Digital marketing can work for any business if you choose the right marketing platform. Let’s say your business involves selling consultation services to personal investors, then platforms such as LinkedIn & SEO would be a great fit for you. But if you have a boutique shop, Instagram and Pinterest would be perfect!
As a business owner, it’s a great idea to promote your services or products on various platforms. It wouldn’t be safe to put all your eggs in one basket, after all.
Just remember to prioritize the most suitable platform over others when coming up with a marketing strategy.
In the next sections, I’ll discuss whether the four main areas of digital marketing – Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Pay-per-click – are effective for your business.
By the time you finish reading this blog, you’ll have all the information you need to choose the right platforms for your digital marketing campaign.
Will social media marketing work for my business?
Social media marketing can work for your business as a catalyst to get a lot of attention. Similar to how billboards, act as a catalyst to captivate a customer base using headlines and compelling images.
In traditional marketing, after potential customers look at the billboard, they may either become intrigued and start searching for your products or they may simply forget about you unless they see another billboard of yours.
Similarly, an engaging carousel post or an inspiring video can capture their attention and leave a lasting impression on your brand. From there, they will either click on the post, visit your website, and make a purchase, or the brand stays in their mind.
But, the former is unlikely to happen.
According to a source, just 48% of marketers believe that social media provides them with a return on investment. Although the research was conducted in 2017, the percentage is likely to increase even further by 2024;
Mainly due to the decrease in organic reach, the rise in competition, and the emphasis on enhancing users’ experience on social media feeds by showing fewer sponsored ads.
The bottom line is, that social media marketing works as an effective marketing strategy if the goal is brand awareness. Once your target market is aware of a brand, they will always come back to you to find interesting products that you have to offer.
Will SEO work for my business
Search Engine Optimization can be effective for any type of business. Every business aims to make sales, and SEO can be a valuable tool in achieving that by effectively targeting the right target audience with the right products.
Furthermore, SEO can be a valuable content marketing strategy for educating your desired audience. With blogs, you have the opportunity to address their concerns by presenting your products or services as a helpful solution.
Let me present you with a scenario.
When users are in the market for gaming laptops, many of them begin their search by doing a quick Google search.
Whether they’re looking for an affordable gaming laptop or trying to find the perfect one for playing Counter-Strike, they can easily search for the information they need online.
With SEO, your product pages can appear for the term “affordable gaming laptops,” while your blogs can rank for the keyword “best gaming laptop for playing Counter-Strike”.
However, for SEO to be an effective digital marketing strategy in 2024, it’s crucial to obtain validation from other authoritative websites. You can only get the validation through quality links from such websites.
Another aspect of SEO that matters this year is topical authority. Your website should cover various topics in your industry and prove to Google that it is a knowledge base for the people in that industry.
Even though there are several other factors to consider, focusing on the above two areas will determine your website’s ranking potential.
In one of my blogs, I not only cover topical authority and link building, but I also talk about content optimization, keyword research, and other things SEO. Do give it a read!
How to drive organic traffic to a business website in 2024
Does email marketing work for all businesses
Email marketing is still effective for businesses, even in 2024. However, many businesses struggle to take advantage of it.
Email marketing doesn’t work for many businesses because generic email templates, lengthy text, and uninteresting subject lines are a surefire recipe for failure. No matter how many times you send those follow-up emails, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Your email marketing campaigns should have content that is lively, personable, and relatable. The cherry on top would be to make it as concise as possible.
Video Personalization
Nowadays, you have the option to personalize the content, thanks to the advances in technology.
When it comes to personalization, I’m not referring to the typical “Hi, %FIRST NAME%” variables that are often used at the beginning of email copy. That’s so overdone.
Things have come a long way.
You have the option to make customized videos for every potential customer and include them in the email using tools such as SendSpark.
It’s not too difficult. Using tools such as Sendspark, you can simply create custom intros for each prospect and combine them with the universal video.
Take a look at Sendspark if you want to learn more about video personalization.
Monthly Newsletters
Lastly, you have the option to utilize email marketing as a means to nurture and educate your prospects by providing them with informative content. You don’t have to use it for a sales pitch all the time.
