With the majority of consumers today spending so much of their time on the internet, brands need to use various types of digital marketing to reach their audience. If you want to attract customers, you have to be where they are—or rather, your marketing needs to be where they can see it. So if most consumers are online, then your marketing needs to be online as well. 

For many brands though, whether new or established, digital marketing strategy planning can get overwhelming. There are so many avenues or channels today through which a brand can market itself to reach its audience. And understanding them all and knowing which ones are right for your brand can get confusing. 

To help you better understand, in this article, we’ll review why digital marketing is essential, what the various types of digital marketing are, and which one is most important. 

Why Your Brand Needs Digital Marketing

As of 2022, there are five billion global internet users, which accounts for 63% of the total population. This means the majority of today’s consumers are accessing the internet not just for fun and entertainment or for work but also to learn about products and make purchases. And because of this, marketers have shifted their focus to digital. 

Most consumers today admit to getting information about brands primarily from the internet, and they are thus influenced to make decisions based on a brand’s digital marketing efforts. However, despite most marketing agencies pushing digital, only about 45% of brands have a digital marketing strategy. 

This means those who aren’t making the most of digital are missing out, but it also means they have the opportunity to step up and outperform the competition. Today, digital marketing is essential to a brand’s success. You can certainly exist without a solid digital marketing strategy, but you will likely struggle to stand out and reach your target audience, which is necessary to meet sales quotas and experience growth. 

Overall, digital marketing can help a brand:

• Improve customer loyalty
• Boost brand awareness
• Expand reach and target the right audience
• Generate consistent leads
• Improve ROI
• Obtain better conversion rates
• Boost credibility
• Stand out among competitors
• Increase revenue and growth 

What Are the Different Types of Digital Marketing?

Most brands understand the basic concept that digital marketing is a must, but many of them don’t know where to start, which can result in a poor digital marketing strategy or lack thereof.  

There are numerous ways to market your brand online, which can understandably be somewhat overwhelming. However, while there are many channels through which a brand can market itself, there are generally about seven kinds of digital marketing that are essential.

1. SEO: Search engine optimization is a method of digital marketing that focuses on increasing a brand’s search engine rankings to increase traffic to their website. Most consumers use search engines—like Google—to find what they need, so the better your search rankings, the more leads you will generate.  
2. Content marketing: While SEO helps drive traffic to your website, content helps you provide value to potential customers once they are there, which is what converts those leads into sales. Simply getting people to your website is a small part of the battle. You need to attract and appeal to them with informative and engaging content marketing strategy to ensure they follow through and make a purchase and to keep them coming back for more. 
3. Pay-per-click (PPC): PPC marketing is a form of advertising that only targets your specific audience. PPC ads don’t run constantly like other kinds of advertising. Instead, they only appear when relevant to a specific audience, which means more accurate targeting that is more likely to drive the right kind of traffic to your website. With PPC ads, then, you only pay when the ad works, or in other words, when someone clicks on it. 
4. Social media marketing: There are various ways to market your business using a social media strategy. You can simply spread awareness with your account and the posts you make, or you can use social media advertisements. Some brands even use influencers to help them market their brand to certain audiences. 
5. Email marketing: Emails are one of the original forms of digital marketing, but it is still going strong. Email marketing is essential for generating leads and keeping current customers in the know of your products, services, and any specials or promotions that you are running. Overall, it’s a great way to remind customers that you’re still there and have what they need. 
6. Mobile marketing: Mobile marketing is intended to reach audiences on the various mobile devices they use, such as mobile phones, tablets, iPads, etc. Most consumers use their mobile devices to access the internet, so mobile marketing using local targeting, in-app advertising, push alerts, SMS campaigns, and more is essential.  
7. Video marketing: Using video content as a part of your marketing strategy is also key because it is one of the most engaging forms of marketing. And the more your potential customers are engaged, the more likely they are to make a purchase. Professional video production is also a great way for a brand to get really creative and share its personality, which can help build your brand’s reputation through more relatable content. 

Content Marketing is King

Though multi-channel marketing using a combination of the above is essential, one type of marketing is the most important—content marketing. Content marketing is like the foundation that fuels all of your other marketing efforts. You can have great email marketing, social media marketing, PPC advertising, and more, but if your content is lacking, it can negatively impact your overall strategy and success. 

This is because content is what provides value to the customer. You use content to share and connect with your audience by providing them with useful and engaging information about your brand, your products, and your services. 

Without quality content, you would fail to connect with and provide value to your audience, which is necessary to incentivize them to stick around and make a purchase. Thus, your website content, such as on-page content and blogs, is crucial for your brand. Furthermore, content marketing doesn’t just provide value to the customer once they have reached your website, optimized content can also help drive traffic and boost your search engine rankings. 

Why is Content Marketing Most Important?

There are numerous reasons why content marketing is most important. But the biggest benefit is that it’s incredibly cost-effective and has the greatest return on investment. So many brands and marketers use content marketing for this reason. However, it’s also important because it provides the greatest value incentive to customers, which boosts engagement and loyalty, both of which are essential for boosting profits and experiencing growth. 

EverEffect: Your Premier Digital Marketing Partner

EverEffect is a full service digital marketing agency and we specialize in content marketing. While we excel in all areas of digital marketing and believe that multi-channel marketing is a must, content marketing is our bread and butter. We believe that producing quality content is the most significant factor in driving business growth. 

To learn more about our content services, contact us online today! Or give us a call at 888.506.2183.