What's online marketing?

Internet Marketing... From A to Z

 What's the online marketing?

I had always found it very difficult to answer this question in a comprehensive and short way, until I recently came across this infographic that embodies the content of e-marketing in all its aspects in the form of a tree!

In fact, the main reason that prompted me to write this long article is my observation that most people see e-marketing based on the use of Facebook, ads on websites, search engine optimization…etc. Well, I agree with these people but to a certain extent; In fact, what was mentioned is the phrase channels or branches as in this picture and does not represent the entire concept of electronic marketing.

 

 Research:

Research represents the basic step for the start of any profitable project, whether it is traditional or on the web, and this step begins with identifying the purpose of the site or product, what is the problem that the site or product solves for customers or users? What is the purpose of the site? …. Answering these questions lays the foundation for a successful web business journey.

Later comes the role of deepening the market research process and answering many questions... such as the status of competition in general and the specifications of the customers' audience... Where will the site stand towards competing sites? … Who are the audience of consumers or users? What are their behaviors on the web? What sites do they visit, what are their ages, interests, locations, nationalities? etc.

 

- Strategy:

A clear strategy ensures that the goals of your business are achieved by dividing the market into small pieces based on the results of the market research we mentioned and then focusing on targeting the most promising or most likely market segments to use or buy your product.

     Start by defining the unique aspects that distinguish your product from the rest of the products in the market and that ultimately drive visitors to the site to achieve the goals you want

Think of new features that competitors do not have that can be added to your product at the lowest costs (free delivery services, distinctive packaging, new flavours, etc.).

Think about ways to increase customer engagement with your product (eg x% off for each referred friend). A successful strategy in e-marketing is based on finding solutions that aim to increase the number of conversions or convert a visitor into a customer by showing the unique selling points of your site, the USPs that you have defined.

 Content:

 Content is king:

  I don't know who said this sentence, but I heard it a lot... In any case, what is meant by the content, the message that you want or deliver to customers, which must be consistent with the strategy that you have reached.

 

Try to highlight the unique selling points of your product but at the same time don't turn into a sales man! … Maintain the famous “20:80” ratio, which means that 80% of the content focuses on information and solutions provided by the product and the remaining 20% ​​on the promotional message.

 

Branding:

It is a permanent process that does not happen overnight. It is the result of successful marketing efforts that may last for years, but ultimately lead to the consolidation of the meaning of the brand and the shape of its logo in the minds of consumers.

The truth is that we cannot do enough with a few words to explain the meaning of the brand! So, let's just refer to the basics, such as choosing an attractive name and logo that is easy to remember by the customer. The branding process should also include focusing on linking the need that your product or website fills with your brand name.

 

 Trunk: Development

The website is the trunk of the e-marketing tree and the place through which customers learn about your product… Every website carries a commercial purpose, just like any commercial store. Just as shelves, facades, lighting, flooring…etc. are all factors that contribute to the marketing of stores. Speed, good design, and an easy compass are also factors. Essential for any profitable website.

The site load speed and is free from errors in terms of the codes used with an easy content management system capable of controlling most parts of the site in addition to the attractive design and ease of browsing…. All of them are important factors that help to achieve the goal of profitability ... Without the realization of any of these factors, there is no need at all to spend money on the channels of publicizing the sites that we will talk about. twigs

And it is the site's marketing channels, whose role is evident in bringing customers to the store! These channels often carry the meaning of the brand and the distinctive aspects of the site or product for the target audience, and the importance of using these channels varies according to the type of product or site.

 

1- Online advertising:

It is very similar to traditional ads, in which the advertiser purchases ad space or impressions from another site, and the advertised site is usually somewhat related to the product to be marketed, and the purpose of these ads is to bring visitors and convert these visitors into customers as a final result.

There are many types of digital ads, such as Affiliate Programs, Link Ads, Guest Blogger or it can be part of a creative marketing campaign...etc.

 

2- Social Media:

Marketing through this channel aims to reach the target audience through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube ... etc. Marketing through social media depends on building social groups interested in the brand by addressing the target audience by sharing interesting content such as information. Photographs, blogs, videos, e-books.

 

 3- Search Engine Marketing:

There are two types of marketing channels via search engines

Urge, the free type SEO, which aims to increase the visibility of the site to be marketed on the search engine results pages SERPs. This type of marketing depends on understanding the algorithms of the search engine, producing high-quality content permanently, fetching links from other sites, adhering to the guidelines of search engines in this area, and much much more. Among the other factors… Because of the complexities of this type of marketing, most companies resort to hiring an expert or hiring companies specialized in this field.

The second type of search engine marketing is the paid type, which is a text ad that appears at the top of the search results page and on the right side (if you use Google Arabic), and usually the advertiser pays for each click on the ad on the search results page. In other words, the advertiser asks the search engine to show its ad when users search for certain keywords chosen by the same advertiser.

  4- Email Marketing:

This marketing channel depends on sending newsletters or advertising contents to the emails of the target audience. It is ethically and professionally recommended when using this type of marketing to obtain prior approval from the audience receiving these emails and to provide an easy way to unsubscribe from this service.

 

 5- Public Relations:

Usually major companies and leaders in a particular field rely on this type of marketing channels and publish press releases on news sites in addition to relying on electronic public relations agencies to publish their news.

 

 6- Analytics

Finally, I would like to talk about Analytics and tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Site Catalyst and others, which in my personal opinion are the most important aspect of the currency of advertising websites or e-marketing... through which the marketer can determine the fruits of the money spent on the ROI advertising campaign very accurately, unlike traditional marketing, which It often depends on comparing the revenues of the commercial project before and after launching the advertising campaign, which often lacks accuracy.

 

With the tracking tools provided by many companies (Google Analytics, Site Catalyst, etc.), the online marketer can analyze the consumer’s reaction to the advertisement, track the consumer’s movement on the site, track the advertising campaign expenses and compare them with the day-to-day revenue.

 

With this, I have finished reviewing the content of e-marketing… I apologize for the length of this article and I hope that you have benefited from the information I provided, and if you have any question, I am ready to answer through the comments below

 

 Finally, I would like to share this video produced by Google's marketing team about an e-marketing plan.

 

Sources:

1-     https://smesworld.com

2- Google Marketing team