Modern Internet Marketing Tools You Should Be Using
Are you eager to discover new techniques and tips that will help you enhance your internet marketing knowledge? Do you always strive to learn about the latest trends in online business promotion and the benefits they can bring you? Then this article is perfect for you! Here, we dive into the latest and emerging trends in digital marketing that will take your business to the next level.
The Importance of Internet Marketing for Businesses
Let's start by defining digital marketing as the promotion of businesses, brands, products, and services through modern technologies and the internet.
The Gartner Digital Marketing Survey 2022 confirmed the results of the 2021 survey regarding the effectiveness of digital marketing, stating that 70% or more of businesses and organizations achieved or exceeded several digital marketing goals over the year.
Would you believe that, despite the vast number of people already online, the number of new internet users continues to grow? If not, you should trust these figures:
Classic vs. Modern Internet Marketing: What to Choose?
If you're wondering which type of marketing strategy is best for your business, we can help you find the answer. Classic marketing refers to traditional marketing tactics such as billboards, radio ads, television, and print media.
While most companies have fully transitioned to using digital marketing as their primary promotional strategy, some industry giants still effectively use all available channels, maintaining a healthy balance. This is especially true if their target audience includes older generations who continue to rely on radio and television as primary sources of information.
Marketing has always been about reaching the right people at the right time with the right offer. Today, these interactions increasingly happen online, shifting marketing focus toward digital realms. Unlike traditional marketing's one-way communication, digital channels allow marketers to establish two-way communication with their audience. Knowing what and how the public likes, combined with understanding where and when they engage, makes digital marketing a far more effective communication channel.
This direct interaction and feedback loop are key reasons why digital marketing has surpassed traditional channels.
The Foundation of a Well-Thought-Out Internet Marketing Strategy
Now it's time to introduce you to the most common forms of digital marketing tactics used by leading brands and top-tier marketing agencies around the world.
- Affiliate Marketing – Expand Your Network
According to Investopedia, affiliate marketing is an advertising model in which a company pays third-party publishers to generate traffic or leads for its products and services. In this model, the third party is referred to as an affiliate, and they earn commissions for promoting the company’s products and services.
This marketing model was popularized by e-commerce giant Amazon when it launched an affiliate marketing program that allowed websites and bloggers to link Amazon products and reviews in their posts, earning referral fees whenever a purchase was made via their link. This pay-for-results strategy proved highly beneficial for digital content creators.
Brands can directly hire affiliates with high traffic and multiple websites to promote their products through banner ads. This win-win digital marketing tactic has made waves due to its profitable nature.
2. Content Marketing: Let Your Words Work Magic
Content exists in every piece of text, image, or video we encounter online. Every form of content published on the internet has an underlying intent. This intent could be to promote a specific product or attract more followers through engaging social media content. Regardless, intent always shapes how the content is designed and presented to viewers.
According to Statista, over 60% of B2B and 40% of B2C content marketing budgets increased in 2022. A proper content marketing strategy tracks consumer trends and preferences, while SEO-optimized keywords enhance relevance and deliver excellent ROI. Blog posts, guest posts, video ads, and short promotional clips are great examples of full-scale content marketing. Hero texts and brand slogans quickly capture public attention.
A good example of creative content marketing comes from Coca-Cola’s campaigns. The company consistently leverages its popularity with meaningful yet clever and engaging campaigns that even their competitors admire. One such campaign was the Coca-Cola Polar Bowl ad during the 2012 Super Bowl, where polar bears watched the game. The full ad was published on social media as the company realized the limited time available for a TV slot.
If you’re facing a creative block, you can seek help from professional content marketers at Intent Solutions to assist with your content marketing strategy.
3. Email Marketing – Stay in Constant Contact
With upcoming changes to digital privacy laws, the relevance of email marketing is set to rise again. As companies rush to gather more first-party data and move away from third-party cookies, email marketing remains a privacy-friendly strategy that can reach millions.
For example, imagine checking your email for important updates and receiving a message offering special discounts on your wishlist items or a birthday coupon that’s valid for a limited time. Wouldn’t you feel valued by that brand?
Companies can easily communicate with existing and potential customers via email, promoting new products, seasonal offers, and discounts. This keeps your brand top of mind until customers are ready to make a purchase again.
