A Beginner’s Guide to Digital Marketing

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These days, pretty much anything can be done online, and a huge proportion of commerce takes place digitally. This trend is one that has only grown in recent years and is set to continue into the future. The modern consumer tends to prefer shopping for goods and services online as this gives them the chance to see many different retailers and service providers without needing to spend time trailing the high street looking for the ideal brand.

Retailers that are moving with the times are largely finding that their online sales have either overtaken their high street sales or replaced them completely. There has never been a more important time for online sales as the time proceeding the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Local lockdowns and intense travel restrictions meant that many people were unable to shop outside of the home, and so looked for online alternatives.

This is true across the commercial and the direct to consumer markets, as the effects of the pandemic were far reaching, impacting our personal and professional lives in equal measure. In order to continue to provide goods and services, many companies which had never operated online before found themselves needing to do so.

Marketing goods and services online

Even well established brands can struggle when it comes to switching to online retail. They might be well known and successful locally, but that does not necessarily mean they will perform well nationally among strong competition. The digital market is a highly saturated environment, so standing out from any competitors within a niche can be challenging. To overcome this, digital marketing uses a range of techniques which build a strong online presence and boost reputations.

One of the first things brands consider when either building or expanding their online capacity is their website. Websites are expensive, and the top performing brands online tend to invest in them heavily. A website essentially becomes a brand’s storefront, and it is the main point of contact between the brand and the customers. Having a website custom built or using templates are both valid options which give companies the perfect place to showcase a product.

Having said this, a website is not guaranteed to perform well even once it has been fully populated and successfully launched. Simply having a website isn’t usually enough to draw in online customers, and this is where a marketing consultancy or Magento partner can step in and really help boost performance. Magento is often considered one of the top platforms for ecommerce and brand sites because it is extremely versatile and offers a huge amount of personalisation and scalability.

Consultants make use of the full suite of digital marketing methods to drive improvements in revenue, visitor numbers, engagement and more. This is done largely through paid and organic marketing opportunities, including SEO, PR, social media, and email marketing among others. These are some of the most important tools to ensure a fresh new website is effective at reaching the target market.

SEO stands for search engine optimisation, and this is largely considered to be one of the most effective and sustainable ways to market a brand online. This method is all about continually improving your website with a focus on adding value for users, as well as looking for other opportunities online to build a brand’s reputation and drive web traffic to the site. Website content plays an important role in optimising a site for search engines, but there are opportunities to be found elsewhere online which can be leveraged through link building and good PR.

While SEO is a technique which has been around for a number of years now, social media is one of the more recent ways that brands market themselves online. Social media channels are great for brands looking to engage their customer base on a personal level, and they have a valuable ‘humanising’ effect, making brands feel more approachable and giving them a personality. Not all channels will be suitable for every brand, so channels should be researched carefully before companies decide to make any sizable or ongoing investment.

Email marketing is a great way to connect with people who are already familiar with a company and have signed up for their newsletter. If a person visits a website, signs up, but does not make a purchase, their visit can be followed up with an email which increases the likelihood they will return and complete their purchase.