How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Channels for Your Business
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All progress in digital marketing starts by being able to drive Website visitors to your Website and landing pages. As a digital marketing agency, we always say that this is the starting point to increase sales. If a company can’t drive enough traffic through various digital marketing channels, you can’t grow. To drive traffic, you have to select the right channels, execute each advertising channel correctly, and split test your ads to constantly improve results.
As you start selecting your digital marketing channels, you want to think about it as a numbers game. You want to drive the highest volume of Website visitors possible, while generating the most cost-effective cost per lead and sale. Selecting the right digital marketing channels depends on your industry, products, and budget.
The main digital marketing channels include:
- Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Email Marketing
- Display Advertising
- Social Media Marketing
With time, you want to maximize your exposure (voice share) in your market through all of the key digital marketing channels to drive your business growth forward. As a digital marketing company, we always say that there are different layers to digital marketing. To accelerate your growth, you want to penetrate each later.
Layer 1 – Digital Marketing Channels
The first layer in digital marketing is what your prospects first see when they open a search engine, such as Google. At the top of the page, you see PPC ads as you can see here.
Below the PPC ads, you see the local search results in Google Maps as you can see here.
Below the local search results, you see the organic search results as you can see here.
Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC is a very effective way to drive immediate traffic to your business. The main PPC channels are Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Depending on your business, we typically recommend testing more than one PPC channel. The reason why is because different PPC channels perform differently in different markets both in terms of the cost per click (CPC), as well as overall traffic. We recommend PPC as one of the first channels to start with when developing and launching your PPC campaign.
Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Local SEO enables your website to rank well in Google Maps. To rank well in the local SEO section of the search results, you want to get your business listed in the main directories, such as Google My Business. For the best results, ensure that your name, address and phone number are completely consistent in all directories.
Second, include your main and secondary keywords in your title and description. Third, post images of your business to fully build out your profile. Fourth, list your products and services. Lastly, get positive reviews from your clients to show Google and other search engines that you are reputable in your industry.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Once you have traffic coming to your Website or landing pages through PPC, analyze which keywords are driving the most traffic cost-effectively and review which keywords are driving the most leads and sales efficiently. By reviewing this data, you will get a better sense of what keywords to optimize your Website for.
When optimizing your Website, not only do you want to look at the search volume of each keyword and which keywords are producing leads, but you also want to perform a competitor analysis to see how feasible it is to rank for your main keywords organically through SEO. For example, if you are competing against Government or Education Websites that have a .gov or .edu domain, you may have a difficult time ranking for your keywords. Also, if you are trying to compete against Websites that are very large with high quality backlinks, you will also have a difficult time ranking. As a result, you want to look for the keywords that have good search volume, relevance, and the ability to rank well versus the competition.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Once you have traffic coming to your Website or landing pages through PPC, analyze which keywords are driving the most traffic cost-effectively and review which keywords are driving the most leads and sales efficiently. By reviewing this data, you will get a better sense of what keywords to optimize your Website for.
When optimizing your Website, not only do you want to look at the search volume of each keyword and which keywords are producing leads, but you also want to perform a competitor analysis to see how feasible it is to rank for your main keywords organically through SEO. For example, if you are competing against Government or Education Websites that have a .gov or .edu domain, you may have a difficult time ranking for your keywords. Also, if you are trying to compete against Websites that are very large with high quality backlinks, you will also have a difficult time ranking. As a result, you want to look for the keywords that have good search volume, relevance, and the ability to rank well versus the competition.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is now so important that Google shows videos, Tweets, and more from social networks as part of the search results. There are a multitude of social networks that you can get involved in including:
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Snap Chat
Facebook Social Media Marketing for Business
Facebook continues to rank as a top channel for B2C and B2B marketers with well over 80 million small to medium sized businesses using Facebook pages. Organic engagement tends to be highest with video content, while Stories and Live Video have soared in popularity.
Although not the first social network to exist, Facebook is the most well-known. Most of the users fall in the 18 to 44 year old age range, although you’re likely to find a large number of the over 44 year olds on this platform as well.
Instagram Social Media Marketing for Business
With over a billion users, Instagram is the perfect plattform to showcase your brand in the best possible way. Using the right hashtags and curating user generated content is a great way to increase engagement and reach. Photos, short and long form video all perform well on Instagram. Stories is currently the most popular form of content on the channel with Reels rapidly gaining in popularity.
