As more and more marketers and business owners see the importance of and result from, online marketing in this day and age, the competition for customer attention and engagement in the digital space continues to rise. If you want to be able to stand out from the crowd then, it is necessary to stay on top of the latest trends in the arena so that you can make the best use of your marketing dollars. If you’re worried about how to afford this, keep in mind that marketing is a key component of business success, and is a worthwhile investment when done right. To pay for your marketing efforts, you may want to consider sourcing a short-term business loan or, if you have an e-commerce store or other organization that takes transactions via credit and debit cards, you could utilize an affordable merchant cash advance. These are perfect for businesses that take payments online, via mobile devices, or using card-based point of sale machines, as funds are repaid using expected cash flow from future card sales. The key to reaping the maximum rewards from your digital marketing campaign lies in choosing the most appropriate form of marketing possible. The following digital marketing methods are both cost-effective and effective in the impact they have on the viewer.
Once you have the necessary money available to start growing your business through digital marketing, you must make sure the funds are spent in the best way possible. Read on for some of the key eMarketing, online marketing, or digital marketing methods you should consider following today to help you get noticed.
1. Google Keyword Data
During the Q4 of 2013, Google did what they’d threatened to do for some time; they radically culled organic keyword data. It has made tracking analytics keywords considerably more difficult for digital marketers, as it is no longer possible to measure the effectiveness of targeted keywords. But this should be seen as an opportunity, not a disaster. It is one key area where you can gain an advantage over the competition by creatively marketing content, instead of relying on pure SEO. The greater relevance and richer content you give your sites and campaigns, the better they will fare.
2. SEO
Search engine optimization needs to be at the heart of any digital marketing campaign. It is SEO that will determine how prominently your website is listed in results for relevant search terms. By ensuring that your SEO score for taglines, words, and phrases that are associated with your marketing campaigns, you will ensure that searches for those keywords will take searchers back to your website. There are several different aspects to a successful SEO drive. Search engine optimization facilitates content optimization, breathing new life into your existing content. It can also help you to optimize your conversion rates, an important measure of how well your website is performing. For instance, if you click here, you see an architecture website with senior living projects. If the site can rank for senior living related keywords, it is easier to make a sale.
3. Native Advertising
Native advertising (that is, material posted on websites and blogs that resembles the publication’s content style but that’s actually paid for by an advertiser and used to help promote its wares) has been popular for a few years now. Currently, though, it is increasing exponentially. Indeed, according to some reports, mobile native ads are expected to make up a whopping 63 percent of mobile display ad revenue by 2020. This type of advertising is gaining popularity because it typically has much higher engagement rates than standard banner ads and fits more effortlessly into the user experience — native ads are all about, after all, creating content that is relevant, aligned, and a natural fit for the web. Since consumers are so bombarded by ads and images these days they are turning away from the old “disruptive” type of advertising practices such as pop-ups and banners and other things that may hinder their experience. Instead, they are much more likely to read or watch content that relates to them specifically while also corresponding to the way they want to digest information.
4. Voice Search
All smartphone manufacturers are now embracing voice search within their products. It has already been a part of Apple, Google, and Samsung devices for a while. Still, the next generation of mobile phones look set to enhance this function considerably, and its central inclusion in the Xbox One video games console has also underlined its potential. This technology is here to stay and will shape the way we share and interpret data not just in the coming year, but for years to come. It would thus be wise to keep abreast of it.
5. Mobile Apps
6. Viral Videos
Viral marketing is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has the potential to explode and spread like, well, a virus. However, creating viral content artificially is notoriously tricky. The viral content that spreads the furthest is often unintentional. However, if you do manage to create some successful viral marketing, it can easily spread much further than other methods can. In order to accomplish this, you will need to work with a marketing specialist, preferably one who has direct experience with this type of marketing.
7. Live Video Streaming
Although videos have been used to great success by marketers for many years now, at the moment there is a rising trend for live video streaming, particularly on social media platforms where people are keen to get more “in-the-moment” content than ever before. This specific form of content creation allows consumers and brands to connect directly, in real-time, with current and potential customers being able to engage by following the stories of businesses and their products and services as a video is broadcasted live. Some of the key platforms currently being used for this type of interaction include Periscope and Facebook Live. Fans and followers can get access to brand messages, updates, information on new releases, Q&A responses, and guest interviews as each becomes available, and can feel like they are getting insight into a world or event that otherwise may be inaccessible.
8. Product Reviews
Product reviews are a significant part of the e-commerce ecosystems. Online reviews are how most consumers decide which products to buy, and which businesses to give their money to. There are several things you can do to encourage more reviews of your products. You can give out free product samples to blogs and individuals who cover the industry you operate in. It will allow you to establish long-term relationships with bloggers and can open up new marketing avenues in the future. These product reviews will provide you with plenty of quotes to use on your website, on your marketing materials, and your product pages on other e-commerce websites. The best part of product reviews is that they are a type of organic marketing. Organic marketing materials and marketing materials that exist to promote a product, but which appear to be natural communications, rather than something explicitly designed to sell a product.
9. Twitter Pay Per Click Advertising
Onward 2014, the dawn of Twitter’s new Pay Per Click advertising product. Of course, Twitter already offers big opportunities to digital marketers, but this is set to increase exponentially with their new innovation. Digital marketing campaigns can potentially gain a big boost from using this new platform. Still, it should be said in mitigation that producing the right tone for a campaign is also essential. Beware of ”shouting”; i.e., pushy and repetitive commercial tweets with no attendant substance.
10. Augmented Reality
While most people would not have expected the massive following that Pokémon Go received and the millions of dollars the app earnt every day at its peak, the Pokémon marketing phenomenon really helped to remind businesses of the benefits of augmented reality (AR). The app showed marketers and entrepreneurs that consumers are definitely ready for AR experiences now and gave them an idea of the potential earnings that can be had by catering to this demand. With many more brands sure to capitalize on the trend with AR games, advertisements, apps, and more, this is one new movement that is really only just beginning.
11. Data Visualization Tools
For marketers, data is one of the most important factors in not only deciding who to promote to and how and when to go about it, but also in determining how effective campaigns are, how best to tweak them in the future, and more. However, for many people, trying to analyze and understand all of that quantitative information can be a headache because not only does it take too much time, but it can also be difficult to properly interpret. This is where the latest data visualization tools come in handy. Now, technology is available that’s sophisticated enough to process and interpret huge amounts of raw, numerical data in an objective way. Tools such as Plotly, DataHero, Tableau, Raw, Dygraphs, ZingChart, Timeline, Exhibit, and InstantAtlas will be increasingly used over the coming months and years by businesses to really understand the best way to strategize and implement marketing campaigns across all types of formats and platforms.
Conclusion
Perfecting digital marketing is essential to the long-term success of any business or website. Online marketing is integral to brand development and is only becoming more important as time goes on.
