What Are the Best Digital Marketing Tactics?

Now that everyone is online, the timing has never been more right to use digital marketing tactics. It is an easy way for you to meet your potential customers where they are. It is also a great way to convert potential customers from leads to sales.

But how can you utilize the best digital marketing tactics to grow your business? What are the best digital marketing tactics for you? In this article, we will go over what digital marketing tactics are and what the best digital tactics are for 2020. We will also discuss how to create your online marketing strategy, and some tips on creating successful digital marketing campaigns. For more help with digital marketing, contact SEO Design Chicago today.  

What are Digital Marketing Tactics?

Digital marketing tactics are ways that you can promote brand awareness, a product, or a service online. These are more so individual steps or smaller steps in the grand scheme of a digital marketing strategy. Below are some of the best digital marketing tactics to employ in 2020.

SEO Digital Marketing

SEO digital marketing is the usage of the best search engine optimization practices for your website. Search engine optimization is very important because it allows your pages to get seen. By utilizing best practices such as using the appropriate keywords, tags, backlinks, and correct word count, you can ensure that the search engine’s algorithm will pick up that your website has value and rank it higher on the search results pages.

This translates into higher rates of viewership and lends itself into higher rates of conversion. However, SEO digital marketing is still a very broad field that can be broken up into smaller components such as local SEO and on-page SEO.

Local SEO

Local SEO is employing SEO best practices to bring in customers from certain geographic areas, or ones that are local to your business. This can be crucial if your business is heavily dependent on local traffic. For instance, if you own a mom and pop shop or bakery in a town, or even in a city such as Chicago, local SEO will be important for you. You will want to use local SEO to attract customers from the area into your store.

Otherwise, there is no point. After all, why would someone from a state over or two be more likely to buy from you than someone in your own town? Geo-targeted landing pages are a good example of local SEO at work. They help local potential clientele find your site, your store, and hopefully convert them into sales.  

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is also referred to as technical SEO. It means optimizing your website’s pages to allow them to become more easily found on search engines. Some things that can be done to improve on-page SEO are to have good structure, use the relevant keywords to your topic of choice, and include plenty of internal links on your website. 

Content Creation Marketing

Content creation marketing is a vast field that encompasses content created by your company in order to sell or promote a product or service. The three main types of content marketing are blogs, email marketing, and social media marketing. Every piece of content in your marketing plans should have a specific marketing purpose. Great content has long term benefits for website traffic and rankings.

Blog Marketing

Blog marketing is writing a blog on your own or a third-party site. The goal is to create your own long or short-form content to inform or persuade a reader to purchase a good or service. While it may seem like a very traditional form of content creation, it is one of the best ways to establish an online presence. Having a blog allows you to personalize your brand’s persona and establish better relationships between you and your potential customers.

It also allows your readers to build trust with the brand, as well as hopefully get them to convert someday. The best blogs have SEO practices done on their sites, and great copy that serves its purpose: to make someone laugh, to provide informational content, or to supplement the product or service’s information.  

Email Marketing

Email marketing is all about creating compelling copy for emails. While it may not be spoken about as much as social media marketing, it is still an important way to generate leads. After all, it gives your company direct access to your target customer’s inbox. However, this ease of access does not directly translate to a conversion. The email has to have a catchy subject line, a well-written body, and a readable format. It would also be useful to have infographics or pictures to break up the text. And lastly, don’t forget the call to action!

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the use of various social media channels to promote your brand, product, and service. Nowadays, this can play a vital role in your digital marketing campaign. That is because it is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience. There are a number of channels you can use such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. You will need to choose which social media platforms will work best for you. 

Social media platforms also make it easier by including analytical tools to better enable you access to demographic information. And within the platform, there are a variety of content forms you can publish. For example, within Facebook you can post a video, gif, text, and further get creative with it. This is also the best way to interact with your target demographic. It is easy to engage them via a post or through actions such as “liking” or “sharing” something.

Another thing to keep in mind when using social media channels is to follow a content schedule. One way to do this is by creating an editorial calendar. This is so that your audience will know when you are posting. This can serve to build up your audience over time as consistency does tend to be key.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is the use of influencers in your marketing strategy to gain access to a wider audience. Having the endorsement of influencers can accelerate your growth exponentially if you are willing to pay more for higher level influencers. But if you are just starting, they may be just what you need to get the ball rolling on organic growth! Influencers can be found everywhere, such as on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Digital Advertisements

Digital advertising is a more traditional form of digital marketing that involves the payment of promotional material online. This is a broader field that encompasses paid search services for ads on search engines like Bing or Google to ads on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram to pay-per-click ads. Digital ads are highly customizable and can be budget friendly, depending on what your needs are. Other digital advertising channels may include display advertising, native advertising, email advertising, and remarketing. A big part of every company’s marketing goals should be to increase lead generation and conversion rate while running any type of ad campaign.

Multimedia Marketing

Multimedia marketing is videography, photography, podcasting, slide decks, or any other kind of content that does not fall into the traditional realm. This can also include virtual or augmented reality. While the latter are very new, videography and photography have been along for a long time. Despite this, they still remain one of the best digital marketing tactics. For instance, since Instagram contains videos and stories, companies have taken advantage of this by creating content form there. 

How Should You Create Your Online Marketing Strategies?

