If you own a business, you’ve probably had some experience with various forms of advertising. There are many different types, from billboards to newspapers, TV and radio commercials, and even good old-fashioned flyers. But for a business to truly thrive in today’s global, technology driven market, it must also effectively utilize digital marketing.

But for some people, digital marketing raises the question: Is it a worthy investment or an overhyped and unnecessary expense?

The short answer is that all businesses stand to benefit from an effective digital marketing strategy, no matter the size or nature of your trade. Simply put, the more people who know about you, the more business you are likely to do. And these days, one of the easiest – and cheapest – ways to put your business out there is through digital marketing.

Consider This:

You’re doing your holiday shopping, and you’re looking for the perfect gift to give your mother. You remember that she loves handmade soaps, but you’re not sure where to look for them. What do you do?

If you’re like most modern consumers, chances are, you take your query straight to Google or some other search engine. Google, in turn, will pull up a list of businesses that sell handmade soaps. That lets you – the consumer – have the power and freedom to choose the one you like best.

Now, let’s turn the scenario around. Say you own a business that sells handmade soaps, but your online presence is minimal or non-existent. You probably just lost a sale to a competitor.

So how do you make your online presence known? How do you make sure that your business is at the top of the search engine list? It’s all comes down to quality digital marketing.

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a blanket term for a group of different strategies aimed at increasing your presence in the online world. It includes everything from webpage design and maintenance to online advertising campaigns.

Quality digital marketing is a little bit of an investment. However, it’s not only cheaper than most other forms of marketing but also it has one of the highest returns. The key is not to skimp – unless you are a marketing and computer specialist, it is probably not something you can do on your own.

There are many companies out there that offer a variety of online marketing packages, so it’s pretty easy to find one for any size or type of business. Most agencies will offer packages that include various aspects of the following:

Online Advertising

Online ads and advertising campaigns are a great way to quickly begin reaching more people. This is especially true if you’re using targeted ads or paid searches.

If we look back at the results list from the search engine in our earlier scenario, the first one or two results were likely paid searches. This is when a company pays to be listed first whenever certain words are searched. It’s a pretty powerful tool, if you know what words and queries to use.

Website Design

No matter what type of business you own, an easy to navigate, high quality website is absolutely vital. It does no good to increase your online presence, just to have a poorly designed website. It will drive potential consumers away.

A good website should be informative, pleasing to the eye, and – most importantly – regularly updated.

Lead Generation

Lead generation is key to any digital marketing scheme. You might be familiar with the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO for short). It refers to a collection of advertising tactics aimed at increasing the interaction between potential customers and your website. This can include everything from the use of keywords to increase your rank on a search engine results list to the use of advertising through sponsored blog posts.

The Takeaway

These are just a few of the strategies that digital marketing specialists use. And whether you launch your own campaign or hire an agency to do it for you, the investment is well worth it. When it comes to marketing, you won’t get better returns than by going digital.