There is no doubt in the fact that the internet is very accessible today. Given that, the number of people going online every day is increasing, i.e., around half a million new users each day. And now that everyone is going digital, businesses have started emphasizing on marketing their products and services online. According to the statistics, the compound annual growth rate of digital marketing from 2020-2026 is projected at 9%. Also, approximately 63% of businesses have increased their digital marketing budgets in the past year.
These statistics indicate that offline marketing is not as effective as it used to be. Marketers have understood that marketing is about connecting with their audience at the right place and at the right time. Today, that means reaching out to them where they spend most of their time, i.e. on the internet. Consequently, nowadays, businesses put 72% of overall marketing budgets towards digital marketing channels.
So, if you’re interested in digital marketing or are planning to shift to it, this blog is for you. It will walk you through everything there is to learn about how to get started with digital marketing. But before we get to that, let’s understand what digital marketing is exactly.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is basically any form of marketing that exists online / on the internet. A few common online marketing channels that businesses usually leverage include search engines, social media, email, various websites, etc. This even includes communicating through text or multimedia messages.
The 9 broad categories of digital marketing are as follows:
- Social Media Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Content Marketing
- Pay Per Click
- Affiliate Marketing
- Native Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Inbound Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing
Why Is Digital Marketing Important?
Today, every other brand and business has a website. According to the stats, as of July 2022, there are 197,046,670 active websites, and more than 252,000 new websites are created every day. If not that, they at least have a social media presence or a digital advertising strategy. And it’s only natural because having a digital presence is vital for brand awareness and growth.
At this stage, digital content and marketing have become so common that people have started relying entirely on them for learning and earning. What’s best is that digital marketing offers so many options and strategies, allowing you to get creative and experiment. But remember, you must have a clear picture of how your digital campaigns will help you accomplish your overarching goal.
How Can You Get Started With Digital Marketing?
To get started with digital marketing for your business, having basic knowledge of the topic is mandatory. Of course, there are experts, but even then, it’s better to know a little about what you’re getting into. You can reach out to a digital marketing company in Delhi that can guide and help you build the best suitable marketing strategy as per your business needs. So, here’s an overview of how you can get started with digital marketing.
- Learn Common Digital Marketing Skills
Given the categories of digital marketing, there’s a variety of skills that you need to learn. So, it’s best to start by exploring and learning the basics of the following:
- Copywriting
- Social Media Marketing
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Project Management
- Data Analysis
- Marketing Automation
- Conversion Rate Optimization
- Audience Building
Apart from these technical skills, you must also have good soft skills. In today's time, you have to be an effective communicator when it comes to drafting public messages or reports or planning new campaigns. Also, it would help if you were good at time management, organization, and paying attention to detail. With AI digital marketing tools, the learning of skills has become truly simple, and making strategies are much more powerful.
- Build an Online Presence
It is mandatory to have an online presence. Be it on social media or having a company website. That’s basic to spread the word and awareness about your brand, product, and services online. If you already have these in place, you must jump to the next step.
- Define Your Goals
In order to get started with digital marketing, it is essential to identify and define your goals. Based on them, you will draw up a marketing strategy. For instance, if your goal is to increase your brand awareness, you will have to pay more attention to expanding your reach and connecting with new audiences via social media
Alternatively, if you want to increase your sales, you will have to focus on content optimization and SEO to get the audience on your website in the first place. Also, you could give a shot to the PPC campaigns to drive more traffic to your website.
- Identify Your Ideal Customer
Once you have defined your goals, you must determine your target audience. Try answering the following questions to help identify the same:
- Whom did you have in mind when you came up with the business idea?
- Who is most likely to buy from you?
- What is the age group of your target audience?
Note that the target audience may vary depending on the channel, platform, or your goals. For instance, you might’ve noticed that Instagram has a younger audience than Linkedin, which has an older, professional audience base. The audience on IG usually looks for fun and engaging content, whereas the audience on Linked would look for more tactical advice. So, you’ll have to create content accordingly to appeal to the different target groups on different platforms.
- Set a Budget for Each Marketing Channel
After identifying your target audience, it is time for you to establish a budget for each of your digital marketing channels. This depends on the activities you wish to include in your digital marketing strategy. For instance, if your main focus is on SEO, social media, or content for your existing website, you won’t need a high budget. Why? The main goal of such inbound marketing techniques is to produce high-quality content.
On the contrary, if you choose to go for outbound techniques like email marketing or online advertising, that comes with some expense. How much it will cost you depends on the kind of visibility you expect from the advertising.
- Produce Engaging Content
Once you have all of the above in place, you must focus on creating engaging content. Note that you’ll have to create content for the different channels you use. It is critical to stay active across all channels. This content could include blog posts, social media posts, videos, PPC ads, newsletters, email copies, sponsored content, etc.
- Track Performance and Results
Keeping track of how your content performs across all the channels is critical. Also, you get an insight into what type of content your audience is more interested in. That way, you can optimize the content for each of your channels.
Conclusion
We’re optimistic that after reading this blog, you understand what digital marketing is and why you must start with it. And now that you’re well equipped with the information on how to start with it, wait no more. If you need more help, you can reach out to Excellent Publicity.
Excellent Publicity is a renowned digital marketing agency in Delhi with years of experience in the field and can help you start digital marketing for your business at affordable rates We will do everything from informing you at every step to strategizing and creating digital marketing campaigns to get you the desired results. All you need to do is call us.