Digital marketing has been a key element in the overall marketing strategy of businesses. Marketers usually combine numerous strategies in campaigns, especially since new and improved
digital marketing developments are emerging.
These digital marketing strategies include various methods and tools for targeting online users, getting leads and increasing conversions.
Using various channels of digital marketing will help you create a well-rounded plan that will achieve the best results.
20 Effective Digital Marketing Tools
1. SEM
SEM or Search Engine Marketing covers both paid and free methods of search engine traffic to your website. It includes both PPC (Pay-per-Click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization), also used side-by-side for keyword traffic.
Keywords are a cornerstone of digital marketing. Without keywords, campaigns would not even take off. So, you need to identify the keywords your target market uses to search on the internet for the products, services or solutions they need. Google Keyword Planner is a fast way to start with keywords.
2. Pay-Per-Click
Pay-per-click (PPC) works like paid advertisements, where you pay for certain keywords. You can see PPC ads at the top and sides of a search page or on YouTube videos and apps. With PPC ads, you pay for results only. In a traditional PPC model like a Google AdWords advertisement, for instance, you only pay if anyone clicks on your ad and lands on your webpage.
3. SEO
SEO or Search Engine Optimization involves multiple strategies for increasing the visibility of a website. The more prominent your pages are in the search results, the more likely you will draw attention and capture your market.
Content is a waste if it can't be found. Since SEO helps you to rank in top search engine places, your target audience can find your website constantly looking for keywords used in your SEO campaigns.
4. Content Marketing
The core of every digital marketing strategy is good content. No matter the strategy, platform, and target audience, you need compelling and relevant content.
Content Marketing works to convert mere viewers into customers, enhancing online sales, gaining customer interest and creating brand recognition. It also helps to increase followers on social media and enhances more visibility of many product pages.
If your content is good, then your SEO ranking and conversion rate would successfully show it.
5. Email Marketing
Email remains one of the most successful marketing strategies. It can be integrated with a content management campaign, delivering user satisfaction, and turning an audience into consumers over time.
According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), email marketers must know how to construct persuasive campaigns. Email marketing tools can deliver several different predictive metrics, and boost both open rate and conversion rate.
The Open rate is the proportion of recipients that opened the email, while the conversion rate is the number of recipients who opened the email and clicked a connection in the email.
There are a lot of email marketing tools that fit well with WordPress. These
WordPress email marketing plugins allow you to do email marketing campaigns efficiently, get leads, and increase conversions.
6. Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a method that uses social media to promote a brand, product, or content. It can be done organically, through paid ads, or both simultaneously.
Use social media sites where your target audience is at. For instance, if your demographic are those between the ages of 25 and 29,
Pew Research notes that Instagram is the best platform to focus on.
Some of the best advantages of SMM include providing validation of your online presence to your audiences when they share your content. You may also use your social networks to interact directly with your audience.
7. Advocacy Marketing
Advocacy marketing, or word of mouth referral marketing, is a social media marketing strategy that more and more marketers are prioritizing. It involves getting customers who are now loyal followers of the brand to talk about your brand and products.
8. Influencer Marketing
Digital influencers are experts in specific niches followed by a large number of audiences. Digital influencers may create brand-specific content and use their influence as a platform to promote brands, whether paid or unpaid.
More and more brands use influencer marketing in their campaigns because they are getting more engagements and conversions. Even with some risks, influencer marketing proves very successful in bringing the brand to people more intimately via influencers that are closer, and usually more trusted, by audiences.
9. Affiliate Marketing
Both influencer and affiliate marketing is utilizing a position of authority or credibility that influencers or industry experts have, to market a product or service to their followers.
Affiliate marketing allows you to tap into target markets in more specific niches through brands that are already doing well in them. This way, you cover as much ground in the market as possible. At the same time, your affiliates will also get to tap your followers and supporters. It is a win-win marketing strategy, if done correctly.
These collaborations can involve giving away unique discount codes, sponsored blog posts or prize draws for the influencer’s audience, to build some buzz around the brand.
10. Video Marketing
Video Marketing promotes a brand or offers products through the use of video. Sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter are perfect for video marketing. Video marketing builds trust and credibility and encourages people to share your content.
According to
Think With Google's blog, 2 billion people are looking for something on YouTube every month. People search for entertainment, news, instructional or educational videos, research material and the like. It's a perfect opportunity to catch new customers.
