byte #10: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DIGITAL MARKETING

Marketing in a digital world has been the need of the hour for businesses,corporates and individuals. Kid you not, if you are not familiar with Digital Marketing, you are surely missing out on an industry trend. YouTube was the upcoming trend during 2009, and now it has become a necessity for online branding. It goes similar with Digital Marketing, where it was catching the trend during 2013, and has become a vital position in the recent times.

Digital marketing is the process where marketing meets the internet. It’s the result of what you see online. Ever wondered how Facebook shows you the advertisements after you just searched for an item? Yep, that’s remarketing (unlike the memes) and it’s no mystery as assumed!

2017 was a year of reveals and hashtags, especially those of sexual assault, harassment and equal pay to name a few. The credit of the virality goes to simple effective digital marketing. Campaigns like #metoo , #alexfromtarget , #girlboss have been outrageously famous, viral and captured attention from millions of internet users with this trendy hashtag social media game. It all lies in the Digital Marketing strategies. To think about it, a few words have the power to make a person, brand or business instantly viral and famous. Using social media at your disposal, not only makes you open to those opportunities, but also it keeps you up with the current trends.

Why Digital Marketing has become so important?

● Individuals build their personal brand via Instagram, websites and blogs. This in return makes them open to potential employers, affiliate programs, collaborations with brands etc.

● Having a business without digital marketing is like opening a shop and not telling anyone. Customers have now turned to reading online reviews, look for real-life product pictures and promotional offers more than before.

● Ann Handley has said - “your awesome site isn’t awesome until you get your stories into the hands of people who need them”. You / a business isn’t recognised until an established online presence.

● Digital marketing is more cost effective than the traditional marketing. Would you keep a coupon you received roadside or screenshot an offer online!?

● Google won’t like you unless the audience likes you. In-depth introductions on SEO and SEM coming soon!

To familiarise yourself with the industry, trend, prominent figures and publications, we’ve compiled resources to get you started:

TOP 5 DIGITAL MARKETING BOOKS:

● Digital Marketing for Dummies by Ryan Deiss and Russ Hennesberry

● Google AdWords for beginners by Cory Rabazinsky

● The Art of Digital Marketing by Ian Dodson

● The 1-page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib

● Growth hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday

TOP 5 DIGITAL MARKETING INFLUENCERS:

● Neil Patel

● Matthew Barby

● Avinash Kaushik

● Rand Fishkin

● Pam Moore

TOP 5 DIGITAL MARKETING PODCASTS:

● Entrepreneur Success Stories by Join Up Dots

● Perpetual Traffic by Digital Marketer

● Marketing School

● The Marketing Book Podcast

● The Digital Marketing Podcast

TOP 5 DIGITAL MARKETING TOOLS OF 2018:

● Google Trends

● Google Keywords

● SimilarWeb

● Facebook Audience Insights

● SEOQuake

By acquiring the skillsets of an all-round Digital marketer, you not only stand a chance of marketing yourself, but also freelance, collaborate with companies, business and corporates to earn remuneration! An important aspect of Digital Marketing is the skill to analyze the target audience, which social media platform is relevant, advertising budgets, and trend analysis. It is an ongoing study and analysis of different tools and techniques, which makes this career field challenging and interesting.

If you’d like reviews on the above mentioned resources or have any topic recommendations, let us know in the comments!

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