Try running a search on Google for the term ‘digital marketing’ and you will be met by more than a hundred million organic results spread over several pages. You will find a ton of variety within these results ranging from marketing agencies, training programs and even publications covering the industry.
According to Statistic data, the digital marketing industry will be worth over $335 billion by 2020 globally. Every other big and small agency is trying to get that one deciding pie of this aggressively growing market. If that was not all, individual influencers are driving the industry towards new heights with people in every possible industry now opting for digital marketing channels.
One growing trend within the industry is the rise of self-proclaimed gurus and experts who have made it big in their business by leveraging the power of digital marketing. These experts have their own way of attracting business owners and everyone else who wants to try a hand at digital marketing. Most of these gurus try to lure you in by showing an ad about the exponential growth in their business and the sharp improvement in their lifestyles because of their digital marketing expertise. Then, most of them would bring you to a live webinar and tell you more about how they can help you achieve similar success if you buy their books, online training modules or other products they offer. The noise hence created can make you believe that online marketing is the holy grail of growing any business.
Before you set out on your sail to learn and implement digital marketing campaigns, after having heard or having seen these gurus and their prophecies, there are certain things you should know. You can call them the blend of the secret sauce of digital marketing, which can save you a lot of resources and help you achieve better results:
1. There is nothing you cannot get for a lesser price. This comes to services, technologies and even courses. Most of the courses offered online are an amalgamation of learning derived from a few campaigns run by the course instructors. You can teach yourself a lot by actually starting a small blog and trying to bring some traffic. Google and Facebook, the two ruling giants of the industry, provide ton of free and paid courses teaching the nuts and bolts of digital marketing. As far as tools and technologies are concerned, if researched harder, you can always find an alternative. All you have to do is ensure what is exactly that you are looking for. 2. Get the basics straight. Yes, that SEO plugin can be great. Yes, that expensive designer can give you a great logo. Yes, that research report published by that big agency can help you get more leads; but, before any of that you need to get the very basics taken care of.
To start with, have a dedicated website design and development partner. You may not feel the need anytime soon to have a dedicated team for this but the world of design is constantly changing. From video to rounded corners to mobile friendly to responsive – you never know what’s coming next. A design partner would help you leverage the ongoing trend before you miss the bus!
Then, have your marketing goals defined. For instance, suppose you run an eCommerce business. Now, with your campaign, are you looking for brand awareness or lead generation? Decisions like these can help you invest in right services and technology. The example here can help you decide what kind of eCommerce SEO technology you want to have in place.