11. Audio Marketing
In the mobile era, audio marketing deserves some attention from marketers. Even if they don't have the same dynamic of videos, formats like podcasts are increasingly becoming in-demand as people can consume this content on-the-go.
Podcasts are a real phenomenon that take the audience of radio, in particular. You can target topics for your podcasts that your target audience is looking for. When you insert products or services contextually, podcasts turn into audio marketing that can be a huge sales opportunity.
12. Mobile Marketing
Mobile Marketing reaches people via SMS, social media, websites, emails and mobile apps. Marketers may tailor special deals based on location, gender, age, and the like.
Mobile marketing is also an effective means of capturing consumers.
13. Radio Advertising
In addition to the use of conventional radio waves, radio has also become digital. Radio advertisements are a perfect way for your brand to be heard. Using radio ads is a two-pronged approach to achieving as much as possible of your target market, especially when part of your target market is not always available online or do not have 24/7 digital access.
Even leads from traditional radio ads can go to your web site to find out more about the product they heard. It is also possible to advertise through
Spotify and other radio applications. The advertisements you hear can be tailored based on the demographics of your target market.
14. Television Advertising
Like radio, TV is now digital. There are tons of choices for those who want to advertise on TV without paying costly ad slots.
Marketers navigate this marketing platform by integrating customer personal data with modern delivery methods such as addressable commercials. Cross-channel campaigns are also effective because whatever ads customers see on TV can be echoed on their digital devices.
TV ads can now be targeted through on-demand TV and streaming apps as well.
15. Viral Marketing
Viral videos can be optimized for digital marketing. The idea of viral marketing is to create something shareworthy. You create a piece of content that is so compelling that people will want to share it.
Viral content can be funny, controversial, about the latest trend, or can be topical. Brands
use TikTok for brand positioning and marketing, strengthening their online presence engagements.
16. Instant Message Marketing
Besides WhatsApp, almost all social media platforms have their direct messages. When your clients need support, they can get in touch with these channels to get quick answers.
This quick response boosts your credibility and consumer satisfaction, leading to more conversions.
17. Virtual Reality Marketing
Virtual Reality (VR) can capture audiences and set your brand apart from the others in the same market segment. VR can give your audience an immersive experience with your brand, making brand engagements memorable.
It also enables you to tap into unique advertisers that may be looking for something new and innovative.
18. Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is the ability to have one-on-one personal conversations across multiple channels. It is more than just live chat, extending to phone calls, texts, Facebook Messenger, email, Slack, and more.
Identify which channels your audience is on and use conversational marketing tools, such as a unified inbox, to streamline your efforts.
19. Acquisition Marketing
Acquisition marketing combines different marketing tools and techniques with a specific focus on how to turn marketing efforts into revenue.
Strategies may include offering freemium products, launching education hubs, tightening the copywriting on the site, conversion rate optimization, and lead optimization.
20. Marketing Analysis
Digital marketing is highly trackable and measurable. Analytics helps advertisers to monitor consumer activity in high detail, like how many times they click on a link, dwell time, CTR (Click-through rate), open rate for emails, and more.
But the huge amount of information can be intimidating, so marketers need to be skilled in interpreting data and optimizing it towards the marketing campaign.
Understanding all this data and using it to make strategic decisions is an important part of the work of a digital marketer, separating them from their traditional marketers.
Conclusion: Digital Marketing Skills Are Also Crucial
Digital marketing strategies are only as good as the digital marketers that use them. These strategies are merely tools, but skilled digital marketers can put them to work.
Digital marketers support the wider marketing team and the strategic goals of the whole company. They are also a voice for the customer and how they want to interact with a brand, strategically using channels to maximize investments, drive traffic, and conversions.
Many employers are requiring experience in Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, CRM tools, and more. Digital marketers also need to be knowledgeable in tools such as
Adobe Creative Suites, have a working knowledge of SEO, and master keyword research.
So, make sure you also get the right people in your team who can maximize these tools with their unique efforts to bring your brand to the next level of digital marketing.
AUTHOR BIO
MAYLEEN MEÑEZ
Mayleen Meñez used to work in media before finding her true passion in NGO work, travelling thePhilippines and Asia doing so. She homeschools 3 kids and loves reinventing Filipino dishes. She is a resident SEO writer for Softvire Australia and Softvire New Zealand.
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