The 5 pillars of Digital Marketing
For many of people, the notion of digital marketing can be quite confusing.
In order to simplify its understanding, online marketing can be divided in five sections all connected to each other.
1. Content marketing
It’s no coincidence that this is the first on our list of digital marketing activities. As we said in our article on content marketing, consumers are overexposed to direct advertising and straight sales messages. Most consumers don’t like being saturated with ads, which is why content marketing is essential. It allows you to be closer to your customers, to build trust and authority. By giving the client access to valuable information about your products, services, corporate culture or brand identity, a connection, and a relationship is created. Your content marketing can take a plethora of forms such as websites, e-books, blogs, slideshows and infographics just to give you some examples.
2. Direct Contact
Despite the technological innovations of the past few years, email is still the primary digital communication channel. Companies count on emails and newsletters to increase their sales and number of customers, as well as to ensure customer loyalty. Newsletters are a great way for companies to communicate news to their customer database, as well as any tips or advice and brand/product updates.
Sending emails may seem easy, however it all comes down to correct customer segmentation, timing and the right strategy. This is why there are companies who specialise in email marketing. To get it right, it’s best to outsource this digital marketing activity.
3. Inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is essentially all about getting found online by your prospective customers. In other words, it’s getting your customers to come to you. In order to do this, your content needs to be relevant and compelling so that it will be found by search engines like Google, shared by viewers and spread across the web. Tactics such as effective SEO, paid ads, blogging and social media are used to execute an effective inbound marketing plan.
By using this PULL strategy, potential customers will be attracted to the valuable content on your website, where they can then find out more information about your product/services and turn into a customer. Just like with email marketing, in order to effectively grab the attention of potential clients, it is best to outsource and consult an expert.
4. E-commerce
E-commerce is the showcase of the products and/or services that your company offers, so it has a particular importance. The content on your website has to be relevant and to show off your products and/or services as this content directly reflects your offering. Considering the number of websites in existence, yours has to be different and offer a memorable customer experience! One of the ways that this can achieve is by enabling a feature to adapt your website for each unique user, depending on their customer profile. This option is increasingly popular as it allows customers to see other relevant products that they might also like to buy that will complement existing purchases.
The other thing to keep in mind is the design and layout of your website, as this can have a significant impact on each user’s experience, consequently affecting the level of traffic that you receive and how engaged that traffic is. So, for the most effective e-commerce platform, consider the ultimate user experience. Ask yourself: What does my ideal customer want to see? From here, you can adapt your site accordingly!
5. Social Media
Social media is the last and youngest pillar of digital marketing. The selection of social media channels that you decide to use is very important and a real strategy needs to be established. Social media channels are a way for you to drive your content so that the relevant people will find it, engage with it and share it. Thanks to social media, you have the opportunity to create a relationship with your clients and engage in conversations with them.
Through social media, you company/brand has the opportunity to share events, news, content, tips and projects that will boost your brand image. Social media is also an excellent way to collect information about your clients.
We hope this article helped you understand the many facets of digital marketing. I think we all agree that defining a digital strategy that is adapted to your company and your customers is essential! One of the most important things to keep in mind about digital marketing is that it is a process and it can take some time to see results.
So be patient, it may take some time but the myriad of benefits that you will enjoy is worth the effort.
If you are interested in more information on digital marketing, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help!
Clémence Barthélemy
Clémence is a Junior Marketing Assistant at Sierra Marketing. Joining the Sierra team, Clémence got to experience the various facets of marketing. Her work at Sierra Marketing mostly focuses on online marketing, social media and community management. Through Clémence’s work for different clients, she found a passion for digital marketing.
