Promoting your business online is essential, but it’s difficult to achieve great results without combining multiple digital marketing platforms. This means that the only way to build a well-oiled advertising machine and avoid wasting resources is to understand the marketing tools at your disposal.
From customer relationships to finding the right keywords and managing referral programs, there are many different areas that marketing managers need to focus on.
Understanding the basic features of each marketing tool and how they relate to each area of your marketing strategy is the only way to build a marketing mix that drives success.
At Fannit, we’ve been helping small business owners build and implement digital campaigns that attract visitors and generate new customers for more than a decade. In this article, we’ll cover the definition of digital marketing.
We’ll also tell you what a digital marketing platform is and give you tips on creating a mix of tools that helps you achieve great results.
Digital Marketing: What Is It?
Before going over the best digital marketing platforms, let’s review the basics of digital marketing.
Digital marketing is an umbrella term that covers all promotion and advertising techniques that occur over internet-capable devices.
In other words, if a device can connect to the internet, there’s a marketing strategy to help you connect with the users behind it.
With that said, consumers spend the most time on mobile and desktop devices, which makes these the best place to create and launch marketing campaigns. Online marketing allows you to build deeper connections with local prospects.
So, instead of driving users from all over the world to your site, you get local website visitors that have a much higher chance of becoming customers.
What Are Digital Marketing Platforms?
So, we’ve covered the definition of digital marketing.
What is a digital marketing platform?
In simple terms, a digital marketing tool or platform is any resource that can contribute to your online promotion efforts.
There are dozens of marketing platform types.
Some are comprehensive tools that allow you to create ads, build entire campaigns, operate your sales hub, and optimize your content across most spectrums.
Other tools play supporting roles, for example, helping with the creation of content, allowing for easier lead capture, tracking the results of your campaign, unveiling actionable insights, or finding the best keyword ideas.
There is no exact formula that you can apply to choose the right marketing tools.
You need to have an in-depth understanding of your company resources and a clear set of goals in order to make the best decisions.
Is Digital Marketing Effective?
There is no doubt that digital marketing platforms can reduce the amount of work you have to do.
However, it’s normal to have a few questions before looking for the best online marketing tools, especially if you’ve never used digital channels before.
Not only is digital marketing effective, but it’s actually become the most common type of advertising.
In certain industries it’s considered the golden standard, like location-based services. While, in others it’s the only alternative, like in ecommerce and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.
In other words, it doesn’t matter if you’re running a small business or a large corporation, your list of marketing needs probably includes online channels.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why this type of marketing is so popular among large and small businesses alike.
Reach
It’s estimated that 93% of Americans use the internet. Simply put, the best way to reach your potential customers is through the internet.
But, the number of people surfing the web isn’t the only way that digital marketing has superior reach.
Social media, search engines, and other platforms allow you to connect with your audience at times when, a few decades ago, it was simply impossible.
For instance, by implementing a well-structured campaign and completing the right marketing tasks, you can increase the chances of connecting with users during work breaks or while commuting.
Engagement
Although there are a few exceptions, the engagement levels of traditional advertising techniques are extremely low.
As a matter of fact, it’s impossible to even calculate this value because there is no accurate way to track conventional advertising methods.
Digital marketing has changed that aspect of advertising completely.
Companies can now track the performance of their campaigns not only in terms of reach, but how much they engaged the audience.
Engagement is a fluid concept, so there are many different ways to measure it. To choose the best platform, you have to understand how your audience behaves and then create a list of tools that you’ll use to measure how engaged your target audience actually is.
Personalization
Personalization is not only a great feature of digital marketing, it’s a requirement.
If you implement a generic campaign strategy, your chances of success will be next to none.
The reason for this is that a digital marketing strategy is created around the budget, target audience, and goals of a single business.
Any plan that wasn’t created for your company will not be tailored to your requirements, so it will require constant adjusting.
If you want to grow a successful business, you should create a lead generation and sales strategy that encompasses the digital channels that your customers use the most.
Channel Diversity
In the early 2000s, websites ruled the internet.
Fast forward more than two decades and users can access apps, video streaming services, and a wide range of online resources. This doesn’t mean that websites aren’t effective.
It just means that your marketing team needs to leverage the right digital marketing tool mix to produce the best results.
It’s also important to understand that every new channel represents a heavier burden in terms of your marketing efforts.
Focusing on social media campaigns, organic traffic sources, and email marketing campaigns can produce great results.
But, this also means that you’ll have to create, monitor, and optimize three different campaigns.
Having the right tools is one thing, but you also need a marketing automation platform that reduces your workload while improving your results.
Types of Digital Promotion Platforms
So, online platforms help you create and implement your digital marketing strategy.
But, which ones do you need? What providers are the best ones? And, how do you use these?
Understanding every platform can be overwhelming, especially for marketing teams that also have other responsibilities.
In these cases, working with a digital marketing agency can reduce pressure and allow your internal team to focus on your customers.
Fannit is a full-service digital marketing agency, so we use the platforms listed below to help our partners on a daily basis. To learn more about working with our digital marketers, get in touch with us today.
As we mentioned earlier, there are dozens of different platforms you can work with.
These can be divided into the type of marketing activity they support.
Below, we’ll go over the top digital marketing tools at your disposal, categorized by promotion type.
Social Media Platforms
Social media marketing tools include any platform that allows you to promote through this channel, including the networks themselves.
Facebook and other major social channels have developed a range of social media management features.
These are designed to help companies connect with their audiences directly through the network.
You can also launch paid social campaigns in order to create more impactful content.
But, creating paid campaigns is completely different from organic materials.
If you’re opting for both alternatives you’ll get the best results, but this also means that you have to adjust your marketing efforts accordingly.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular social media platforms.
