Digital marketing dashboard.

Exploring Real World Digital Marketing Examples

Creating a digital marketing strategy is a vast and complex topic, but it’s one that every small business owner needs to be aware of. There are so many different channels and strategies that you can use to reach your target audience, and it can be difficult to know where to start.

Digital marketing is one of the most powerful ways to spread your brand and grow your business. However, it can be difficult to understand, especially if you don’t have any experience with it. Digital marketing platforms have evolved over time and continue to change rapidly as more new technologies enter the marketplace. Luckily you have us, and we’re going to give you some examples of digital marketing — and be there to help you with your own digital marketing strategy.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the use of digital marketing channels to promote a product or service. It’s a multi-channel, multi-touchpoint process that uses online, offline, and mobile apps to connect brands with target customers so they become new customers. Digital marketing tools target your buyer personas specifically, instead of a billboard that everyone sees (if they even look at it, let alone read it).

This form of marketing is all about reaching potential customers and turning them into actual buyers. The goal is to create brand awareness and drive people to you. With the right tools, you can target potential customers with highly-targeted messages that will be most likely to resonate with them. This allows you to build relationships with these people and turn them into loyal customers.

Types of Digital Marketing

There are plenty of digital marketing tactics that can be applied right away, and some of them (content marketing, pay-per-click, or PPC) are already making an impact in the real world. Each has its own functionality and purpose.

      • Content marketing is basically creating useful content that’s relevant to your business or industry. You might create a blog post about how to choose the best digital agency for your brand, share a listicle (an article in a themed-list form) on LinkedIn with tips on how to optimize your website for better SEO performance, or write up a case study to show potential customers how you can help them.
      • Influencer marketing is another effective strategy worth implementing if you can find influencers who align with your target audience. Start by looking for influencers on social media platforms like Instagram or YouTube, then approach them about collaborating on projects related to their area of expertise. They can make an Instagram reel or social media post about your brand.
      • Affiliate marketing is another strategy used by many brands today because it allows them to reach out effectively without having any resources upfront (the affiliate does all the work). This involves establishing partnerships with other companies where both parties benefit; commissions are paid when referrals lead directly into sales. Businesses also get access to pre-existing networks where potential customers already exist.
      • Email marketing remains popular because people still prefer e-newsletters over other forms of communication. Worried about the work that goes into sending these emails? Design templates and automation are your best friends!
      • After people click through an email or ad, they can be taken to a landing page. This is a singular page that was made for a specific campaign, with one single call to action.
      • Podcasts are great for keeping people engaged with your brand. They are easy to listen to while driving or working out. You can even make them interactive by asking questions at the end of each episode and having listeners respond on social media.
      • SMS marketing sends offers through text messages. Open rates for texts are extremely high, like around 99%, and read rates are around 97%.

Successful Digital Marketing Campaigns

There are countless examples of digital marketing plans that work, but we’ll keep it to a couple.

    1. How many times have you seen ads for Zappos pop up online? Probably a bunch. Their easy-going policies and strong customer service lead customers to share positive reviews and posts all on their own. User-generated online marketing is free organic traffic.
    2. For years now, Dove has been showing inclusivity with women in its ads. As social media has grown, so has Dove’s marketing efforts on different media channels. Dove encouraged people around the globe to use a specific hashtag (#ShowUs) with selfies of themselves, and the movement blew up on Instagram.

Don’t be Afraid to Spend Money

Plan a social media marketing strategy when you’re putting your overall marketing plan together. Enter: search engine marketing (SEM). You pay for keywords to appear at the top of relevant searches in search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s a pay-per-click (PPC) system.

Other Cost-Effective Approaches

Yes, social media generates website traffic, but focusing on keywords for search engine optimization (SEO), inbound marketing efforts and email marketing are great ways to reach potential and existing customers.

Do you know how to gauge if digital marketing is working? Keep track of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). A great thing to realize with digital marketing is you can reach different demographics using different social media platforms.

Let Lift Lead Your Digital Marketing

The bottom line: people are more willing to support a brand that provides a positive user experience. Everything we do is on some sort of digital platform. Traditional marketing may have worked in the past, but we’re in the digital age. Lift Marketing team’s strategists guide you with all things digital marketing: high-quality content, SEO, and other digital marketing examples. Don’t wait – contact us today!