Digital TransformationMarketing

10 Types of Digital Marketing to Boost Your Business

No matter the size of your business, digital marketing has become inevitable when it comes to thriving in the internet era. While some companies rely on traditional forms of advertising, such as print ads, coupon mailers, or even outdoor advertising, businesses that use digital marketing effectively can reach a huge audience for a relatively lower price.

To help you determine what type of digital marketing will benefit your business the most, this article will guide you through everything you need to know about digital marketing, including their definition and examples. 

What is digital marketing definition?

Digital marketing refers to the promotion of brands and businesses using the internet or other forms of communication to connect with potential customers. This includes not only email, social media, and web-based advertising, but also text and multimedia messages as a marketing channel.

Digital marketing has become a crucial part of businesses’ marketing plans. In fact, approximately 71% of small businesses can be found online and roughly 85% of consumers use the internet to discover and find local businesses. 

Unlike traditional marketing methods, digital marketing helps you reach a larger audience and target prospects who are most likely to buy your products and services. The benefits of digital marketing also include cost-effectiveness, the ability to measure success and make marketing changes as needed.

By implementing the right types of digital marketing, no matter how big or small your business is, you can benefit greatly since it provides an excellent return on investment.  

The 10 types of digital marketing that ignite your business growth

In order to succeed in any of the types of digital marketing, developing a distinctive brand philosophy and adhering to it are key. Customers don’t just buy your products and services; they also buy emotions and values. 

With that being said, here are the 10 types of digital marketing to boost your business:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing

1st page search engine results for 'best watches for men'

Did you know Search Engine Optimization or SEO is considered one of the most effective types of digital marketing for your business? SEO is the process of generating traffic from free, organic, or editorial search results in search engines.

It aims to improve your website’s position in Google search results pages. According to Visibility, search results that are in the top 3 have a click through rate (CTR) between 29.90% and 43.32%. The 10th position only gets 3.11% of the clicks. Spending time improving your SEO marketing strategy can benefit your business by boosting organic traffic.

Remember, SEO marketing is a long-term investment that takes 3-6 months to gain traction. Nevertheless, it can reach an average ROI of 22:1 when implemented strategically. 

2. Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing

PPC marketing example
PPC search results for 'running shoes'

Pay-per-click or PPC marketing refers to the method of driving traffic to your website by paying a fee for each time one of the ads is clicked. PPC can be beneficial to a lot of businesses since 85% of consumers use the internet to research local businesses.

One of some well-known examples of PPC marketing is Google Ads and Google Shopping. Other mediums include paid ads on Facebook, Twitter ad campaigns, and sponsored messages on LinkedIn. 

One of the businesses that took PPC to a whole new level was Snickers. While it’s common practice in the PPC world to target misspelled search terms. They generated a list of 25,381 different misspellings for their campaign.

In just two days, when Snickers reported their amazing results of 558,589 ad impressions, a click-through rate of 1.05%, and 5,874 visitors made their way to the campaigns mini website.

3. Content Marketing

Content Marketing refers to the type of marketing that focuses on creating and promoting different types of content, to generate leads and sales. The content can be in the form of a blog, social media posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, etc. The diversity and creativity of content is endless, which makes them cater to different groups of people and therefore are more shareable. 

Earlier this year, Spotify launches their new feature called GetReadyWithMusic, which generates the perfect playlist for every day outfit from user’s input. The content became instantly popular among Spotify users because of the simplicity of the user experience and the personalization it offers.

If you are interested in igniting a similar strategy as the Spotify’s new function, take inspiration from our article on how to generate user-generated content for your business.

4. Contest Marketing

contest marketing example
Contest Marketing is just one of many marketing campaigns that a Social Media Manager will facilitate. (www.twitter.com/LEGO_Group)

Contest marketing is a marketing strategy that utilizes contests, giveaways, sweepstakes or lotteries to boost brand awareness and reach new potential customers. Whether big or small, contest marketing can enhance a brand’s message, gain new online engagement, and bring a product’s message to the forefront of consumers’ social media feeds.

For example, Lego hosted a contest that required people to create and submit a custom Lego build. Contest winners will receive exclusive Lego sets, and their winning Lego build will be displayed at the famous Lego House in Denmark

This campaign works because it directly engages customers with the brand by creating a playground for them to be creative and receive reward and recognition for their work. 

