A clear understanding of the Key Digital Channels available to you and how to use them wisely is key to successfully growing your business. Before deciding which digital channels you want to market your business through, ask yourself the following questions. Let’s dive into the 6 Key Digital Channels for Business Success.
6 Key Digital Channels for Business Success
- Search: Google, Yellow Pages etc.
- Social: FaceBook, Linked In, Twitter, Youtube etc.
- Display: Banner Ads
- Email: Direct Emails and E-Newsletters
- Mobile
- Website
Goals – What are you trying to achieve?
Write down a list of exactly what you want to achieve through the digital marketing of your business or product. Clearly define what you want to achieve. This may be in the form of profit, market share, turnover or perhaps profile.
Audience – Who is your target Market?
Define exactly who is the target market for your business or product. Depending on your business type, this could be wide open or highly focused. Either way, this will affect the Digital Channels you wish to use down the track.
Channels – What channels are you going to use?
There is a whole range of digital channels you can choose from. The key is to remember that all of your digital channels must relate to and accomplish the business goals you have set.
The 6 Key Digital Channels
1. Search: Google, Yellow Pages etc.
This is often the last step in the purchase. Here people are searching for your product so keep that in mind with your marketing. They are open to being advertised here!
Pros of using Search channels for business marketing
- You can be found quickly by your target audience
- Your business will appear more often on search engines, thus increasing visibility
- Your website will be ranked higher in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)
Cons of using Search channels for business marketing
- It’s often expensive to be found on search engines
- You may not have control over who is targeting you or how often they are
2. Social: FaceBook, Linked In, Twitter, Youtube etc.
People are using their social media to enrich their lives, so the vital way to connect with them is to engage with the wording of your ads and try to build relationships. Do not openly try to sell to them. This is where you will build relationships with customers and create an online community to show people what your brand is about and what it stands for. Video Platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, are great for getting your message across quickly and engagingly in a visual format.
Pros of using Social Media channels for business marketing
- Increased exposure to your brand
- More opportunities to convert leads into customers
- Improved search engine rankings as Google takes into consideration social activity in its ranking algorithm
- Faster communication with customers and prospects
- Easily accessible customer data for a better understanding of target markets
- Build relationships with potential customers, bloggers and influencers
Cons of using Social Media channels for business marketing
- Time-consuming to manage
- Potential for negativity if not managed well
- It can be difficult to measure ROI (return on investment)
- Inability to target specific audiences without paid advertising
- Possibility of data privacy issues if not updated regularly with the latest security protocols.
3. Display: Banner Ads
Banner ads are the oldest form of web advertising and still play a part online. These days people tend to tune out of these ads, so I’d only suggest that if you do display ads, use them to build branding and awareness of your business.
Pros of using Banner Ads for business marketing
- High visibility and awareness from a single campaign
- Ability to target specific audiences with specific messages
- Cost-effective when compared to other forms of media advertising
- Can create eye-catching visuals or animations that can draw attention
Cons of using Banner Ads for business marketing
- Can be difficult to measure success and ROI
- Ad-blocking software can impede the effectiveness of banners
- Banner blindness is common among web users who ignore ads altogether
- Visitors may become annoyed or frustrated by multiple banner ads on a page.
4. Email: Direct Emails and E-Newsletters
This method is still popular nowadays and mainly helps build and maintain customer relationships. It’s one way of communication; hence, you must remember to keep your content short, straight to the point, and exciting for the customer. People will quickly trash something they don’t want to read. Two great solutions for Email Marketing is Campaign Monitor and Mail Chimp.
Pros of using Email Marketing for business marketing
- It can be personalized and reach a wide audience
- Can track performance easily and measure how successful campaigns have been •
- Cost-effective compared to other forms of advertising
- Ability to schedule emails in advance to specific target audiences.
Cons of using Email Marketing for business marketing
- The open rate of emails can be low
- It may cause spam issues if not managed properly
- You need to have permission from the customers to send them emails, which is also known as ‘opt-in’.
- Compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations must be followed.
5. Mobile
The beauty of the ever-increasing awareness and use of Mobile advertising is that it is on-the-go and location-based. This has allowed businesses to hone in on not only their customer but also their location! Keep this in mind for your mobile marketing.
Pros of using Mobile Apps for business marketing
- Engage with customers and prospects individually
- Increase brand awareness
- Reach a wider audience Can use
- location-based information to target specific areas
- Easy tracking of performance metrics.
Cons of using Mobile Apps for business marketing
- Can be expensive to develop
- Requires continuous updates and maintenance
- May not reach a large audience, depending on the App.
- It can be difficult to track performance metrics accurately.
6. Website
Websites capture and convert demand, so you should build yours with a conversion path. Design and build a website that is easy to navigate, engaging with content and updated regularly. Remember, the average person only has a 3 Second attention span, and you need to capture their interest fast.
Your website must also have clear and easy-to-follow steps that guide the user in the direction you want to take them with your end goal.
Pros of using your website for business marketing
- Increased visibility of your business
- More control over content delivery
- Opportunity to increase search engine optimization (SEO) ranking
- Ability to track user behaviour for better understanding of customer needs
- Ability to automate marketing processes.
Using a combination of Key Digital Channels for Business Success is the Key
To be successful in digital marketing, you need to use a combination of both online and offline tools. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for driving engagement with your customers. SEO can help boost traffic and visibility. Email campaigns are an effective way to keep customers engaged and up-to-date on new products or services. Paid advertising also helps get your message across to a wider audience quickly. Utilizing all of these tools together is the best way to ensure success in digital marketing.
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