You can do that by sending out email newsletters to your prospects and customers; Especially to the ones who have made a purchase or signed up for your newsletters through blogs or other informative content.
Remember, the most crucial aspect of the newsletter is the value that can be offered through its content.
The value can be shared through a variety of content, such as discounts for your products, new blog posts you’ve published, company updates, and announcements of tradeshows you’re attending.
With enough content in your kit, you should be good to go. Also, there’s just something about a clean and simple design that makes newsletters visually appealing, keep it that way.
In a nutshell, to ensure the success of email marketing in 2024, it’s crucial to adopt a conversational and personable approach. Additionally, leveraging technology to enhance personalization and utilizing newsletters to share valuable insights and company updates are important approaches to consider.
Does Google Ads work for every business?
Google ads work best for businesses that are looking to sell in-demand products. It is a quick win when compared to SEO because you get results from it within a week of running one of its campaigns.
I use SEO to rank informational blogs. Because Google pushes blogs more than service pages because it is a knowledge base for users seeking answers. But for users looking for products and services in general, Google ads work best!
Even in 2024, Google Search Network does a really good job at displaying your search ads to the right people. It is the favorite platform for marketers and business owners to invest in because they have more control over it.
With the help of keyword match types in GSN, users can target relevant prospects who have the intent to buy their products or services. If you ask me, it’s an easy win.
Moreover, Google has launched two new types of GSN ads. Responsive search ads and dynamic search ads.
Responsive search ads
Responsive search ads allow advertisers to create multiple headlines and descriptions for their search engine ads. Google will then test out various combinations of headlines and descriptions to determine the most effective version of the ad to display to users, taking into account their individual queries and search history.
Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs)
Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are a type of Google Ads campaign that generates ad headlines and landing pages based on the content of a website. They utilize Google’s web crawling technology to focus on relevant search queries, enabling advertisers to reach a wider audience without the hassle of manually selecting keywords.
All these search ad options can help business owners run successful Google ad campaigns.
Performance Max Ads
PMAX is another Google ads feature that has made tides in recent years.
It is a campaign type offered by Google that helps advertisers boost conversions across multiple advertising channels, such as Search, Display, Discover, Maps, Gmail, and YouTube.
These ads use advanced technology to automatically adjust bidding and improve ad performance on various platforms.
The campaign type focuses on boosting online leads and conversions by optimizing budget and bids, giving advertisers the flexibility to create assets that align with their target audience.
Performance Max ads are created to offer a more streamlined and impactful advertising experience across all of Google’s channels and inventory.
I haven’t tried Performance Max ads since they’re typically used by E-commerce stores, DTC, and SAAS brands, none of which I own. However, it seems that the PPC community has differing opinions on this campaign type.
But, I can confidently say that Performance Max Ads are not a good fit for small businesses. Running a successful online marketing campaign with PMAX ads requires a substantial budget to support the collection of data points and audience signals.
If you happen to own a small business, it might be worth considering giving Google Search ads a try.
In a nutshell, if you have a budget that allows for some flexibility, consider giving PMAX a try. It has the potential to yield a positive return on investment. If not, give Google search ads a try and see if they produce positive results.
Does Digital marketing work for small businesses?
Small businesses can use digital marketing to serve their purpose with certain platforms. Some of these platforms include Google My Business, X , Pinterest, and Instagram.
Start with a Google My Business profile
Google My Business is a fantastic and user-friendly platform to kickstart your digital marketing endeavors. Creating a GMB profile is definitely worth it because it ensures that your business shows up whenever someone is searching for a service or product. It’s as straightforward as that!
If that doesn’t persuade you, I can give you another strong reason. Creating a Google My Business profile won’t cost you a dime.
Its proximity feature is my favorite thing about GMB. With a GMB profile, everyone is a winner. When your prospects are in Eglinton, Toronto, and they search for “winter shoes near me“, the shoe stores with the most impressive GMB profile will pop up on their screen.
Another reason to have a GMB profile is the reviews feature. It can be used to show how many of your clients love you and your products.
