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A digital marketing channel is a dedicated online platform via which online businesses and e-retailers can reach their target audience with brand information or particulars about the product or the service they are aiming to sell. These channels allow companies to answer customer-related questions or solve any problems. This is undeniably one of the best strategies to achieve one’s marketing goals. However, it is important to note that the suitability of every digital marketing channel might differ across audiences and marketing specialists need to keep this in mind while making strategies.
Digital marketing channels are primarily used to attain profits and reach goals by increasing brand awareness, generating leads, and the like that will transform potential buyers into customers. Keep reading to learn more about digital marketing channels examples in depth.
Top 10 Digital Marketing Channels
There are scores of digital marketing channels to choose from, and each one of them comes with its pros and cons making them individually ideal for individual goals. In the following list, we have included the top ten online marketing channels most commonly utilized by marketing strategists to help brands fulfill their marketing goals.
1. SEO
More than 90% of every internet search begins with search engines. Therefore, SEO, or in other words, Search Engine Optimization, is used most popularly by companies to create brand awareness. This digital marketing channel helps websites rank well in search results. Using relevant keywords increases the quality and quantity of online traffic to your site. For instance, if you own an online store selling boots, you need to have a good rank for relevant product-related keywords like “best boots” and “where to buy boots.”
2. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay Per Click, also known as PPC, is the second most efficient internet marketing channel if appropriately used. PPC aims to transform dormant users into prospective buyers who will potentially create more engagement. For instance, if you click on a display ad online, it will take you to a different page, giving you more information about the product and making you a potential brand client. Building up a more engaging experience for the users might even actually lead them to make a purchase. You will commonly find PPC ads in sponsored stories, video ads on sites, product listings, and social media platforms. They are majorly based on the most used search terms and profile interests of individual users.
3. Websites
In the modern digital era, a website is a mandatory tool for every business. It gives you a platform dedicated to reaching audiences worldwide so they can know more about your company, products, and services. You will need an in-depth understanding of your target audience and a well-thought-out marketing strategy. No matter how big or small your company is, it is vital to have a website. Websites give businesses an online presence for communicating and/or selling to prospective buyers. Whether e-commerce, retail or service-based, or a B2C or B2B, you must invest mandatorily in a website.
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4. Social Media Marketing
Marketing channels quite commonly use social media to build a community where you are allowed to share anything with ease and get in touch with people. Infact, you can easily connect with potential buyers via relationships and also because it is personable. This is often used instead of delving directly into sale strategies. As a matter of fact, proper use of social media as an online marketing channel is considered to be a highly efficient customer retention strategy that can help businesses increase customer loyalty.
5. Content marketing
Content marketing involves creating content like blog posts, whitepapers, infographics, and videos, with the sole purpose of enabling users to perform a particular action that can lead to a purchase. The created content, which plays a significant part in content marketing, is not just used for promotional purposes but also to go over several topics. Individual pieces of content might be used to educate the reader about the product or even, in many cases, entertain them. This falls under the large umbrella of marketing strategies. Red Bull is a great example if we talk about content marketing. While their primary product is an energy drink, you will find content related to extreme sports, dance, music, and games.
6. Email Campaigns
Along with building a foolproof email list marketing strategists should also know how to put said list to good use efficiently. This can be achieved by making a good email campaign and a successful channel dedicated to digital marketing. Numerous email services can easily aid in executing this marketing strategy properly to grow your business. Upon choosing an email service, you will be required to use this marketing channel with a strategy that helps reach your customers. In most cases, blasting emails to customers is a good way to reach out to an already existing customer base to market new product launches. Email can also be used as an online marketing channel to build a customer base from scratch and create more engagement and hype about your product or service.
7. Voice search
With the advent of technology, there has been a change in the way people search on the internet. Voice search optimization is another SEO variant that depends on optimizing a company website for the searches conducted by users from their smartphone voice AI and smart speakers. A significant percentage of the population uses voice search, making it a channel that is worth it. Voice search works when someone conducts a search via their voice, and the voice AI provides a featured snippet in answer. Featured snippets are pieces of information that pop up in a box found at the top of Google’s search engine results page.
8. Paid Search (SEM)
Paid search, also known as SEM, can potentially give you immediate ROI. As a matter of fact, you are paying for every click that you get. In SEO, people organically find you for free. What makes using paid search advantageous is that the ads you run will be shown above the organic search results. This, in turn, makes them more visible to the users. Therefore, even if you are required to pay each time an individual user clicks on an ad of yours, there is monetary value or value from other avenues. Choosing SEM as an online marketing channel ensures that you stay above organic search results, leading to more engagement from online searchers.
9. Mobile
It is undeniable that the mobile phone user population is increasing daily. It is a trend brought about by the introduction and the advent of smartphone technology into the market and is a trend that is bound to continue for generations. Therefore, serving promotional content to smartphone users is an excellent marketing strategy to get more engagement and potential buyers. To top it all, geo-targeting strategies, where location info is utilized to recommend products or services, are also used to enhance customer experience. Smartphone users spend significant time using apps and playing mobile games, making them profitable online marketing channels. Mobiles can also collect customer data, which can greatly value building efficient mobile marketing strategies.
10. Content Publishing
It is an established fact that relevant content with relevant information drives online traffic. Content publishing is a great marketing strategy that can be used in numerous ways. The main idea is to publish content continuously from business websites or blogs, and the marketing strategy behind it is to run ads with the content across social media platforms. This is an excellent way to advertise your product or service to the target audience and create potential buyers. Adding a relevant and catchy message can be the cherry on top and attract more audiences.
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Conclusion
With the rapidly growing rate of purchasing things online, retailers and businesses have steadily moved to this platform to boost sales and profit margins. It has significantly enhanced customer convenience because they can easily avail products of their choice from the comforts of their homes. Therefore, it is crucial to equip one’s self with digital marketing and online channels if you want to build a career in digital marketing.
To get started, you can sign up for the Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication course from upGrad and become an expert in this field.
