Modern Marketing Tools & Statistics – The Main Channels and Benefits of Digital Marketing

For the past few years, search engine marketing (SEM) was quite enough to feel great in the online business. But a new era has recently begun that is having a major impact on previously adopted approaches to online marketing and it’s called digital marketing.

What is digital marketing? In a broad sense, it is a type of marketing activity that involves the use of various promotion methods using modern digital opportunities. Digital marketing is a marketing direction that implies the promotion of goods and services using digital technologies, which are used at all stages of working with consumers. Digital marketing differs from Internet marketing in that not only online but also offline tools are used (POS terminals, smart gadgets, etc.). Digital marketing services are most in-demand in the B2B, B2C segments. The use of advanced digital capabilities helps to reach the maximum number of target consumers and debug effective interaction with them.

Internet marketing has rapidly evolved and become digital. It increasingly uses complex strategies for online promotion, creating websites and applications; creativity, high-quality copywriting, contextual advertising, social activity, and other interactive tools are gaining increasing importance.

Digital marketing is actively improving and developing. New ways of influencing the target audience and Internet users, in general, appear regularly. The goal of digital marketing is interaction and bringing it to a new level of quality. Today, buyers independently form services and goods, can directly communicate with representatives of firms, comment on any promotions while waiting for a response. At the same time, a small business without great financial capabilities is able to effectively promote a brand on the Internet, convey information about goods and services to the audience, gradually growing into a successful, large-scale corporation. You can also have a look at these digital marketing statistics that show that the market has changed.

Modern Marketing Tools

Taking into account modern trends, we will still venture to list the main digital marketing tools that have already proven their effectiveness in promoting a business on the Internet:

1. Creation of a website (landing page) and its SEO promotion. A website is a key way to tell the audience about a company and a product, and a dedicated landing page is the most optimal sales channel. SEO optimization and promotion allow the site to be at the top of the search results for key queries. You can use serp checker online to check your top pages.
2. SMM works with the target audience in social networks. Social media is an inexhaustible source of potential customers. To attract them, companies create communities or pages where they communicate with customers, publish useful posts, hold contests, give away gifts, post announcements, and news. Many people successfully use social media as a sales platform.
3. Contextual advertising is a tool for attracting traffic, which is text ads that are shown to the user based on the history of his requests. Separately, advertising in search results and display ads are distinguished – ads on third-party sites.
4. Email marketing is a way to interact with customers via email. Ideal to remind the customer about a product or service at a given frequency, share important information, and stimulate purchases.
5. Content marketing is the creation and distribution of useful and trustworthy information that increases customer loyalty to the company’s products. Blogs, pages in social networks, and mailings are considered convenient platforms for delivering this content.
6. Viral advertising articles, videos, pictures, the content of which makes users immediately want to click share or repost. The key drawback is that it is not always possible to predict which material will cause the viral spread.

Main channels

1. Internet. This channel provides for the use of any devices that have access to the global network: tablets, laptops, PCs, smartphones, etc. Advertisements are placed on the Internet (search, contextual, banner, teaser, etc.), diverse content is created for viral or passive promotion (text articles, videos, etc.), the promotion of services and goods in social networks is carried out, the opinions of experts are published, the search engine optimization of the site is carried out.
2. Digital television. It is increasingly displacing analog TV from the market and is increasingly integrated into the global network. One of the most widespread formats of digital marketing on a TV channel is the creation of short videos that are broadcast during commercial breaks. Also, creeping lines and other features are sometimes practiced.
3. Mobile gadgets. These are smartphones, cell phones. The most popular way to promote using mobile devices is sending SMS messages with an advertising offer. It can be performed both according to the client base (that is, to the phone numbers of people who have already used the services or bought goods in this company), and according to independent collections of numbers. Other tools can also be used through mobile gadgets, for example, branded offers, WOW calls, and advertising in various programs.
4. Local area networks. These may include corporate networks in one office, local networks in detached houses, city districts, etc. Through this channel, as a rule, advertisements for services and goods are distributed, aimed at an audience with a specific geographic reference.
5. Interactive displays. The devices can be installed in fitting rooms of shops, restaurants, and cafes, on chargers, POS-terminals, etc. Also, interactive displays include digital banners that are placed for advertising purposes. This channel is mainly used to distribute videos. Pop-up advertising windows are also actively used.
6. Social networks. Social networks are used for discussions, publications, and “independent” opinions, viral advertising, creating and maintaining groups. Banner or contextual advertising can be broadcast on social media.
7. Digital-art. This channel involves the use of various works of art, broadcast, or created using digital technologies. This category includes electronic music, graphics, games, etc. The main way of promotion is branding.

Benefits of Digital Marketing

Due to the explosive growth of the digital business, lists of online marketing tools are rapidly losing relevance. However, the fundamental properties that make the Internet the most convenient channel for interacting with the target audience remain unchanged:

1. Instant end-to-end analytics. With the help of special plugins and services, the effectiveness of an advertising campaign launched on the Internet can be immediately measured, and approaches and communication methods can be promptly adjusted.
2. Transparency of the customer journey. Observing consumer behavior on the Internet gives a complete picture of how he comes to a purchase, and information on how to optimize this path.
3. Targeting by specified parameters. Advertising on the Internet can be targeted to the target audience for any parameters, which is practically impossible in the offline version.
4. Relatively low cost. With equal coverage, an online advertising campaign will be cheaper than a similar one offline.
5. Easy collection of warm leads. On the internet, it’s much easier to track potential customers who are not shopping and collect their contact information. On this basis, it is possible and necessary to use a set of warming tools and additional incentives.