Digital / online marketing the key to success
The right online marketing – strategy is the most basic question for a successful future. Time is changing, everyone is talking about digitization, nothing works without the World Wide Web. Everything is shifting to the Internet, hardly anyone makes a major purchase without having informed themselves beforehand. Everyone uses their smartphone to quickly compare a price, for example. In the meantime, the term digital outsiders could be completely banned from your vocabulary. Countless industries that a few years ago could only be found offline are relocating their business area online.
But what is digital / online marketing?
Defined by Abbreviationfinder, online / digital marketing includes all measures that serve the branding of a brand, customer loyalty or the sale of products and services via the Internet. Good examples of this are e-mail newsletters or advertisements displayed when visiting websites. It covers the entire customer journey and the ultimate goal is to be omnipresent at the crucial points of contact (also called touchpoints) with the customer.
Digital / online marketing is becoming more and more important
In 2018 billions were spent on online marketing, which shows that the Internet is on the rise, and will not be stopped. Anyone who does not deal with online marketing will, as it stands, have no future.
Basically, however, one can say that the online business development in recent years has to do with changes in information, communication and consumer behavior. 90 percent use the Internet and 65 percent shop online. In a world in which everything is turning faster and people are literally overrun by the flood of information, it is more important than ever to communicate effectively and in a goal-oriented manner. With the right digital marketing strategy, there are undreamt-of advantages and these are also very diverse:
- more range
- better way to define the target group
- different target groups can be addressed more effectively with an individual advertising message
- better success control
- greater flexibility in budgeting
- Optimization through direct feedback
Digital marketing instruments and measures
There are tons of options and even more tools for digital marketing. You can quickly be tempted to focus on too many marketing strategies, such as going shopping on an empty stomach, only to find out later that you don’t need any of that. It is advisable to always use resources in such a way that they achieve the best possible effect. The focus is on the following instruments.
Website
In digital marketing, the company homepage forms the heart of all measures. The background is that it should inspire potential customers for products or services. In addition, it is, so to speak, the digital business card. Well-planned online marketing strategies are of enormous importance because, unlike in the pedestrian zone, visitors never come across an online shop by accident.
Online Advertising
In the English online advertising called, refers online advertising on all important measures and channels in the online sector. This includes websites and advertising messages that are distributed by social media influencers. In contrast to print media, display ads on websites offer a wide range of design options. The aim of this measure is direct interaction with the previously defined target group.
Email Marketing
Is probably one of the most popular formats in online marketing. Customers are informed about promotions, offers, news, etc. by means of a personalized e-mail.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
After googling has even been in the Duden dictionary since 2004, the search engine has become an integral part of linguistic usage. Google has a monopoly position, which is why a website should always be search engine optimized in order to be listed far ahead of the results in the Google ranking, because generally only a fraction of the search results clicks beyond page one. Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, plays a central role in numerous online marketing strategies. In short: Search engine optimization is used to increase the visibility of a website. Incidentally, SEO comes from English and means search engine optimization.
Search engine advertising (SEA)
In contrast to search engine optimization, search engine advertising pays for the website to be linked with search terms and displayed in a highlighted part of the list of results. Search engine advertising enables targeted addressing of interested parties because only defined search terms are used. The best known system is Google Ads. Google now supports non-profit organizations with an advertising budget. SEA also comes from English and stands for Search Engine Advertising.
Social media marketing
Social media has become an important part of our society, with a targeted approach and strategy, companies not only have the opportunity to reach their customers, but also to build a loyal community. The numerous and sometimes very innovative placement options for advertisements ensure that more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube are seen as the most important social networks.
Affiliate marketing
In practice, a partner, also known as an affiliate, advertises the products or services of a company, known as merchants, on their website. For every successful referral that was generated via this advertising measure or the affiliate’s website, he receives a commission or previously agreed remuneration. The remuneration is always negotiated individually and payment is actually only made when a certain action has been carried out. This can be, for example, ordering a product or clicking on a banner. It should be noted, however, that you always have an eye on the commission, also to check the competition.
Digital marketing agency or in-house?
Online marketing is like a blank pad just waiting to be filled with ideas. But it doesn’t always have to be your own. Especially with regard to the fact that individuality is the key to success. The helping hand of an online marketing agency or digital marketing agency often leads to the perfect marketing strategy to fill the empty block. Precisely because life without the Internet is no longer imaginable, it is of enormous importance for the sustainable success of a company to actively position itself where the target group is. Whether you want to do this in-house or through a marketing agency depends heavily on the company, the budget and the industry.
Conclusion online marketing
The future clearly belongs to online marketing, Corona in particular has accelerated this future many times over. The virus has shown what it means when nothing works in stationary retail. Everything is shifting to the internet. And that is why it is so important to think about tomorrow today: Clear strategies and a clearly defined target audience are the focal points for effective online marketing. Digital marketing offers countless possibilities and, with the right digital marketing strategy, opens doors that one would have dreamed of years ago. But the time of dreaming is over, thanks to the internet you can enjoy many advantages, anytime, anywhere.