It’s worth mentioning that a large majority of consumers heavily rely on online reviews when making purchasing decisions, as revealed by research conducted by Invesp. It’s always a great idea to collect feedback from your customers and foster a strong connection with them.
The above two reasons should be good enough for you to create a Google My Business profile, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your Google Business Profile using your Google account.
2. Enter your business name and click Continue.
3. Select your business type based on whether you sell directly online, have a physical location, or provide in-person services.
4. Enter your business location or service areas.
5. Provide your website URL and contact information.
6. Choose a verification option, such as receiving a verification code via email.
7. Wait for the verification code to arrive and enter it to verify your business.
8. Add details to optimize your profile, such as chat messaging and other relevant information.
9. Fill out your profile information completely to increase your chances of standing out in search results.
10. Update your profile regularly with posts and other relevant information to engage with potential customers.
Note: It is recommended to use a dedicated work account instead of a personal Google account to set up your Google My Business profile.
Have a social media presence
Create at least one social media profile to have a social presence. It is vital for building customer relationships, business updates, and the most important aspect, customer service management (Every business owner’s nightmare)
You can use Facebook, X, Instagram, or any famous social media profile. However, it is crucial to remain active by sharing posts and interacting with customers.
I strongly suggest that X maintain a social media image. Its interface is perfect for staying in touch with your customers.
But depending on the industry you are in, you can prioritize Pinterest or Instagram for social media activity.
There you go, GMB optimization with social media marketing can drive traffic to your business.
Reasons why Digital marketing didn’t work for you
Digital marketing might not work for you due to reasons that usually go over your head. Let me go over them quickly
Mistake 1: Not targeting a segment
One possible reason why marketing isn’t working for you could be because you’re trying to reach a broad audience.
Business owners believe that their services or products will capture the attention of potential customers and lead to sales.
However, the truth is quite different.
There will be a variety of options available for your prospects to choose from. More options for them means more competition for you to deal with. It would be difficult for you to stand out, no matter how wonderful your product is.
One way to maximize your marketing impact is by focusing on a specific, lucrative segment within your target market. That way, you’ll face fewer competitors. There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to convert them into a client.
That said, you need to know how to target the right segment. I wrote a blog entry on this. Feel free to give it a read.
Read more: What can you do to get the attention of the potential customers
Mistake 2: Choosing quantity over quality
Many business owners push a lot of content on platforms and ignore the quality it offers. It would be better to focus on writing one high-quality content piece and recycle or repurpose it for a certain period.
The best example of content repurposing is when Matthew Woodward, a well-known SEO expert, repurposed his best LinkedIn posts to articles on his website. Result? A 76.15% increase in subscribers (He got around 300 new subscribers).
The biggest issue for most business owners and myself is the need to stay consistent on certain platforms. Platforms such as X have a low post-life span. This means that your post will be lost in the sea of posts. Therefore, It is recommended by experts to share at least 3-4 tweets every day to get the attention of the prospect, which can be quite a task.
Another reason is the need to please the algorithms of a platform. Consistent sharing of content please search engines and social media platform algorithms. Because of that, business owners are forced to stay consistent.
Nevertheless, most thought leaders somehow manage to share 3-4 high-quality tweets or posts every day. I have noticed that these leaders focus on one single platform instead of simultaneously creating content for multiple platforms.
Regardless of how you go about it, you should always prioritize content quality over quantity.
Mistake 3: Ignoring collaboration and influencer marketing
Most business owners completely ignore influencer marketing. You would be surprised to know, that influencer marketing is the cheapest and the most profitable form of marketing.
According to data from Grin, the ROI of influencer marketing is as high as 650%.
If you want to work with the influencers, you can search for a thought leader or an expert on social media and connect with them. For a data-driven approach, you can find influencers on some platforms that are dedicated to finding relevant influencers for you.
Check out: Best Influencer Marketing Platforms
Achieve business growth with the right approach
It’s clear that digital marketing has the potential to benefit your business in numerous ways. However, it’s important to approach it correctly. I hope you found this blog to be informative. If you’re interested in getting more information, you can check out my blog.
