Digital Marketing 101 – Looking beyond social media and email

Are you looking to digitally market your latest startup? Here's what you need to know before you set out. Unlike the real world where you only compete with other companies from your industry, in the online world, you compete with millions of brands who bombard consumers with their marketing messages every day. To top that, if your bootstrapped startup does not have funds to invest in digital marketing, you end up finding yourself in a bigger soup. Most entrepreneurs believe that digital marketing is all about social media and email marketing, but in reality it is so much more.

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Here are five unique ways to conduct online marketing for your startup:

Display advertising

Display advertising encompasses all kinds of graphic and video ads that you come across while browsing the web. The Google Display Network (GDN) is one of the most promising platforms for this kind of advertising. It is no secret that awareness campaigns with smart targeting can lead to sales. You can also target specific pages through ads on the web with keywords related to your business.

Online PR

Digital PR can do wonders for your startup. Just like every other startup, your company is bound to have its own unique storyline. A good PR agency will send your story to bloggers and relevant media houses. If they find your story compelling, they will share it with the world. Invest time and effort in brainstorming ideas for press releases. Without an amazing press release, your PR campaign will fall flat on its face.

Search marketing

If you are looking for sales leads, search marketing is a great option to go with. Beautifully designed and properly managed search marketing campaigns will help you achieve relevant traffic and sales. There are several options when it comes to search. You can invest either in paid ads or natural search with SEO. If you have the funds for it, you can invest in both.

Conversion rate optimization

Whether it is filling out a form, purchasing something, or subscribing, every startup company's website should have some action for a user to fulfill. Conversion rate optimization is the art of helping more of your passive website visitors become actively engaged. It is the online world's best offering if you want to maximize your company's web traffic and amplify its digital presence.

Web presence

In the age of social media, your web presence is more important than ever. Just having a functional site will no longer do. You need to build a professional website that is capable of performing multiple roles. Apart from design, content, and structure, is critical to make your website appealing. You also need to ensure that your website is responsive on various devices like mobiles, tablets, laptops, and desktops.

As important as they are, social media and email marketing aren't the only two things that comprise digital marketing. Make use of the above-mentioned five ideas to help your startup establish its presence in the online world.

Read Also: Why you should learn digital marketing even if you don’t want to be a digital marketer