3 Simple steps to start Digital Marketing

In case of Metro and urban cities mindset of people doing marketing has gone drastic change . The usage of digital media is increasing over conventional expensive ways of Marketing using print media. The focus has shifted to engaging user who is spending more time at using phone devices and online methods. The youth of today seeks all the information online . The various techniques covered are Mobile APP ,Email marketing , Video Marketing, Engaging Prospects , Google adwords , Facebook advertisement to target audience .

Digital marketing is broad term for the targeting the right prospect, measure the campaign, and continuously interacting the target for marketing of products or services using digital technologies .The key objective is to promote brands to target audience, build preference database for future use, engage with prospects and increase sales through various digital marketing techniques. Today the world we live in has become increasingly digital focused with access to digital devises and the internet which has completely changed the way in which B2C or B2B  communicates and interacts. The term 'digital marketing' was first used in the 1990s . In 2012 and 2013 statistics showed digital marketing remained  fast growing field with estimated growth at 4.5 trillion online ads served annually . The report from various sources confirm that around  60% of a marketers' time is devoted to digital marketing activities .A figure close to 71% of companies planned to increase their digital marketing budgets this year. 78% of companies now say they have dedicated social media teams. 

To start with digital marketing the first very important step is to get responsive website as website is the gateway to your Institution which can make your image . Poorly designed website creates bad impression about your Institution. The look and feel of your website can directly influence how potential customers view your business. A good domain name, the right design template and memorable web copy help your business stand out from the competition. The trend is to go for responsive website which are Mobile friendly and cross device supportive. Using analytics one can measure traffic of users  , the percentage of traffic of mobile users on website rose to around 60% over last three years . Adobe provides themes and trends currently in use for a good website design .

Research have proved that content on right side of the page has high visibility and so your landing page should have key information on the right side. It is important to have a call-to-action or a CTA button, which encourages visitors to enter their information (name, email, etc.) to access a free trial, or a webinar, or an e-book, or any other item of value. The focused leads are created in this way. The landing page should have Chat Facility so that the customer can interact and get the information right away instead of waiting . free Chat like Twak can be configured in very simple way on the website /landing page.

Creating content that is of value to your prospects is the essence of inbound marketing. Blogs are amongst the most common content that you can create as a part of your inbound marketing strategy. Post at least one blog per week. For example, if you run an MBA institute, you can write on topics such as ‘full time v/s part-time MBA’ or ‘MBA loans’, Managing Stress of MBA , Career after MBA so that students searching for this information land on your page. Define metrics (likes, shares, downloads, hits, etc.) are most important for you. People will directly see a glimpse of your service from your content, which will help them convert faster.

Start with these steps and measure increase in traffic using analytics. Once this is done then more advanced techniques can be used.

Dr. Seema Agarwal

Professor

Dept. of Information Technology