What’s Working Right Now in Digital Marketing?

Do you know digital marketing is important, but aren’t sure what’s working and what’s not? You’re not alone.

Digital marketing has changed drastically over time. It first shook up the marketing world in 1896! How is that possible? Because digital marketing was born with the invention of the radio (yeah, it was analog then, but still a far cry from newspaper ads).

That’s right — digital marketing can happen online and offline. It is simply marketing that happens through digital channels. This means it includes radio, television, and the internet.

But for the purpose of this article, when we refer to digital marketing, we’ll specifically be addressing online digital marketing. The seven major categories of online digital marketing include:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Content Marketing
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
Cost-Per-Impression Advertising (CPI)
Cost-Per-Thousand-Impression Advertising (CPM)
Affiliate Marketing (aka Influencer Marketing)
Email Marketing

Why Does Digital Marketing Matter?

woman reading on laptop — The (not so secret) secret to digital marketing is that it allows you to market to your customers and prospects where they actually are - right then.

As Neil Patel, co-founder of NP Digital explains, “Google and Facebook generate more revenue than any other traditional media company because they control more eyeballs.” There’s the meat and potatoes of it folks. Online digital marketing is essential because that’s where your leads and customers are.

4 Most Effective Forms of Digital Marketing Right Now

The most effective campaigns can vary from business to business. But generally speaking, the following digital marketing campaigns are giving small- to medium-size businesses the biggest opportunity to succeed:

1. Email Marketing

With its low overhead and ability to be customized, email marketing offers an extremely high return on investment (ROI). Unlike paid ads, where you’re competing against other businesses — even the big ones — email marketing lets you speak directly to a verified list of interested leads and customers.

Furthermore, email marketing is something your company owns. You control your email list and the frequency with which your emails are sent. This is not the case with other digital platforms like Google and Facebook who ultimately set their own standards.

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a long-term investment. There’s no way around that. But, for those who stick with it — it offers some serious dividends. Namely, a solid content marketing plan allows you to improve your website’s rank organically.

To do so, you need to regularly produce content that your customers and prospects find relevant. This content needs to be optimized with the appropriate keywords to get found. And, it must be reader-friendly on desktop and mobile devices.

3. Social Media Marketing

The beauty of social media marketing is twofold. First, it allows you an incredible amount of audience customization. This means you can better target your ideal leads.

Second, the cost to entry is relatively low. So getting started doesn’t take as much overhead as a Google Ads campaign – as long as you already have a social presence.

4. Google Ads

Didn’t we just say the cost to entry for Google Ads is higher than Facebook? We did. But, it can still be an incredibly successful way to market. And, the cost-per-interaction can also be substantially less - depending on the ad type and goal. You can set your monthly budget as necessary but remember – not everyone who sees an ad, will click, follow-through, and take action. "Learn more about the true cost of PPC campaigns"

From building awareness through display ads and driving interest via search ads, to helping customers make their purchase with remarketing ads – Google Ads can help you reach your best customers at the right time.

Google has also improved the generation, placement, and targeting of display ads across its platforms. This helps you reach up to 2 million sites and about 90% of the internet.

How to Measure If Your Ads are Working?

woman and man looking at stats — One of the most important aspects of any investment is being able to track and pinpoint your success. Tools, like UTM codes, allow you to better pinpoint where your inbound traffic is coming from so you can identify which ads are working and which need to be adjusted.

As with any investment, you want to know how your ads are working. This means being able to track and measure their performance. While no tool is foolproof, there are some that can help you pinpoint how individual ads are performing online.

One of the most effective tools is UTM codes. UTM codes create custom URLs so you can track which specific ad is driving traffic to your site. It does so by building unique parameters so your Google Analytics can track when that specific custom URL is clicked.

Learn more about how UTM Codes can help you make smart digital advertising investments.

Have You Setup Conversion Tracking?

Conversion Tracking is a free tool offered by Google. It allows you to establish goals for your website. These could include:

Land on the Contact Page
Fill Out a Contact Form
Buy a Product
Opt into an Email Newsletter
Add Items to a Cart
Download Content
Play a Video

By tracking conversions you can identify your most effective marketing channels, allowing you to invest more in those that offer a higher ROI and adjust your strategy for those that aren’t performing as well.

Are You Maximizing Your Digital Marketing Efforts?

The RWL Design team offers a wide range of digital marketing packages. From an all-inclusive full-scale approach to an advisory role, we can help you evaluate and optimize your online marketing campaigns to increase leads and sales.

Let’s talk!

Additional Marketing Insights

Evergreen Content Attracts Long-Term Organic Traffic

Tired of investing in content development stops performing after a short time? Maximize your ROI with an evergreen content strategy. Discover how your blog posts can continue to provide inbound leads months and even years after they’ve been published.