Learn all about the types of digital marketing channels
Digital marketing uses a variety of channels that are grouped into two main categories – online marketing channels and offline marketing channels. The difference between them is that the first ones are only connected to the Internet, and the others use digital devices that are not necessarily tied to it. (Article – What is Digital Marketing here)
Online marketing channels and essence of their work Online marketing channels are:
– Marketing of websites;
– Search engine optimization (SEO);
– Pay-per-click advertising; – Content marketing;
– Email marketing; – Marketing in social networks;
– Affiliate marketing;
– Inbound marketing;
– Mobile marketing;
– Video marketing
A website is a powerful tool in all digital marketing campaigns because it showcases your product or service and helps promote your brand. For this reason, it is extremely important that it works quickly, is easy to use, and is mobile-friendly. Having a good website is not enough at all, because a digital marketing strategy must be prepared for its development, to ensure good traffic and, accordingly, customers.
From here you can continue to the article on digital marketing and how strategies are guided. – link to the other article Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is another important tool that helps your site rank higher in search results.
Pay-per-click advertising allows you to promote your business on social media through paid ads. Such advertising campaigns can be successfully implemented on Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook. These ads are shown to users who search for certain words and terms that are related to your products and services. Pay-per-click ads allow users to be classified by demographics such as age, gender, location, and their specific interests and preferences. The term pay-per-click is so called because you pay a fee to the provider when a user clicks on your ad. The most common advertising channels are Google Ads and Facebook.
Content marketing (link to article) is an important part of digital marketing. It includes text, images, audio and video. Its main role is to reach potential customers through relevant content. To do this, it is published on a website, then advertised on social networks, sent via email marketing, SEO optimized and even pay-per-click ads are set. It is important to note here that there is a significant difference between creating a blog and running a content marketing campaign. Content marketing has specific goals, such as when to post, what content to include, and who it’s aimed at. The main components of content marketing are:
– Blogs;
– Electronic books;
– Online courses;
– Infographics;
– Podcasts;
Webinars (Learn more in Content Marketing Tools – link to the third)
Email marketing is one of the best marketing channels. It is very wrong to think that the spam emails we receive daily are part of email marketing. Its purpose is quite different because it seeks to build a relationship with your potential customers who are interested in your product or service. Many businesses and online marketers use other digital marketing channels to acquire email lists of their customers. Then, with proper email marketing, they convert those users into customers.
Social media marketing involves adding content and paid ads to social networks in order to reach relevant audiences. Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest and most used forms of marketing, which has grown significantly with the increase in internet consumption. Its essence is to advertise the products and services of other users, for which you receive a commission when a sale is made or a potential customer is discovered. For example, Amazon has established affiliate programs and pays out millions of dollars monthly to websites that offer their products. Therefore, it is advisable to consider creating such a system where users can register and find relevant materials for your products to promote. They will get the commission as a reward and the benefits for you are much more.
Mobile marketing can be very useful for you to reach users on various mobile app stores like Google Play, Apple App Store or Amazon marketplace. These stores have thousands of apps as well as millions of users visiting them daily. The essence of mobile marketing lies in creating an app that you upload to Google Play or other similar stores for users to download. You can promote your apps through paid advertising or in-app promotions to be seen by users and motivate them to install them.
Video marketing is growing in popularity, especially alongside YouTube, which is the second most popular search engine. Many users look for information from it before making a purchase decision or simply want to watch different videos. Of course, YouTube is not the only medium for video marketing. Other suitable ones are Facebook Videos, Instagram and Vimeo. Videos should be integrated with your SEO social media marketing campaign. If you choose to create stand-alone video campaigns, it may cost you too much in terms of budget and you may not get a return on your investment, so it is recommended that video be used as part of your other advertising campaigns.
Offline marketing channels
The most important offline branding channels are:
– TV marketing;
– SMS marketing;
– Radio marketing;
– Billboard marketing
All of these channels can be used over the internet and are sometimes the only platforms that need to be used for a brand to have a strong online presence. However, they are not suitable for every business. For example, a small company does not have enough funds to advertise on television or through electronic billboards. Television marketing is a marketing channel that will see an upswing in the coming years. Currently, TV advertising does not allow for 100% targeting. This makes it difficult for marketers who can do analysis based on statistical data they have from a limited number of users. This will change dramatically after the adoption of Web TV, when ads can be targeted to relevant audiences.
SMS marketing is another channel of offline marketing that is still used, but it is not among the most effective. It is increasingly being replaced by better options such as push messages on the web and mobile devices, and also on Facebook Messenger.
Radio marketing is another popular mechanism that is not as effective as other methods. The main problem here is that the exact return on investment is not clear. In addition, advertising reaches the number of listeners of the particular radio station. Radio marketing is good for promoting local businesses in small communities that are not as affected by social media influence.
Billboard marketing is also a part of digital marketing. Electronic billboards are available in some of the most popular public places.
In any case, a business without advertising cannot reach its full potential. The hard part is choosing the right channels for your project. The alternative is trial and error, but this method is very expensive and does not guarantee results – some campaigns need to run for months before they start to see definite returns.
That’s why you need a team of specialists who know what they’re doing and will guide you in the right direction. Contact us and don’t run away from your success!