By: Maria Franceschi
Whether you are an intern or just starting a small business, it is important to know where, when and how to successfully promote your company. There are different ways to promote your product or services and depending on the type of company, the type of marketing you choose may vary.
Digital Marketing is just like regular marketing, except that it happens online. In this day and age, many companies are transitioning to a more digital approach, since people spend the majority of their time online. According to HubSpot, constant internet usage among adults increased by 5% in the last three years. Marketing is about effectively communicating to your target audience, so it only makes sense to meet them where they are spending the majority of the time, which is online.
One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is that it is easier to track the performance of your company’s campaigns. There are many elements that are used in digital marketing, such as: search engines, social media, email, and other websites that facilitate the relationship between your company and prospective/current clients.
In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, there has been an even greater push around Digital Marketing as more businesses find themselves implementing more online strategies. This problem presents itself as an opportunity for brands and companies to re-think their digital approach, if they have not already done so, and ultimately succeed.
Digital Marketing’s success surrounds itself by KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, which measure the success of online marketing initiatives. There are different kinds of KPIs such as: lead generation, website traffic, SEO, and paid ads/social media.
Lead Generation refers to the potential customers who can transform to paying clients. There are different softwares a company can use in order to track their lead generation success. It’s important to distinguish between qualified leads and mistargeted leads. Qualified leads are the leads your company wants to target in order to create a mutually beneficial relationship and therefore generate profit. These are potential clients that are interested in your product or service. Mistargeted leads refer to the wrong type of audience who are not interested in your product or service and will not become paying customers. Examples of qualified leads include: Marketing-Qualified Leads, Sales-Accepted Leads, and Sales-Qualified Leads.
Marketing-Qualified Leads are the leads that are considered a good target audience by the marketing team. Sales-Accepted Leads are those that the Sales team would like to work with and Sales-Qualified Leads are considered to be prospective clients.
When considering leads, it is important to note the Cost Per Conversion which measures the amount of money a company spends on acquiring a client. Time of Conversion refers to how much time it took for the prospective client to become a paying customer. The success of your company can be demonstrated by the retention rate which refers to the number of returning customers. This means that your clients are engaged with your content and will commit to your products or services.
Website KPIs work to increase the amount of traffic your company’s website is receiving. Your company’s website traffic is due to SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, which refers to optimizing your website in order to attract leads.
Social Media is an easy and cost-effective method to use to promote your business and connect with current and potential clients. Audience size and engagement rate play huge factors in the success of your social campaign. It is crucial to not only understand how your target audience thinks, but also to engage with them. Social Media also serves as a way for clients to promote your company through mentions and sharing content on the company’s page.
By having a clear digital marketing strategy and understanding the different methods to evaluate your company’s success, your business will be more likely to attract more leads and therefore, cultivate a beneficial relationship.