
Marketing your business to appeal to mobile users. Mobile marketing provides current or potential customers who use smartphones with location, time, and personalized information which they can receive exactly when they’re in need, even when on the move. App-based, in-game mobile, location-based advertising, QR codes, mobile image ads, SMSs, and mobile search ads all fall under mobile marketing tactics.
9. Viral Marketing
Viral marketing takes place purely organically. The information about a business spreads through word-of-mouth. Social media has greatly increased the chances of something going viral either through memes, likes, shares, or forwards. This however can impact a business both in a positive as well a negative way. As an example, any tweet by Elon Musk can cause volatility in the cryptocurrency scene as well as in the US equity market.
10. Voice Search Optimization
Under this category of digital marketing, the goal is to increase the website’s ranking with voice search. When people conduct verbal searches, Voice search optimization services help your page to answer those questions.
Search engines like Google rely heavily on featured snippets and knowledge graphs to respond to the voice queries of people. The intent behind voice search is to get quick and immediate results. Hence, voice search devices try to give instant results with the help of rich snippets and knowledge graphs.
11. Television Advertising
In Television advertising, businesses or marketers pay for a time slot on television where their products or services’ advertisements come during different programs. It is a great opportunity to reach a mass audience with a single ad spot. It must not be surprising to know that watching TV is the nation’s most leisure activity. Studies have shown that 60% of consumers are likely to purchase after viewing an advertisement on TV compared to only slightly over 40% from viewing ads online or on social media.
12. Radio Marketing
Similar to television advertising, in radio marketing, businesses pay for a time slot on the radio to air their services or products for promotional activity. Radio is a fantastic medium for small and medium-sized businesses that are ambitious and looking to grow. Commercial radio advertising is un-skippable, un-blockable, and unbeatable, helping businesses to reach out to new potential customers to build awareness, boost response to websites or retail stores, and increase sales.
13. Video Marketing
Video marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses videos as a medium to promote a company’s products and services. By carrying on video marketing you can vividly increase the engagement of the viewers. This is a very versatile tool especially for salespeople to guide the customer through the entire buying journey.
As a side note, video marketing is an SEO gold mine. It helps in building backlinks to your site, boosts likes and shares, and drives traffic to your site. One of the most important video-sharing sites, YouTube is owned by Google. Be sure to post your videos there and tag them with keywords and key phrases.
14. Audio marketing
Put simply, it refers to the digital marketing strategy where audio is the medium for advertising, as opposed to written or visual content. Though we have been using this strategy for a long time, it is in vogue with more spread nowadays. Audio experiences allow us to buy back our time in a similar way by being productive as we do other things.
There has been a rapid rise in voice search. Thanks to the voice-activated search functionalities of Amazon, Google, and Apple devices, you no longer need to turn down the stove, flip open your laptop or re-check a recipe. You can do all this by just asking Alexa to stir the pot. This is the epitome of convenience.
15. VR marketing
Virtual reality marketing allows brands to promote themselves and their products using virtual and augmented reality technology. This form of technology creates a virtual environment that seems quite realistic. Depending on the device, VR marketing can be visual, or sometimes multi-sensory.
We’re all familiar with how fascinating virtual reality is. It has bridged the gap between action and experience allowing for companies to provide a purely digital experience in place of a physical one. People are now seeking different experiences from VR brands like Oculus, HTC, Meta, Bluesky, etc.
So which type of digital marketing is best for your business?
Depending upon which type of company you’re in and what kind of products and services you provide, different types of digital marketing categories might suit you. It is important to strike the right balance between marketing, the product, and sales. All types of online might suit you in some form or the other. In case you’re a small business you can opt for radio marketing, display targeted ads on search engines or social media while also using SEO tactics, etc. When it comes to large businesses one could opt for a variety of digital marketing options like advertising over television, mobile, or affiliate marketing, and the possibilities are endless.
Looking for a good digital marketing agency for faster results?
Various agencies specialize in providing personalized internet marketing solutions. One of the best digital marketing service providers amongst them is Banyanbrain. We’re amongst the top SEO and SMO service providers, providing optimized digital marketing services specifically designed to cater to your business needs, whether it’s appearing more often in organic searches, paid advertising, social advertising, or designing attractive UI.