Similar to Facebook, most of Instagram’s users fall between the 18 to 44 year old range. However, it has been adopted by older users than some of the newer social media platforms. Instagram got its start as a photo-based platform and works particularly well for those who can create appealing photographs. It has since expanded to include short-form video and also features a strong pay-per-click advertising program.
Twitter Social Media Marketing for Business
Twitter is an ideal platform for asking your target audience questions, sharing thoughts, promoting events or website content and creating polls. Plus, it isn’t solely limited to text, GIFs are now widely used on the platform.
Twitter users trend a bit older than Facebook with most of its users between the 25 to 49 year old age bracket. Twitter made its name by limiting the number of characters in text posts which has led to a succinct style that’s popular among those looking for news and other factual content.
Snapchat Social Media Marketing for Business
Snapchat is another social media platform that’s more popular among younger users with its largest demographic being between 13 and 34 year olds. Its appeal is an easy-to-use video messaging system and real-time updates that foster in-person interactions. Snapchat is a great platform for creating in-person traffic with real-time messaging.
At its core, Snapchat is a messaging app and is great for brands trying to develop a more personal connection with their audience. It lends an opportunity to share unique behind the scenes glimpses of your business, products and services.
Snapchat can also be credited with launching the Stories feature – which now is a key part of Instagram and Facebook.
YouTube Social Media Marketing for Business
YouTube is the original video-sharing website and is a powerful search engine in its own right. While it may not have been considered a social media platform upon its inception, the fact that it’s the second most popular site in the world means there’s a large user base to draw upon. Because of its search engine origins, keyword optimization plays an important role in attracting an audience. Pay-per-click options also exist to help draw more user interaction.
As the second largest search engine after Google and the second most popular social media channel, capitalizing on video content on YouTube is an integral part of today’s marketing strategies. Well performing video content can vary in length, but more in-depth videos are popular on this channel.
TikTok Social Media Marketing for Business
TikTok is the newest sensation in social media which has been driven by its adoption by younger users. It was the most downloaded app in 2020 which led to its rapid growth. With over 700 million monthly worldwide users, if you’re business can create valuable educational and entertaining content, this channel will serve you well.
Its largest demographic is the under 19 year old group who use the platform for its efficient short-form video editing tools and vast, licensed song catalog. The platform is known for its playful and creative feel and its algorithmic ability to make posts go viral without a large user following.
LinkedIn Social Media Marketing for Business
LinkedIn was created for business professionals and those looking to network professionally. It’s known to attract those looking for jobs or recruiters looking for employees.
LinkedIn has one of the more mature user bases with the majority of users being between the ages of 45 and 55.
Layer 2 – Digital Marketing Channels
Once you click through a search result, such as a Website, you see the second layer of advertising opportunities in the form of Display advertising.
Display Advertising
Display ads are the image, video, and text ads that you see on different Websites. There are two ways that you can buy display advertising. The first way is to contact the publication and negotiate a cost per thousand (CPM) rate with them or a fixed rate for the month. If they give you a fixed rate, it’s important to calculate the CPM rate, so you can compare the rate to other Websites.
When buying display advertising, try not to buy display ads that are below the fold of the website where people have to scroll down to see the ad. Also, take a look at the volume of the ads on the page. If there are a lot of ads, the click volume for your ad will likely be low. You want to try to find advertising opportunities where there are not a lot of other ads running, the ad is placed high on the page, and the CPM rate is low.
In addition to buying display ads through the various Websites, you can also use Google AdSense to buy display ads on various Websites. This is can be a more cost-effective way to display advertise. But, it is important to split test the two options.
Layer 3 – Digital Marketing Channels
Beyond display ads that are visible on a company’s Website, many Websites and businesses offer email marketing and newsletter opportunities.
Email Marketing
Email marketing can be a very effective channel to generate a burst of leads or traffic.
Purchasing List from Publication, Website or Association
When purchasing a list from a publication, Website or Association, try to purchase a stand-alone email list and try to stay away from advertising in email newsletters. The stand-alone email will perform considerably better than a newsletter.
Email List Rental
In addition to purchasing a list from a Website, you can purchase lists from list brokers. Be very careful regarding the type of list that you rent. Stay away from compiled lists. Although the cost will be low on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis, the open rate, click through rate, and cost per lead will be very inefficient. Instead, rent a subscriber list or association list. People that have subscribed to a specific list or those that belong to an association are typically a much better prospect.
Database Email Marketing
Your internal database is typically going to give you the best open and click through rate out of any list. For your internal list, you can get a 35% open rate and 10-15% click through rate. This is why it is so important to build your database over time.
