Are you one of those people who use social media marketing interchangeably with digital marketing? Yes? Oh alas! You are not following the right digital marketing strategy in 2024! But worry not! We shall make your digital marketing strategy extremely robust in 2025!
Digital marketing is a wholesome concept, and it has many other aspects than just social media platforms. If you are still stuck on social media marketing, then it’s time to change your strategy immediately. Let’s create a better understanding of digital marketing by discussing in depth the meaning of digital marketing, its evolution, and its untold techniques!
What is Digital Marketing?
We could have jumped directly to the techniques, but we’re here to educate you completely. Until you understand the in-depth meaning of digital marketing, you won’t understand the importance of other techniques as well.
So, what is digital marketing? The Cambridge Dictionary defined the term ‘digital’ as everything related to computers and the internet.’ ‘Marketing’ is the act of showcasing a product or service in the best possible way such that the showcasing induces ‘purchase’ in the customer. So, by combining digital and marketing, we get digital marketing.
Digital marketing is the act of showcasing products and services digitally in the best possible way to lure people to make a purchase. However, have you ever brainstormed why digital marketing is considered only marketing through social media platforms? Are there no other platforms or techniques for digital marketing? Certainly, there are! But let’s discuss them later in this blog. Before that, let’s briefly and quickly understand how digital marketing came into the picture.
How Did Digital Marketing Evolve?
If you’re a millennial or a gen-z, then you must remember that television commercials and newspaper advertisements used to be the primary source of advertisements for brand awareness. However, soon, television began to lose its charm with the advent of the internet. As soon as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram came into the picture, television and newspapers lost their charms. Now, people have begun to spend more time on the newly emerged platforms as compared to the age-old television.
Furthermore, outbreak of the pandemic further enhanced people’s engagement on the social media platforms. Specially, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Netflix had the golden period of their life ever. So, in a nutshell, as the viewers have shifted more towards the internet, advertising and marketing content too followed them. As a result, digital marketing evolved.
The bottom line is that as the viewers (or the target audience) are easily available on the Internet, therefore, your advertorial and marketing content must also be for the Internet! It unlocks a wider audience reach for you.
Is Social Media Marketing the Same as Digital Marketing?
Now, you can answer this question on your own! Certainly, social media marketing is not interchangeable with digital marketing. Rather, it is just a small part of the digital marketing strategy. The digital platforms where the audience is available go far beyond social media platforms. These digital platforms include:
- YouTube
- OTT Platforms
- Google Search Engine Result Pages
- Online Blogging Sites
- Digital news platforms
- Personal Emails
- Messenger Apps
And everything that can be accessed via the Internet by people to ‘search’ a query or to find entertainment. As a result, digital marketing must be seen as a much broader concept and there are other techniques than social media marketing to market your business digitally.
So, What’s Next?
Now, the bottom line is that you must formulate a market strategy that can hit multiple targets together. Social media marketing is just one way to attract customers towards your brand. However, mark our words, social media marketing cannot bring you, customers, alone! We know it breaks your heart, but its a bitter truth! Why so?
According to Ezulix Software, a leading digital marketing agency in London, these days, buyers are far more educated and smarter than ever before. Gone are the days when people used to get enticed at the alluring sight of a product. Today, people prefer to research hard on a product and its potentially cheaper and better alternatives. Eventually, mere advertisements that are one-sided transmitting product information in an attractive way is not enough.
On the contrary, the advertisement must be research-based and healthily competitive. You cannot attain this aim through social media marketing. So, what’s next now? Let’s mend your digital marketing strategy right away!
The Unsung Techniques of Digital Marketing Strategy
Always remember, that social media platforms like Facebook, Insta and Tiktok are not for serious and well-researched content! Here people seek mostly entertainment. They like to watch short videos here mostly either comic or dancing. However, when they have to genuinely buy a product or avail of a service, they prefer to Google Search. The searches usually have the following attributes:
- People research products and services that are ‘best’, ‘cheap’, ‘safe’, or ‘near them’.
- Additionally, people do deep research on the ‘ingredient list’ if they are buying a consumable or cosmetic product.
- Another popular type of search is ‘product reviews’.
- Moreover, people also look for similar products and do similar research as the above 3 points for them.
- Another noteworthy point is that suppose if you are a Shampoo manufacturing business, then no one is going to search your ‘shampoo name’ first. Rather, people will search ‘best shampoo for dry hair’, ‘best shampoo for damaged hair’, ‘best shampoo for hair fall control’ etc. Now, your job is to make the public believe that your shampoo product is indeed the ‘best’ for the specific category they are searching for. Rest you are wise enough.
Based, on the above tactics, we can say that the following digital marketing techniques need to be exploited by every brand! Now note the following strategies!
