Business Digital Marketing: A Strategic Guide to Growing Your Brand

This guide is what you need whether you're just starting out with your business or already have a brand and want to grow.

In this article, we cover the most important ways you can do marketing, popular tactics for increasing your online presence, and key indicators you can analyze to determine your success in marketing.

Ways to unlock your business's potential through marketing.

• Branding vs. Marketing
• Key Marketing Elements
• Top Marketing Methods
• Important Marketing Metrics
• Marketing Strategy Template

Branding vs. Marketing: What's the Difference?

Branding is how people perceive your business. It’s your identity, your promise, and what makes you unique. Branding is about creating an emotional connection with your audience and building a relationship of trust and loyalty.

Marketing, on the other hand, is about promoting your business and attracting customers. It’s how you make your brand known and sell your products or services. Marketing is about finding ways to reach your target audience and convincing them to buy from you.

What Makes a Brand Easy to Market?

In the context of a business, effective branding can be as simple as an impressive logo, a suitable color palette, a clean or functional UX design. Your brand also includes how you communicate with your customers and the personality of your business.

Marketing, on the other hand, includes questions like: How can I become better known to the right customers? Where do customers spend most of their time, and where are they most attentive? How can I introduce my brand in the right place at the right time?

Key Marketing Elements

The most important marketing elements for businesses are:

• Is your product good?
• Is your service good?
• Are you and your team right for the right products and services?
• Do you care about your customers?
• Do you care about what your customers think of you?

• Do you have a suitable name for your business?
• Do you have a clear idea of your company's values, vision, and mission?
• Do you have a personalized website and domain?
• Have you taken legal steps to establish your company?

• Do you have a suitable logo and color palette?
• Do you have a website design and product design that fits your brand?
• Do you have a brand kit that contains all the visual elements of your brand?

Top Marketing Methods: How to Market Your Business in 2024

Now that we’ve covered what makes a good brand, it’s time to think about how to promote it. When considering a marketing strategy for a small business, there are a number of paths and tactics we can use. For some businesses, certain tactics may work better than others—it all depends on your goals.

Below are the most popular marketing methods that a business focuses on.

1. Referrals

Referrals are undoubtedly one of the most effective marketing strategies.

Marketing is about promoting the existence of your business and trust in your business. What easier way to promote than through referrals from family and friends?!

Referrals generally mean you’re already doing something right. It signals to potential customers that you are trustworthy, have good prices, and offer quality services or products.

2. Video Marketing

Videos are probably the most dominant element nowadays, including in digital marketing. Sprout Social reports that 93% of marketing experts incorporated videos into their marketing strategies in 2022, and the same percentage says they gained at least one new customer as a result of video marketing.

Today, the most popular video platforms are social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Short videos are the most popular among digital marketing experts, but longer videos like product reviews, how-to videos, and podcasts are also common resources.

Tips for Video Marketing

Choose your video length in advance. The length of the video has a huge impact on the type of marketing you plan to do. Longer videos require more time investment, a longer viewing time, and may not be the best idea for paid advertising. Shorter videos are much more flexible but need to be more direct.

Choose your platform. After deciding how long you want your video to be, it should be much easier to choose your platform. The best way to choose your social media platform is to first determine what kind of audience you’re looking for. Each platform has different demographics, and with the right hashtag, you can reach your target audience.

3. Content Marketing

Content marketing is when you use content to attract and convert more customers. It relies on your ability to offer value and create interest without necessarily selling the product directly. When done correctly, content marketing is a powerful but indirect way to market your products while building trust and providing value to those you reach, hoping that some of them will become paying customers!

Tips for Content Marketing

First, choose the topics you want to cover. Choose a few titles you want to explore that will be relevant to your customers and start writing. If you focus on blog content, search for and use SEO keywords. For keywords, use Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz.

Build a content calendar. You don’t have to plan the whole year, but at least a few initial topics you want to cover and set a basic cadence for posts or videos.

Focus on one or two content delivery methods depending on your skills and resources. Blog posts require research, time, and a lot of effort. Videos are easier to create and undoubtedly have a wider reach, and if you’re creative in presenting your brand, they can be very effective.

Use Artificial Intelligence. AI tools like WriterAi or ChatGPT can give you an excellent starting point from just a blog title and outline. Plus, if you’re creative with your prompts, you can make AI-generated writing sound less robotic.

4. A Great Website

Your website is one of the most important pieces of marketing. Depending on your business, your website is your brand’s home address and the final destination for your customers. Think of your website as a machine that processes and converts all potential customers. If it doesn’t work or looks terrible, your customers may lose trust and go elsewhere.

Your website is an opportunity to showcase your business identity and share key information with your customers, such as your business story, services, and contact information. It’s also essential for certain types of businesses, like e-commerce stores or those that rely on content marketing through blog posts.

While some companies do very well solely from social media, it doesn’t hurt to have a simple presentation website—especially considering how quickly and easily it can be done these days.

Tips for Building a Website

Start with branding. The minimum you need is a logo, a color palette, and an impactful font.

Don’t complicate the website. For many businesses, the primary function of the website is simply to give visitors a way to contact them. For others, the website’s goal might be more sales-oriented. It depends on your needs how the website should be built.

Invest in a custom domain. It may seem obvious, but getting a custom domain looks much better than having a generic domain, especially considering the low cost of a domain (around 10-15 euros/year).

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a common and effective way to reach individual customers on a large scale.