5. Social Media Marketing

The importance of social media marketing in digital marketing has become increasingly prominent. More than 92% of American businesses adopt social media marketing in their marketing strategy. By promoting your brand on various social media channels, you boost traffic to your website and social media pages, generate leads, and even increase brand awareness.

Some key channels to use for social media marketing are as follows:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Snapchat
  • Pinterest

6. Influencer and KOL Marketing

Influencer marketing and KOL marketing often get mixed up in consumers’ eyes. Both techniques can be extremely beneficial for your brand. While they both aim at building brand awareness, the main difference is how they establish authenticity.

Influencer marketing is a strategy where brands partner with social media users to bring awareness and engagement to a product or service that they provide. These can be regular social media users, content creators, and celebrities.

For example, Dunkin’ Donuts let eight content creators take over their social media on National Donut Day. Dunkin Donuts also provided the unique Snapchat geo-filter to enhance the content so they could encourage their supporters to follow Dunkin’ Donuts on Snapchat and visit the stores for the special offer.  

Key-of-leader (KOL) marketing, is a strategy where brands work with people who have the expertise and knowledge on a specific subject that is connected to the product/service promoted or that is of interest to their target market. 

For example, if you are an e-commerce brand selling sportswear, working with a fitness influencer or sports athlete would be more beneficial than partnering with a lawyer.

7. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a powerful marketing channel that uses email to promote your business’s products or services. With an impressive average ROI of 3,600%, email marketing is considered one of the most popular types of digital marketing. You can use it to build brand loyalty, increase brand awareness, and to enhance personalization in messaging your audience.

For instance, Netflix is aware that more than half of US households subscribe to multiple streaming channels. To get their customers’ attention, Netflix launched a campaign that used personalized lists from upcoming customers that may be interested in based on their watch history. They used personalized content, visuals, and perfected it with persuasive CTAs that enticed users to stop what they were doing and head over to Netflix to check out the new content.

8. Mobile Marketing

mobile marketing
User scanning a pizza for points on the Domino app

Mobile marketing is any advertising activity that promotes products and services via mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. In the present day, people use their smartphones more than any other gadget. The average time spent on mobile phones has increased from 2 hours to approximately 5 hours per day. The widespread use of mobile has made mobile marketing a promising tool that helps businesses cater to more customers. 

For example, Domino’s Piece of the Pie allowed customers to sign up for their reward program and earn 10 points for scanning any pizza purchase. The fun fact is people were allowed to scan literally any pizza, even if it was not Domino’s. At the moment, for every 60 points collected, participants receive a free pizza from Domino’s.

This mobile marketing campaign allowed customers to collect points on their mobile Domino app and anticipate rewards for them. The fact that customers should have the app on their phone also creates opportunities for marketers to collect their data and create more personalized ads and notifications directly to their phones. 

9. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a type of digital marketing where publishers and advertisers earn a commission by promoting a product or service made by another retailer or an advertiser using an affiliate link. This type of marketing uses a reward payment model for every sale made from the link. 

Large companies often have programs they promote on their site, such as Amazon Associates or the Shopify Affiliate Program.

10. Viral Marketing

Viral marketing example
TV host, Jimmy Fallon doing the Ice Bucket Challenge with his crew

Viral marketing refers to the content that reaches the point where it’s being shared by the public at large rather than just its target audience. These are the posts and ads that spread incredibly fast through consumers who carry out the campaign through likes, views and/or shares. 

The catch is that creating content with the express purpose of going viral is incredibly difficult to achieve. Less than 1% of content shared on social media are able to achieve viral status. But in case you crack the code, viral marketing offers low costs, a wide reach, and the potential to boost a brand or business.

One of the examples of viral marketing is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many celebrities and big personalities agreed to dump a bucket of ice water on their heads to raise awareness of ALS and generate donations. 

This challenge went viral because the content is intriguing and inviting with a meaningful intention. Every participant that completes the challenge must nominate a group of other friends to keep it going, increasing the speed of which the campaign is shared and exposed to more audiences. 

The key to a successful digital marketing campaign

As the world continues to head towards its digital transformation, the importance of digital marketing will automatically follow. Almost every type of digital marketing discussed in this article is interrelated and dependent on the others. It is best to work with a marketing specialist to seamlessly develop or integrate these marketing types into your existing marketing strategy. 

If you find this article helpful, don’t hesitate to check our blogs and articles on how to create a digital transformation in your business so you can thrive in the internet era.

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