Writer: Ellice Evans
Editor: Laura Woods
- The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Digital Marketing
Story credits to Ellice Evans
Ellice is our Business Development and Marketing Associate who is the main person behind the blogs! She loves writing and she loves talking; so setting up a blog for Bache Samuels was what she wanted to do to encourage creativity in others and get Bache Samuels out there!
Introduction
Marketing has a broad spectrum of techniques and methods that over time has evolved and grown to keep up with societal changes. Needless to say, society today is vastly different to what society was like 20 years ago …even 10 years ago! Marketing has had to adapt to the changes in society such as the advancement of mobile phones making social media and the internet in general much more prevalent and accessible in everyday lives and therefore creating the concept of Digital Marketing; an umbrella term for specific types of Marketing I am about to discuss and more. I personally think that modern types of Marketing such as Digital Marketing are much more efficient to perhaps, arguably, outdated ways of Marketing – but, it doesn’t come without limitations such as competition and costs.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is creating content for social networking platforms that aim to raise brand awareness, engage your audience to generate conversion such as driving traffic to your site or enticing followers to engage directly to you.
POSITIVES | NEGATIVES |
Social Media is free to set up and free to post content | To access advertising and targeting features, it will cost you |
Even though you may have to pay for some advertising features, you can align it to your budget as it isn’t a one size bracket fits all | Social Media is a resource heavy-task. You’ve got to be on it and consistent with producing content and sharing creativity |
Increases visibility and therefore increases brand awareness | Results can take time to manifest – particularly if you’re using free services or have a low budget |
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be defined as a technological tool that affects visibility of a website or webpage and also the ranks in which the website appears, which is referred to as “organic” results.
POSITIVES | NEGATIVES |
SEO is a lot cheaper than traditional marketing methods | SEO is a slow process and results might take months to appear OR it can have no results – there are no promises with SEO |
Improved traffic due to an increased web presence | SEO can be expensive if you were wanting to use proper SEO strategies |
Instead of getting generic traffic that has little value or low conversion rates to clients/customers, you can target the right audience | There are a vast range of paid opportunities for businesses to use to boost their ranking over you and therefore get a more prime or visible spot on the search page result |
Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a more direct and strategic marketing approach that focuses on creating and distributing relevant, valuable and consistent content to attract a particular demographic that ultimately increases the chance of profitable customer action.
POSITIVES | NEGATIVES |
Emotional responses are evoked (providing meaningful content is created to evoke the emotional response) which in return can attract an audience and a customer base | It is not free and there are hidden costs |
You become a reliable source of information which boosts credibility and trust, ultimately having an effect on people willing to use your products/services or even following your business journey | It can be difficult to stray from traditional forms of marketing such as running ads and sending out emails because it is easier and more cost efficient – you’ve got to stay consistent and put the work in |
Targeted information and dedicated content will be worth it when people resonate with what you do and therefore attracts relevant clients/customers | You have got to put in effort and time to create meaningful content to increase the attention and attraction. It isn’t easy! |
Conclusion
There are so many other forms of Digital Marketing that have evolved such as Influencer Marketing, Pay-per-clicks and so much more. Whilst it is important to not discredit more traditional forms of Marketing, it is definitely worth looking at what your products/services are and your target audience, and consider which forms of Marketing will achieve the best results depending on both your business and the target audience you’re after.