- Start with Your Website
As stated earlier, today people search not for the product name but they look for a solution specific to your problem. Re-consider the example given above. The terms like ‘best shampoo for dry hair’, ‘best shampoo for damaged hair’ etc. are the ‘keywords’ in the language of SEO.
Now, your job is to do detailed keyword research related to your product or service niche. Hire an SEO team from a digital marketing company in London and see how keyword-rich and friendly your website is. If not, optimize your website immediately for the relevant keywords. And if you are still not having a website for your business, connect with a Web development company London today and get one! Because, not having a website for your business in the present times means skipping the primary and foundational step towards digital marketing.
- Keep Your Website Active with Regular Blog Posts
Google likes to put on the top of SERPs a website that gets fresh content frequently. It does not like a website that is inactive for long periods. Therefore, having a website is only a primary step towards digital marketing. Now you have to keep your website posted regularly. Obviously, changing its content daily is not a great idea.
Rather, it might put you in trouble. So, the best strategy to keep your website updated for relevant keywords is ‘on-page blog posting’. Keep on researching on your industry-specific keywords trending these days and post engaging, high-quality, and original blogs on your website at least twice or thrice a week. Believe us, it will really work! Also, remember these tips:
- Use only quality content that is at least 2000 words long and SEO-optimized for your website.
- Putting plagiarised copy-pasted or AI-generated content will rather de-index your website from the search engines.
- Make sure that your blog posts are keyword-rich as per the general SEO rules. Repeat the target keyword not less or more than 1% of the total text.
- Also, include secondary and semantically related keywords in your text to make Google believe that your content is really informative and well-researched. Google likes it!
- Lastly, make sure that you research well and actually create content that convinces the readers to actually believe that yes, your product has the charisma to satiate them.
- Do Not Forget Guest Posting
Only on-page blogs will not help you shine earlier. Rather, you will have to embrace guest posting as well. There are certain online content-sharing and blogging platforms with high DA and PA scores. Simply put, they are already well-optimized and they rank really high on the Google SERPs. So, write blogs for these websites too. Do not forget to add a backlink to your business or product on these guest blogs.
This is an expensive but really effective way to gain high-quality traffic to your website and attract genuine customers. Remember, that product reviews, suggestions, and relevant topics such as the benefit of a particular component of your product are the best topics to attract and convince potential buyers.
- Get Noticed Immediately with Google Ads
Content marketing does not end at blogging. Rather, web pages and landing pages are integral parts of content marketing. Content marketing is a vital part of digital marketing. Be it social media, a guest blogging site, or a discussion forum, everywhere a marketer needs either textual, graphical, or video ‘content’ to market the products.
One of the best techniques to drive traffic instantly from content marketing is ‘landing pages’ and running Google Ads and Facebook Ads on them. Landing pages appear like a web page but they are independent of the website. Landing pages are special pages targeting a particular product or service.
When you pay money to Google Ads or Facebook Ads, these pages come under the ‘sponsored category’ and are highlighted on the top of the Google SERP. Make sure, that your content writer writes a landing page in the most creative and alluring way. Ask the content marketer to include catchy and quirky CTAs in the content and present the targeted service or product so perfectly that the reader gets captivated immediately and contacts your company then and there.
- Keep a Tight Reigns on Discussion Forums As Well
Did you know that certain unethical marketers use discussion forums such as Quora and Reddit to defame your products? Well, if you didn’t know, be careful from now onwards. You need to have a decent presence on the discussion forums as well. Try answering the customer’s doubts and queries. Always seek to answer the queries that can potentially allow you to promote your products.
Additionally, keep a tight check on unethical marketers. If you find any defamatory content regarding your products, then make sure it is either addressed meaningfully and decently or otherwise make it removed. Discussion forums are also a kind of digital marketing tool these days. So, make sure you have a positive online presence there.
- Explore The World of YouTube
YouTube is one of the most engaging digital platforms and YouTube advertisements are quite popular at present. If you are planning for a traditional television commercial, try YouTube advertisement instead. Moreover, YouTubers are no less than celebrities these days. However, they charge quite small fees as compared to Hollywood stars.
Furthermore, as stated earlier product reviews and demonstrations are some top-searched categories. So, approach the best YouTubers in your product category and ask them to offer reviews on your product. This will bring your product instant name and fame.
- Try Affiliate Marketing over Influencer Marketing
These days, affiliate marketing is getting quite popular all over the world. Especially in countries like the UK, China, and India where people love to have a passive income. Many social media influencers and star blog writers make content for products. They provide links to purchase to their audience and ‘influence’ them to buy the product. In this case, the ‘influencer’ acts as an ‘affiliate marketer’ and they earn a commission on every sale from their link.