Before you employ the use of any of these tactics, it may be best to come up with a strategy first. Online marketing strategies are composed of varying digital marketing tactics. They can be a combination of a few or even all of the above can be used to meet certain goals or key performance indicators.

The first thing you should do before coming up with a strategy is to think of the target demographic and their key features. This will lead you to what digital marketing tactics are the most sensible to reach your target audience. For instance, if your target was Gen Z, then perhaps you would want to use social media content marketing to get your message across to them. This is because they are more focused on social media like Instagram or TikTok. After coming up with an appropriate strategy to hit your ideal goal, it is time to execute. Once that is done, you can now analyze, refine, and start the process all over again.

How to Start Your Own Digital Marketing Campaign

A digital marketing campaign is a coordinated effort with different yet complementary strategies in place to get to the necessary goal. Now that you are aware of all the best digital marketing tactics 2020 has to offer and understand how to create and implement a winning online marketing strategy, you should be ready to start your own campaign. 

However, if you still are not confident enough to execute one on your own, or have not had luck with your current one, then you should call a professional digital marketing firm. SEO Design Chicago can help you create your own digital marketing campaign. We at SEO Design Chicago know the costs of a digital marketing campaign falling flat, and we want to help you. Contact us for a consultation today and see how we can ratchet up your sales!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly are digital marketing tactics and how do they differ from a marketing strategy?

Digital marketing tactics are specific ways you can promote brand awareness, a product, or service online – they’re individual steps or smaller actions within a larger marketing plan. Think of tactics as the “how” (like creating blog posts, running Facebook ads, or optimizing for SEO) while a digital marketing strategy is the “what and why” – the overall coordinated plan that combines multiple tactics to achieve specific goals or key performance indicators. For example, your strategy might be to increase brand awareness among Gen Z, and your tactics could include Instagram content, TikTok videos, and influencer partnerships.

2. Which digital marketing tactics are most effective for small businesses just starting out?

For beginners, the most cost-effective tactics include SEO digital marketing (especially local SEO if you serve a geographic area), content creation through blogging to establish online presence and build trust, social media marketing which is budget-friendly and offers direct audience engagement, and email marketing for direct access to your target customers. These tactics provide long-term benefits and don’t require huge upfront investments. Local SEO is particularly crucial for businesses like mom-and-pop shops or bakeries that depend on local traffic.

3. What’s the difference between local SEO and regular SEO, and which do I need?

Local SEO focuses on bringing in customers from specific geographic areas that are local to your business, while regular SEO targets broader audiences regardless of location. Local SEO is crucial if your business depends on local traffic – like restaurants, retail stores, or service providers in specific cities. It uses tactics like geo-targeted landing pages to help local customers find your store and convert into sales. If you’re selling products online to a national or global audience, regular SEO would be more appropriate, but many businesses benefit from both approaches.

4. How do I choose which social media platforms are right for my business?

Choose platforms based on where your target demographic spends their time. For example, if you’re targeting Gen Z, focus on Instagram and TikTok since they’re more active there. LinkedIn works well for B2B companies and professional services, while Facebook has a broader age range and is great for community building. Consider the type of content you can realistically create – Instagram requires visual content, while LinkedIn favors professional articles and industry insights. Most platforms include analytical tools that provide demographic information to help you understand if you’re reaching the right audience.

5. What makes email marketing still relevant when social media gets all the attention?

Email marketing provides direct access to your target customer’s inbox, which social media algorithms can’t guarantee. While social media is important, email marketing allows for more personalized, detailed communication and typically has higher conversion rates. The key is creating compelling content with catchy subject lines, well-written body copy, readable formatting, and clear calls to action. Adding infographics or pictures helps break up text and increase engagement. Email marketing also works well for nurturing leads over time and maintaining relationships with existing customers.

6. How much should I budget for digital advertising compared to organic marketing efforts?

The budget split depends on your goals and timeline. Digital advertising provides faster results but requires ongoing investment, while organic efforts like SEO and content marketing take longer but provide long-term benefits. For new businesses, consider starting with 70% organic efforts (SEO, content creation, social media) and 30% paid advertising to test what works. Digital ads are highly customizable and can be budget-friendly – you can start small and scale up based on performance. The key is to track lead generation and conversion rates to ensure your ad spending is profitable.

7. Should I try to use all digital marketing tactics at once or focus on a few?

Start with a few tactics that align with your target audience and resources, then expand as you see success. Trying to do everything at once often leads to poor execution across all channels. Begin by identifying your target demographic and their preferences – this will guide which tactics make the most sense. For instance, if your audience is primarily on LinkedIn, focus on building a strong presence there before expanding to other platforms. Quality execution of 2-3 tactics is better than mediocre execution of 8 tactics. You can always add more tactics as your team and budget grow.

8. How do I know if my digital marketing tactics are working and when should I make changes?

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals – this could include website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, social media engagement, or sales. Most digital platforms provide built-in analytics tools to monitor performance. Set up a regular review schedule (monthly or quarterly) to analyze results, refine your approach, and adjust tactics based on what’s working. The process should be: execute tactics, analyze results, refine your approach, then start the cycle again. If a tactic isn’t producing results after giving it adequate time and effort, don’t be afraid to pivot to something that better serves your audience and goals.