Tips for Email Marketing:

Collect subscribers. Think of a way to get email addresses from potential customers, such as through sign-ups on websites for discounts or newsletters. Free downloadable content or consultations are another way to get people to sign up for additional email marketing.

Personalize your email. Most email platforms have personalization options, including using a person’s first name, location, etc. These things make emails more personal.

No spam. Spam is the worst. Brands are required to obtain opt-ins for email marketing, but that doesn’t mean people want to receive emails from you all the time. Limit the number of emails you send over time to ensure you don’t "flood" inboxes.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Top SEO Tools

Google Analytics: Helps track website traffic and user behavior, providing insights to optimize content and improve user engagement for better SEO results.

Ahrefs: Offers tools for backlink analysis, keyword research, and competitive insights, helping develop effective SEO strategies to boost site visibility.

Semrush: Provides a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including site audits, keyword research, and competitor analysis, to help optimize websites and improve search rankings.

7. Paid Ads

Paid advertising is a marketing strategy where companies pay to display their ads on various platforms, reaching their target audience quickly and efficiently. Unlike organic methods, paid ads offer immediate visibility and can be tailored to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.

Text Ads

Text ads, often seen in search engine results or on websites, are text-based promotions. They are concise and designed to capture attention and prompt a potential customer to take a specific action, such as visiting a website or making a purchase.

Display Ads

Display ads are visually appealing ads found on websites and social media platforms. They combine graphics, images, and text to create a visually compelling message that stands out. These ads can be targeted based on user behavior, preferences, and demographics, making them a powerful tool for brand awareness and conversion.

Out of Home (OOH) Ads

Out-of-home advertising extends beyond the digital realm, encompassing billboards, public transport ads, and posters seen in public spaces. Despite the digital shift, OOH advertising remains effective for broadening reach and reinforcing brand messages. It’s about capturing the attention of people on the go, providing significant exposure in high-traffic areas. By integrating these diverse paid advertising strategies, companies can create a comprehensive marketing approach that maximizes visibility and engagement across multiple touchpoints. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to fine-tune your campaigns, ensuring every dollar spent is a step toward your marketing goals. With the right strategy, paid advertising can be a powerful accelerator for your brand's visibility and engagement.

Tips for Paid Advertising

Define Your Goals: Clearly outline what you want to achieve with paid ads, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, or boosting conversions. Goals guide your advertising strategy, targeting criteria, and budget allocation.

Know Your Audience: Understanding who your target audience is is crucial. Use demographic, interest, and behavior insights to tailor your ads, ensuring they reach the right people at the right time.

Start Small and Test: Begin with a modest budget to test different ad formats, platforms, and messages. Analyze performance and use the insights gained to optimize your campaigns for better results.

8. Merchandising

Merchandising is an unsung hero in the world of business marketing. It’s not just about products; it’s about turning your brand into a tangible experience.

Important Marketing Metrics

1. Revenue. Revenue is crucial to measure as it indicates the financial profitability of your marketing efforts. You can track revenue through accounting software or a CRM system, and it’s best to review this figure monthly to assess the financial impact of your strategies.

2. Reviews. Customer reviews provide insights into satisfaction and areas for improvement, influencing potential customers’ decisions. You should monitor reviews on platforms like Google My Business and Yelp, ideally weekly or monthly, to stay informed about public perceptions of your brand.

3. Backlinks (do-follow): Do-follow backlinks are essential for SEO as they pass link equity and boost your site’s authority. Tools like Ahrefs or Moz can track these backlinks, and reviewing them monthly helps you understand and improve your website’s SEO performance.

4. Email Open Rates, Click-Through Rates: These rates are key indicators of how engaging and effective your email marketing is. Use your email marketing platform’s analytics to track these metrics after each campaign, helping you refine your email strategy based on engagement levels.

5. Social Impact and Engagement Metrics: Metrics like views, likes, subscribers, followers, and shares are vital for assessing your brand’s engagement on social media. Use analytics tools provided by social platforms, checking them weekly or monthly, to measure and improve your social media presence and audience engagement.

6. Website Visits: The number of website visits shows the effectiveness of your marketing in driving traffic to your website. Google Analytics is a valuable tool for tracking this metric, and regularly reviewing it helps you understand and optimize your website traffic.

7. Conversions: Conversion metrics track how effective your marketing campaigns are at prompting desired actions from users. Using tools in Google Analytics or a CRM, you can monitor conversions monthly to evaluate and improve the ROI of your plan.

Marketing Strategy Template

1. Summary: Brief overview of business and marketing goals.

2. Market Analysis: Understanding the target market, customer needs, and competitive landscape.

3. Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Clearly define what sets your business apart from competitors.

4. Marketing Goals: Specific, measurable objectives that marketing efforts aim to achieve.

5. Marketing Channels: Overview of chosen marketing channels (e.g., social media, email, SEO) and the rationale for selection.

6. Content Strategy: Outline the types of content, themes, and distribution channels to engage the target audience.

7. Budget: Detailed marketing budget, including allocations for different channels and activities.

8. Metrics and KPIs: Key performance indicators for tracking and measuring the success of marketing efforts.

9. Action Plan: Step-by-step plan detailing marketing initiatives, responsible parties, and timelines.

10. Review and Adapt: Process for regularly reviewing and adapting the strategy based on performance data and market changes.

Conclusions

Business marketing is a dynamic, multi-faceted effort that requires a strategic approach to various tools and tactics. Remember, the key to success lies in understanding your audience, continuously adapting your strategies, and keeping pace with the ever-evolving business marketing landscape.