Back in 2016, there were over 3.4 billion internet users in the world. Fast forward 5 years, and that number’s sure to have grown exponentially.
No matter how many internet users there are today, one thing’s for certain: the digital world is an excellent place to get your brand out in front of people. So if you haven’t done any internet marketing, you just might be a couple steps behind your competitors.
So what is internet marketing? Read on for a quick guide to this type of marketing!
What Is Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing is also known as online marketing and web advertising.
It’s very similar to traditional or offline marketing in that you’re trying to cast your net to get in as many potential customers as possible. But instead of using the normal channels (such as radio, TV, and print ads), you’re utilizing online channels. This includes things like email, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and paid ads like pay-per-click (PPC).
The Types of Internet Marketing
What’s great about internet marketing is that you can use a variety of ways to reel people in. We already mentioned several types above, but here are a few more:
- Website (both design and content)
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Videos
It’s in your best interest to find a good mix for your brand. That way, you can expand your reach without stretching yourself too thin.
What’s the Purpose of Internet Marketing?
So what’s the point of internet marketing? Is it the same as what you’d hope to achieve with traditional marketing?
In most cases, yes!
One of the main purposes of internet marketing is to attract new customers. As you may have guessed, you’ll get a much farther reach than with traditional marketing since no physical addresses are involved. However, it’s a little more difficult to track down your target audiences since new channels are popping up all the time.
The other main purpose of internet marketing is to up your customer retention. It’s much more expensive to keep attracting new customers rather than keep your existing ones, so this is definitely an area worth exploring and investing in.
The Benefits of Internet Marketing
So what are the benefits you can get from internet marketing? We list some below.
You’ll Get Better Brand Awareness
To get paying customers, you have to get their foot in the door first (aka the marketing funnel). You might have some wonderful services and products, but no one’s going to know about them unless you make them aware of your brand.
One of the best things about internet marketing is that it’s very simple to raise brand awareness. By taking advantage of the various channels available, you’ll quickly become a brand name that people know.
You’ll Build Your Brand Voice
This goes hand-in-hand with building better brand awareness. After all, how can you increase brand awareness if you don’t really have a set brand voice?
By having a good and regular internet presence, you’ll be able to shape your brand voice and stand out from the rest of the crowd.
For example, by sharing content on social media more than once, you’ll remain top of mind to those who see it. And on some platforms (such as Twitter), it’s perfectly acceptable to share posts repeatedly, so you won’t have to worry about alienating consumers.
You’ll Build Meaningful Relationships With Customers
Social media isn’t just something for people to show off pictures of their daily lives anymore. It’s become a useful platform for consumers to reach out to brands and get prompt attention too.
Take full advantage of this to build meaningful and lasting relationships with your customers. Social media allows you to engage with them, whether it’s to answer questions, fix a problem, or even just to respond to something they’ve shared with you.
If you take the time to show that you care about your customers, not only will it help with retention, but it’ll also boost acquisition. When people see that you take the time to cultivate customer relationships, it’ll motivate them to choose you over your competition, even if your prices aren’t the lowest!
It Couples Well With Traditional Marketing
Who says you have to choose one over the other? The beauty of internet marketing is that it works great in conjunction with traditional marketing!
For example, you can keep sending out mailers and running ads on TV to appeal to the older demographics. But you can also take out ads on social media to appeal to the younger ones. In the end, it’s a win-win situation to have a layered marketing approach.
It’s Cost-Effective
Many internet marketing methods are very affordable, not to mention the return on investment (ROI) is fantastic as well.
For instance, take blog writing and social media posting. You might need to hire a writer or even a social media manager, but their salaries aren’t very expensive. And making blog and social media posts is usually free too!
This means that if you don’t have a huge marketing budget, you can really stretch your dollar with internet marketing. Considering that most blog posts are evergreen as well, this means that the time invested in writing a post is well spent, as you can recycle the content over and over again in the future.
Be on Your Way to Internet Marketing Success
Now that you know what internet marketing is, and what benefits it has, you have a way to bring unprecedented success to your brand. So take what you’ve learned in this article and apply it to your marketing. You’ll find that business will be booming in no time!
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