Affiliate marketing is the best way to market your product digitally today. In small investments, you get large returns. So, make your online presence better by embracing affiliate marketing this time and see how the magic works. Affiliates get pay per click and you get higher revenues.
- Be Friends with the Gaming World!
Do you see advertisements while playing a mobile game? Well, everyone does today! And this too is called digital marketing! Mobile and PC games are a part of the digital world, then any form of advertisement provided to them is also digital marketing.
So, collect information on the popular games in your region and among your target audience. Then, approach the game to display your ads on their platform. It has a great scope for marketing your product digitally.
- Emails Are Still Read!
Furthermore, Emailers are no longer outdated yet. Email marketing is also a form of digital marketing. Reaching out to your target audience, especially the existing customers with a personalized Emailer also drives sales to your business. When certain customers are loyal to your brand, they would really prefer to shop from you again when you send them a newsletter highlighting ‘special discounts’ specially for those customers.
So, consider personalized email marketer tactics to keep your existing customers hooked. Do not forget to address your customers with a personalized nickname and keep the tone of the Emailer highly interactive. Get newsletters designed in a way that all the discounts are highlighted and the customer gets compelled to make a purchase.
- Get A Mobile App and Push Your Target Audience
Having a mobile app is an expensive but effective digital marketing technique. A mobile application allows you to reach an unlimited number of potential customers. Furthermore, if you optimize your App Store and Play Store presence by targeting the most relevant keywords, then certainly you open gateways to outshine the competition.
Furthermore, having a mobile app also opens the opportunity for your business to stay in touch 24*7 with your customers. You can send your customers personalized push notifications and lure them anytime from anywhere. So, if possible, do invest in mobile app development this time.
Is Social Media Marketing No Longer Effective?
In the above points, we have not mentioned social media marketing anywhere. So, does this mean that social media marketing is no longer effective? Well, of course, we do not mean that. But the point is that social media platforms are for customer ‘engagement’ more than it is for ‘marketing’. The aim of marketing is to generate leads by increasing the Click Through Rate (CTR). But, on social media platforms, you can either demonstrate your products or advertise them.
However, you can get clicks from there as well, but remember what we taught you above! Buyers are now smarter! They do not buy products without research! So, you can invest in social media marketing as well, but content marketing and affiliate marketing increase the chances of sales by 100%.
Final Thoughts
So, stop using social media marketing interchangeably with digital marketing and remember that social media marketing is just a small part of digital marketing. Do not be a social media marketer, but a digital marketer. If a digital marketing agency is trying to dodge you with a small social media marketing strategy calling it a wholesome digital marketing strategy, then now you can save yourself and your money! Whenever you approach a digital marketing company, always ask for a wholesome strategy to digital marketing. Also, if you have an in-house team of marketers, make sure that they distribute their time and efforts such that your online presence becomes highly optimized. Adopt a 360-degree digital marketing strategy this time and get better CTR and conversions. Remember, its not about just ‘advertising’, rather its about ‘luring to people to make a purchase’.
FAQs
- How much does it cost to hire a digital marketing agency in London?
The cost to Hire a digital marketing agency in London can range between £150 and £10,000 depending upon your marketing needs. While content marketing takes a medium-high budget, Google Ads and Facebook Ads are costlier. Simple web page optimization is a one-time expense relevantly.
- How can I identify that my website is not SEO-friendly?
You can identify that your website is not SEO-friendly with the following signs:
- If your website continues to rank low.
- It has a DA or PA score of more than 25.
- You experience more rage clicks than ever.
- The INP score is 300+.
- You do not get enough traffic.
- There are no relevant keywords on your web pages.
- Your website is not mobile-friendly.
- The website does not have breadcrumbs.
- Navigation of your website is confusing.
- The website text, images, or graphics load very slowly.
- CTAs do not work within 1-2 seconds.
All the above signs indicate that your website is not SEO-Friendly.
- What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is neither on-page SEO nor off-page SEO. Rather, technical SEO is concerned with a website’s technical performance metrics. Usually, the website developer has a vital role in improving the technical SEO of a website. To improve the technical SEO, the following measures have to be taken:
- Schema data submission
- Site mapping
- INP score improvement
- Developing Breadcrumbs
- Creating a responsive website design
- Optimizing the page speed etc.
All these techniques require backend work and hence, these come under technical SEO.
- Which is the best platform for fashion and retail marketing?
Instagram reels and TikTok are the best fashion and retail marketing platforms to capture the immediate attention of the buyers. Additionally, you can also choose Pinterest and offer high-quality image submissions of your wearables on it.
- Which platform is best for marketing electronic gadgets?
People tend to see unboxing, full-review, and product demonstration videos before purchasing an electronic gadget. YouTube is the best platform to market your electronic gadgets with detailed videos.
