In today’s world, everyone has access to the internet through their mobile phones and laptops (or other electronic devices).
It is necessary for individuals interested in pursuing a career in digital marketing and organisations that want to achieve success online through modern marketing to understand why digital marketing is essential.
Digital marketing, often known as online marketing, is a kind of marketing that employs a variety of digital platforms and technology to promote brands, products, or services in a planned manner.
Businesses today have enormous opportunities to communicate with people worldwide due to the proliferation of mobile devices and the internet.
Companies can engage with prospective clients in a manner that has never been possible before, whether through cutting-edge search engine marketing (SEM) methods or sophisticated digital marketing technologies.
By utilising search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, social media advertising, and email marketing, businesses can successfully reach and engage their target audience, driving growth and accomplishing their marketing objectives.
This strategy uses the Internet and a variety of digital channels to build connections with prospective clients, boost the brand’s visibility, and propel the firm’s expansion.
Businesses frequently use digital marketing services or employ the services of a digital marketing agency to maximise their exposure on the Internet.
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Digital marketing can be seen in action, for instance, while watching a video on YouTube and coming across an advertisement beside it.
Video marketing is a powerful method that companies employ to engage potential customers via the use of interesting and targeted video content.
These advertisements are a sort of video marketing. Because these adverts can be adapted to the preferences and actions of the viewer, they are a highly efficient component of an all-encompassing digital marketing plan.
The Pan African entrepreneurs and the small to media enterprises ought to be invested in understanding the elements that constitute the digital marketing if the entrepreneurs are to fully tap into the benefits of online marketing as outlined below:
Email marketing (EM)
Email marketing is a reliable and effective technique when it comes to nurturing leads and maintaining customer relationships.
The process delivers customised emails to a subscriber list to give valuable information, communicate news, and push products.
MailChimp, for example, provides organisations with complete email marketing services and email marketing software.
This software allows businesses to plan, send, and analyse their email marketing campaigns, which in turn helps them effectively communicate with their target audience.
Content marketing (CM)
Content marketing is a strategy that focuses on producing and disseminating valuable and relevant information to attract and engage a particular audience.
This category includes blog posts, videos, infographics, and e-books. HubSpot, a famous digital marketing business, employs a sophisticated content marketing approach to increase traffic and produce leads for its marketing automation software.
This strategy involves delivering customers free resources such as blogs, e-books, and webinars.
Marketing using social media
Social media marketing entails using various sites such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn to promote products, interact with customers, and increase brand awareness. Nike, for instance, makes excellent use of social media advertising on Instagram and X to showcase its items, interact with its followers, and drive online sales.
They frequently target their demographic with visually appealing advertisements.
Advertising on a pay-per-click (PPC) basisPay-per-click advertising, also known as PPC, is a technique in which advertisers must pay a price each time their advertisement is clicked on.
Amazon, for example, uses PPC management to run targeted advertisements on Google.
These advertisements are designed to drive visitors to the company’s product pages and increase sales by bidding on high-volume keywords such as “buy electronics online.”
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
Optimising your website and its content to achieve a higher ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) is the process that is referred to as search engine optimisation, or SEO.
It includes conducting keyword research, optimising the page’s content, and constructing high-quality backlinks. As an illustration, Moz, a renowned SEO software firm, uses SEO services to enhance their exposure for high-volume keywords such as “search engine optimisation strategies” and “SEO tools.”
Affiliate marketing
The practice of promoting your goods or services via the use of affiliate marketing involves forming partnerships with other companies or individuals. Affiliates receive a commission for every sale generated through the referral links they provide.
In the case of Bluehost, for instance, the company offers an affiliate programme through which website proprietors and bloggers can earn money by promoting Bluehost’s web hosting services on their respective websites.
Marketing based on influenceInfluencer marketing involves individuals with a significant number of followers on social media promoting a brand.
Product placements, reviews, and endorsements are all examples of this type of advertising. As an illustration, the beauty firm Glossier utilises influencer marketing channels to collaborate with beauty influencers on Instagram.
This helps drive brand recognition and sales using genuine endorsements.
Videography marketing Creating and disseminating video content is essential to video marketing, aiming to engage and educate your audience.
YouTube and other social media outlets are examples of platforms that are often utilised.
For instance, Dollar Shave Club’s viral video marketing campaign on YouTube successfully promoted their membership service.
The campaign garnered millions of views and considerably increased the company’s brand recognition.
Consulting services The purpose of digital marketing consultants is to assist organisations in enhancing their online presence by providing them with expert advice and methodologies.
As a well-known digital marketing expert, Neil Patel provides organisations with consulting services that assist them in improving their search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, and overall digital strategy to get better results.
Automated marketing Marketing automation is the practice of automating marketing duties and processes through software, which improves efficiency and relevance.
Firms frequently use the marketing automation software offered by HubSpot to automate their marketing activities, such as email marketing, social media posting, and lead nurturing. This allows the firms to make their marketing efforts more effective and personalised.
Marketing analytics Tools used for marketing analytics are essential to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts.
Businesses can understand their audience, track conversions better, and make decisions based on data with the assistance of these technologies.
An excellent illustration of this is Google Analytics, which provides comprehensive insights into the traffic to websites and the behaviour of users, thereby assisting marketers in refining their tactics.
In conclusion, this diverse and cost-effective method of reaching and engaging customers makes digital marketing essential to contemporary corporate strategy.
Businesses can achieve their marketing objectives and generate significant growth by utilising optimisation strategies such as search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, video marketing, and automation.
By embracing the possibilities of digital marketing, businesses can establish a connection with their audience, foster brand loyalty, and maximise their potential in the digital age.
Until then, think, eat, sleep, and dream about branding!
- Dr Farai Chigora is a businessman and academic. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Africa University’s College of Management and Business Sciences. Also a global business modelling practitioner. His doctoral research focused on Business Administration (Destination Marketing and Branding Major, Ukzn, SA). He is into agribusiness and consults for many companies in Zimbabwe and Africa. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted for feedback and business at fariechigora@gmail.com, www.fachip.co.zw, WhatsApp mobile: +263772886871.
- Dr Tabani Moyo is an extra-ordinary researcher with the University of North West, South Africa’s Social Transformation School. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (Research focus on new media and corporate reputation management, UKZN), chartered marketer, fellow CIM, communications and reputation management expert based in Harare. He can be contacted at moyojz@gmail.com @TabaniMoyo (X)