Facebook has almost two billion monthly active users, making it the biggest social media network out there.
It’s also one of the best places to promote your services and products because consumers also use it as a resource.
Consumers like using Facebook because it doesn’t break their routine while making them feel like they are more connected to the companies they work with.
As a company owner, the two things you need to ensure are that your business is easy to reach and that you invest part of your marketing budget into creating content.
Social media management is a full-time job.
If you need help with your Facebook or another platform, get in touch with us to learn more about our social media management services.
Instagram is not quite as big as Facebook, but it’s the clear-cut second-biggest network out there.
Because of its unique structure, which puts all the emphasis on images or video content, Instagram is extremely engaging for users. Therefore, it’s also a great platform to run a campaign through.
Instagram is actually owned by Meta, the company that owns Facebook.
This is the reason why Instagram has similar paid ads features to the leading social platform. With that said, users behave differently on Instagram, so you need to use the right digital marketing tools to make adjustments to your social media and mobile marketing strategies.
LinkedIn is known as the social media for businesses and entrepreneurs, so there’s no denying it’s a great place for B2B companies.
Paid ads are available and important, but content also plays a huge role in the success of any LinkedIn campaign.
Publishing articles, sharing insights at the right time, and sending users to impactful landing pages should be all the priorities for this type of campaign.
Email Platforms
Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of internet promotion. But, it still remains successful today.
Why? Because users love the idea of getting personalized offers and going through promotions at their own pace.
It’s the same reason why catalog subscriptions became a major lifeline for retailers a few decades back.
Now, email marketing is much more advanced because it allows tracking.
Like all other internet channels, digital agencies like Fannit can help you track the performance of your email marketing campaigns.
We employ a wide range of email marketing tools to create automated flows that are triggered by different actions.
MailChimp
MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools because it brings a huge range of features.
This piece of email marketing automation software can be used to create email flows distributed across multiple digital marketing campaigns.
It’s important to note that MailChimp’s comprehensive set of features comes at a cost.
The platform had a learning curve, which can be steep for new users including digital marketers that don’t have experience with it.
In addition to the features, it’s also important to understand the delicate balance between the right number of emails and sending an annoying number of messages. MailChimp is a great work tool, but you need to rely on your digital marketers to strike and maintain this balance throughout each campaign.
Content Platforms
Content marketing is a strategy that revolves around creating articles, infographics, and other useful resources.
The idea is to produce great content in order to showcase your knowledge and expertise.
This is considered a type of organic marketing because you don’t have to pay for each user you attract. But, keep in mind that you have to invest resources into developing valuable resources nonetheless.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a full-fledged content marketing platform that allows you to build a site, publish blogs, and track your results.
Not only this, but HubSpot also integrates with social media and pay-per-click (or PPC) channels.
It has features like social data compilation and organic keyword volumes, so you can actually use this platform as a central sales and marketing hub.
WordPress
Also known as WP, WordPress is the leading content management system (CMS) used today.
It’s transparent, open-source, and best of all, free to use.
While it does require some technical knowledge, WordPress is a great alternative for all types of companies because it’s SEO-friendly.
It also brings a huge range of add-ons and extensions that can transform your site into an online store, a showroom, or similar platforms based on your needs.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Platforms
Search engine optimization or SEO is an organic type of marketing.
The goal of this technique is to claim the top rankings on Google and other leading search platforms every time there’s a search that’s relevant to your business.
If done properly, SEO can help you drive search traffic to your site.
This type of traffic is extremely valuable because it consists of engaged users who are using a search engine to find answers to a question.
However, remember that your SEO efforts are meaningless unless you track them with an analytics platform.
The analytics platform you choose has to include information about the organic keywords used to find your pages as well as a breakdown of your traffic.
Google Search Console
The Google Search Console is a platform that allows you to see how your site is performing from the search engine’s perspective.
This digital marketing platform is free, but it provides a huge amount of information that you can use to improve your site and get better results.
Google Analytics
When it comes to free digital marketing tools, none is more useful than Google Analytics.
Contrary to the Search Console, Google Analytics allows you to see your performance from the user’s perspective.
Through Google Analytics, you can see what pages your audience spends the most time on, where traffic is coming from, and many more statistics that help you improve your digital marketing campaigns.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Platforms
PPC marketing, also called paid advertising, consists of any online promotion form where you pay every time someone interacts with your ad.
So, even though you have to pay for each interaction, you only incur charges when your audience members commit to a certain level of commitment.
Google Ads
There are multiple platforms you can use to launch a PPC campaign, but the best is still Google Ads.
Known formerly as Google Adwords, this platform has the widest reach because it includes the search engine’s results pages as well as an almost infinite amount of partner sites.
Inbound Platforms and Lead Generation Platforms
Inbound marketing is a discipline that includes any form of advertising or promotion that can help you attract users who are already interested in your business.
Lead management and generation tools, on the other hand, help you collect, value, and contact prospects that have a high chance of becoming customers.
Reputation Management Platforms
Reputation management tools help ensure that your company has a positive image.
Google My Business
Remember, there are countless review sites that consumers use, but these vary depending on location, industry, and client base.
Google My Business is one of the few cross-region marketing tools that’s used in almost all industries and by adults in almost every age group.
Ready to Choose the Best Digital Marketing Platforms? Fannit Is Here to Help
There is no doubt that digital marketing is one of the top marketing tactics you have available.
Whether it’s through search engines, PPC, social media, or a healthy combination of the three, there is no doubt that infusing digital channels into your marketing efforts will help you get more bang for your buck.
If you need help understanding digital marketing platforms and how to use them, contact Fannit and our team will be glad to assist you.
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