Affiliate Email Marketing
Affiliate email marketing is a very effective digital marketing channel. With affiliate marketing, normally the affiliate gets 50% of the revenue that they generate. While this is a high amount to pay, this is a great way to launch a product and build your database and there is little risk.
Selecting Your Digital Marketing Channels
To maximize traffic, it’s vital to add traffic generation channels over time. Most people or businesses don’t have a large social media following to start with. As a result, we typically recommend starting with the following: PPC, SEO, blogging, and social media.
The reason to start with PPC is because it will give you a better sense of the real search volume for your keywords, while allowing you to monitor how well the different keywords convert into sales. PPC also provides immediate traffic, so that you can start growing your business immediately.
During your PPC launch, you want to test the performance of your ads and landing pages to make sure you are generating the most efficient cost per lead and sale possible. You also want to determine which PPC channel is performing best for you.
Next, we recommend launching your SEO campaign with your blog and social media. The reason we recommend launching all three of these channels as a second step is because they all work as a system to drive organic traffic to your Website.
After some time, when you feel comfortable producing content on a regular basis, consider adding video to your content mix. We recommend video because YouTube is the second largest search engine and is a great way to drive more traffic. Next, repurpose your videos into slides and podcasts to drive even more traffic. Next, create eBooks and even quarterly publications using all of the great content you have generated to drive even more traffic to your Website.
Outline Your Goals
Before launching your digital marketing channels, outline your goals. Typical goals include traffic generation, lead generation, sales generation, brand awareness, and informational goals. Let’s take a look at each.
Traffic Generation Goals
The front of your digital marketing pipeline is the generation of Website or landing page visitors. Without visitors, you can’t generate leads or sales. It is for this reason that you want to establish goals for traffic generation for each channel. Some of the traffic generation goals that you want to establish are unique visitors and the cost per click.
Lead Generation Goals
Once you have established your lead generation goals, outline your goals for lead generation. Specifically, you want to establish your lead generation goals for each channel. Some of the metrics that you want to establish goals for are lead volume and the cost per lead.
Sales Generation Goals
Once you have established goals for traffic and leads, outline your goals for sales. Specifically, determine the number of sales that you would like to generate, the cost per sale, and average revenue per sale.
Brand Awareness Goals
Developing brand awareness enables your audiences to recognize, recall, and relate to your business. It allows people to go from not trusting you to viewing you as a recognized leader in your industry. It’s important to know how to measure brand awareness to understand if you are making progress. Some of the goals to establish and track include brand impressions (the number of times that your brand is displayed in front of people), website traffic, social media engagement, and search volume for your brand name.
Educational Information-Based Goals
If it is vital in your market to educate your prospects on your products, establish educational information-based goals. Metrics to analyze your information-based effectiveness include Website visitors, page views, average time on site, video views, video drop off, social engagement, as well as likes and shares.
Developing Your Content Marketing Plan
To get the most out of using digital marketing channels, you want to develop a content marketing plan. Content marketing will enable you to go beyond advertising and tell your audience a story through your marketing channels that will resonate with them and differentiate you. Content marketing allows your business to develop a voice, providing a consistent message that underpins all of your content.
While driving traffic through multiple channels is important, determining what you offer that audience is equally so. Often what’s missing is a content marketing strategy, which will build your business’ online presence and encourage a dialogue with your audience.
Content marketing is the foundation of today’s successful digital marketing campaigns. Utilizing multiple channels drives a high volume of visitors; the content answers the questions that are in the minds of your audience during their buying cycle.
Content marketing also allows your business to develop a voice, providing a consistent message underpinning all of your content. This allows you to show your prospects what you represent, what sets you apart, and why they should buy from you.
23 Steps to Content Marketing
- Define Your Purpose
- Outline Your Goals
- Define Your Target Audience
- Outline Your Buying Cycle
- Develop Your Story
- Outline Key Benefits of Your Product
- Outline Your Differentiation
- Perform a Competitor Analysis
- Outline Your Mission Statement
- Define Your Primary Message
- Define Your Secondary Messages
- Outline Your Keywords
- Define Your Value Proposition
- Outline Your Positioning Statement
- Define Your Tag Line
- Outline Your Sales Process
- Create Your Content Strategy
- Determine Your Content Development Requirements
- Define Your Content Development Needs
- Create Your Channel Plan
- Create Your Content Segmentation Grid
- Develop Your Editorial Plan
- Execute
For an in-depth understanding of the 23 step process, download the Content Marketing ebook.
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