In the years gone by, those who had the financial might dominated the advertising space. Space in traditional media was expensive. Landing prime spots in print or electronic media were difficult.
The result is many of the smaller companies would get lost in the classifieds. Such are cheaper than the larger advertising spots, meaning they attracted more companies. The possibility of building a brand that way was quite difficult.
Online marketing opened up brand visibility possibilities that many could not have foreseen. There are tons of free and paid advertising options available. They are cost-effective and reach a broad audience base.
Our article explores how digital marketing is changing the branding game
1. Digital Marketing Brings Fairness to Brand Building
One of the strongest advantages of online marketing is that it levels the playing field. As we have stated, analog advertising is more expensive. Startups, small and medium businesses cannot compete.
Online marketing for nonprofits has been a lifesaver for such organizations. They depend on donor funding for their operations. It would be hard to use a significant part of the donations to analog advertising.
By utilizing online platforms, nonprofits will attract funding. They can also raise awareness, attract memberships, and build long-term relationships with donors.
Digital marketing removes any financial barriers. Such has been a stumbling block for many businesses. Getting the most visibility comes down to the right digital strategies.
Best search engine optimization (SEO) practices, for instance, results in excellent rankings on search engines.
Google does not look at the size of the company as a ranking factor. Rather it uses factors like mobile optimization, keyword use, and relevant content for ranking.
2. Better Targeting and Clear ROI for Marketing Strategies
Analog advertising works like a farmer who throws grains into the field and hopes for the best. Marketers book space in print and electronic media. But, they are never quite sure whether their target market will see the ads.
Like the farmer who hopes a few seeds will take root, the marketer hopes they will reach a part of their audience. Measuring ROI can become very difficult when there are no clear metrics to use as a benchmark.
Digital marketing is clearer on how to measure return on investment. The teams can identify and collect analytics to prove their case. Audience targeting and segmentation are easy in the online space.
Facebook, for instance, uses demographics and location to help marketers reach target audiences right where they are.
Getting digital marketing right requires investment in time rather than money. What do we mean by this? Developing relevant engaging content requires zero or negligible spending.
A marketer with writing skills can take on the job. An alternative is to hire a freelancer to develop the content. Time implication comes in building, launching, measuring, and managing the campaign.
The same goes for any other methods you use to get visibility online. A little budget can go a long way in boosting posts or PPC campaigns. And, it is easy to see the impact of the campaigns.
Marketers use metrics like likes, shares, comments, and retweets for social media. An increase in online traffic and lower bounce rates are indicative of a well-performing website.
Leads generation and conversions are also clear, measurable indicators of successful campaigns.
3. Tons of Brand Building Opportunities
Astute digital marketers have so many available to increase brand visibility. Such include:-
Content Marketing
Content marketing reinforces brand messaging. Companies can use blogs, video content, white papers, and how-to tutorials. The main factors to consider are relevance to what the audience needs.
The information must be factual, well researched, and informative. Using relevant keywords and link building will also help with better visibility. The company gets to position itself as an authority and go-to source for information.
Social Media
Social media is powerful because companies get access to a wide audience base. There are multiple platforms that the business can use. It helps to identify two or three where your audiences are likely to be.
There is no point in opening accounts on each platform. Social media management can be challenging, so focus on a few and maximize. Engage with audiences by encouraging them to share, comment or subscribe.
Also, link your platforms to your website. It is an excellent way to build organic audiences.
Organic SEO and PPC
Organic SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) are both critical digital marketing strategies. Without a doubt, the former should be the goal for every marketer. Such audiences come to your platforms because they have an interest in what you have to offer.
But PPC campaigns can bring traffic by increasing visibility, even if on a short-term basis. It is possible, with the right content, to turn some paid visitors to organic traffic.
Final Thoughts
We have looked at three ways digital marketing is changing the game of online branding. It is cost-effective. Smaller companies now have a chance to get brand visibility. They don’t need to worry about big advertising budgets.
There is better audience targeting and segmentation. It means the chances of reaching the target audiences are very high.
The teams have relevant metrics to measure the success of their campaigns. No more reliance on arbitrary figures from media houses on the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
There is also more choice in platforms and techniques. Social media, websites, PPC, and organic SEO are some of them. Marketers must take time to understand what each has to offer.
There is, for instance, no point in having accounts on all social media platforms. It makes sense to go right where your audiences are.
Content generation is a powerful marketing tool. But, how do you make what you put out different from what the competitors have? Researching the market to identify gaps in areas of need is one way. Taking advantage of link-building strategies is another.
Digital marketing is a game-changer for any business or organization looking to build its brand.
