Usually, the term digital marketing is interchangeably used for social media marketing. More often than not, it is considered the same thing. But we are here to tell you that it is not. It is like saying that all of China makes up the Asian subcontinent. Bizarre, right? Let us simplify it for you.

Digital Marketing comprises social media marketing, that is advertising on social media exclusively which includes Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Snapchat ads and basically any ads that you see on social media. Apart from that, we have content writing, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Google ads which consist of Youtube ads, Google search ads and Google display ads. Search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and e-commerce marketing are also of great importance.

Marketing your brand digitally starts with making people aware of you and what you do. So, when the need arises your brand comes to mind. Next comes optimization of your website, or if you don’t have a website, creation of one. You don’t necessarily have to “sell” something on it, in order to have a website. There are different kinds of websites to showcase your work or simply to provide additional information.

Once you are done with the creation of the website, you should plug in keywords so that your website shows up when people search for you. But wait, it doesn’t end there, your website needs to be updated periodically in order to stay relevant and if you sell products/services, payment gateways need to be integrated. It’s all about making sure your audience has a smooth journey so remember, the more user-friendly your website is the more likely they are to stick around on your page.

So, “ads journey” as we’d like to call it, is when a person sees your ad, either they click on it and they’re redirected to your website or they skip it and look you up on Google when the need arises. Either way your website game needs to be strong. To help you better understand the importance of a website, take for example a situation where you are running various ads and don’t have a website. Your authenticity would be in question because the only information available is up on socials. Today, audiences are research-driven and are unwilling to make a purchase unless the merchant seems reliable so if you don’t have a website their research ends at viewing your social handle. Or worse, they could look you up on Google and if you don’t have a website in place, they would be redirected to competitor pages.

Long story short, a website is your virtual identity.

Another thing to keep in mind while marketing digitally is to have a fixed goal. If you don’t know what you’re running towards, you’ll end up running in circles. Many times, a lot of companies, brands and/or clients approach us to get into the digital space without having a set goal in mind. The issue arises when you’re spending money and not getting the right returns.

The objectives have to be tailor-made to the needs of an individual or a brand. Most often, the primary goal of any brand/client is sales. It seems easy enough right? Run an ad with great visuals, add a buy now option and you’re set, right? Wrong. You need to start by setting a base which is done by creating brand awareness. It’s not as tangible as gaining followers, likes, shares and making sales but establishing your presence goes a long way in the long run. No brand is looking to make momentary sales, it’s always about playing the long game so if you’re in it for the long haul, awareness should be your starting point.