It can be very confusing for business owners when it comes to online marketing, as there are so many digital marketing methods to choose from.
Each method has a different user base and founders need to identify which method would your ideal customer be using to put your money at the right place.
Let’s know about all the marketing methods available to grow your business so you can choose the one best fit for your business.
Content Marketing
Blog
Article writing has been one of the most rewarding marketing techniques for decades. It is also considered one of the best methods for On-Page SEO.
Basically, write articles, tutorials, or how-to guides related to your business that users can discover online. Some of those users will be potential customers who will be interested in learning about your startup and buying your product or service.
Guest Blogging
This is similar to blogging, but instead of writing articles for your own website or blog, you write for a related business and provide a backlink to your article or website.
There are mainly two types of backlinks: dofollow and nofollow. Dofollow links signal Google, or other search engines, to follow the link and boost your website’s authority, while nofollow links do the opposite.
Having a mix of both is beneficial. Relying only on dofollow links may make Google suspicious, while having only nofollow links will not increase your domain authority.
Infographics
Just like an article, you create an informative picture. Infographics are usually packed with stats and comparisons.
With the infographic, you include your brand name and place it within your article. Infographics are share-friendly, so people will share them, increasing awareness of your business.
Podcasts
A podcast is a recorded audio conversation about your business and topics of interest to your users. While it can also be in video format, podcasts are generally known as audio content.
Once recorded, you can host it on your own website, but hosting it on podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube tends to get more responses, as people are more active on these platforms to listen to podcasts.
Video Content
This is the most efficient marketing technique to gain attention for your new venture.
Create valuable, informative, and entertaining video content around your business and post it on platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Case Studies
These are content pieces you write about businesses that have benefited from your product, service, or new offering. This is a great way to further convince potential customers.
Meme Creation
This has been a trending method for a while, where you create memes related to your products or services and share them online for people to enjoy.
Memes are highly shareable and can grow your brand significantly and quickly if used correctly.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
On-Page SEO
SEO is a topic that deserves its own dedicated article, but briefly, On-page SEO is a technique you implement on your website to increase search engine visibility.
There are numerous methods for this, such as optimizing titles, URLs, keywords, adding alt text to images, and using internal linking, to name a few.
Off-Page SEO
This is a method where you focus on activities outside your website, such as guest posting.
There are many other link-building strategies, beyond guest posting, that you can use to increase your website’s domain authority.
Technical SEO
This is typically done by technical experts. It involves optimizing your website’s speed, performance, security (SSL), making it mobile-friendly, implementing Schema Markup, and other methods.
These improvements make your website user-friendly and more discoverable by search engines, helping you attract more users.
Local SEO
This is the process of optimizing your business for local customers, particularly beneficial for brick-and-mortar stores, like restaurants and car dealerships, who want to build a strong online presence.
Social Media Marketing
Organic Social Media
Creating regular content like images, videos, or written posts is a great method to grow your social media presence organically. It will gradually build followers, engage with them, and create a strong community that will help grow your business.
Influencer Marketing
Find content creators within your target audience and pay them to create content that integrates your brand. This approach will transfer some of the influencer’s credibility to your brand and could result in direct sales.
Paid Ads
Search Ads
This is a great method to capture potential paying customers while they are searching for a product or service you offer. It typically follows a pay-per-click model, where you pay for each click, thousand impressions, sign-ups, installs, sales, etc.
Display Ads
These are banner ads you often see on the websites you visit. They are effective for retargeting users who have already interacted with your brand, helping convert them into paying customers.
Video Ads
Watching videos online is mostly synonymous with YouTube. You can create short ads and have Google show them to audiences as advertisements.
Shopping Ads
If you have shoppable products, you can use this method to display your products at the top of search results.
Whenever someone searches for products related to your business, Google will show your product, which can lead to higher conversions since they are targeted at people who are looking to buy.
Social Media Ads
This is similar to organic social media, but it allows you to reach a wider audience. It also gives you the option to target audiences based on interests, demographics, age, and more.
Email Marketing
Promotional Emails
If you already have existing customers, you can send promotional emails to them with offers, upgrade deals, discounts, and more.
Cold Email Outreach
This is an effective way to get new customers. You can get new leads using the various methods mentioned above and then send automated cold emails to them.
Drip Email Marketing
This is the best method to nurture your leads by sending relevant emails about your offerings over time. It helps build trust and keeps your brand top-of-mind for future purchases.
Newsletter Campaigns
If you have existing customers, send them newsletters daily, weekly, or monthly. This will help keep your business fresh in their minds, so when they are ready to make a purchase or their next purchase, you will be the first one they turn to.
Abandoned Cart Emails
If you have customers adding products to their cart but not checking out, you can send them a reminder email after a few hours or a day. You can also include an offer with urgency, such as “expires in the next 10 hours,” to increase your conversion rate.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right digital marketing method depends on where your customers are. Each approach, from content creation to paid ads, offers unique benefits.
Select methods that align with your audience and goals. Test, analyze, and refine to maximize growth and reach more customers.