4. Influencer Marketing: Bloggers and Opinion Leaders
Influencers are mini-celebrities with a huge online presence and follower base. These are ordinary people who have gained the attention and trust of large, often local or international, audiences through their content.
Hiring influencers to endorse your products can help generate genuine interest in what you offer. Traditional celebrities, often overexposed to brand endorsements, have lost some of their credibility, while influencers demonstrate the functionality of your product in real-life situations, making their reviews and recommendations more trustworthy.
Additionally, working with multiple influencers across various social media platforms is more cost-effective than hiring a major celebrity for a one-time advertisement. You get fresh content and better brand visibility.
For example, beauty influencers often create skincare and makeup tutorials, recommending products from brands like Garnier or Maybelline—classic examples of sponsored content.
5. Podcast Marketing – Listen to the Experts
Streaming podcasts has gained immense popularity in recent years. With so much visual content online, podcasts offer a relaxing alternative for listeners.
While radio may seem outdated, people have shifted to podcasts on topics of interest. Long commutes between destinations provide ample time for podcast streaming, making it an ideal medium for engagement during travel.
Brands can reach listeners by advertising on podcasts, offering product reviews, sponsoring shows, or even hosting interviews on industry-relevant topics. Giving your audience a break from screen time, you can connect with them through the power of voice.
For instance, if you’re listening to a podcast on marketing tips, the host might invite a guest from a related field, such as a financial expert from LinkedIn, to discuss the importance of a well-planned budget for a marketing campaign. This cross-promotion benefits both the industry and participants.
6. Mobile Marketing – Use Your Phone Wisely
According to Forbes, in 2022, people worldwide spent a record-breaking 3.8 trillion hours on mobile apps, and this number will only grow in 2023. As surprising as this information may seem, it’s true. The pandemics we’ve been through, and now the war on our territory, have pushed us deeper into the world of the internet and mobile apps. Today, we have an app for everything—from counting your daily steps to getting global news in 60 words. Think that exists or is still in development? The amount of time we spend on our mobile devices directly correlates with how vulnerable we are to digital ads and online shopping.
Brands are doing everything possible to increase traffic to their apps, making them more mobile-friendly every day. E-commerce has transformed into mobile commerce, and people want everything at their fingertips. Launching mobile apps, in-app ads, and push notifications are just some of the ways companies compete for consumer attention.
7. Social Media Marketing – Stay Visible, Stay Relevant
Among the many popular social media platforms, which one do you prefer to invest in and promote your brand? The answer is all of them. Promoting your brand on only one social media platform can limit your exposure to a broader audience, so you should experiment with different methods to capture their interest across all possible forms. As mentioned earlier, hiring influencers is one way to promote your brand on social media. You can also create short video clips and creative posts.
In one of its latest social media campaigns, fast food giant McDonald's reintroduced its new and improved Szechuan sauce. They used a multichannel marketing strategy to draw attention to their new product and increase its visibility, promoting it across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Paid ads, official brand pages, and sharing links to new products and discounts are a few more ways to start social media promotion. Viewers who are frequently redirected to official brand pages via catchy headlines are more likely to purchase items directly from the page than from the main website. Convenience plays a leading role in customer engagement.
For a well-rounded social media strategy, leverage all popular social channels to stay in front of your customers and encourage them to shop.
8. Video Marketing – Show Everyone How It Works
The best example to explain this form of marketing is YouTube. The free online video streaming service has been an excellent platform for all types of video marketing based on your other searches, tailored using third-party cookies. As a result, the ads you frequently see match your demographics, interests, and product preferences.
YouTube’s algorithm allows viewers to skip some ads, primarily those longer than 30 seconds, while other ads must be viewed before you can continue watching the video you clicked on. Digital marketers can use this information to tailor their video ads accordingly. These ads benefit both advertisers and content creators. Many content creators often place ads within their video content to earn commissions and increase their revenue.
People also tend to prefer watching ads and product videos for items they intend to purchase. Video marketing helps finalize this intent by demonstrating the functionality of a product.
Conclusion
There’s no perfect marketing strategy that guarantees success. Rather, it’s a balanced mix of all the tactics mentioned, along with some offline marketing channels like billboards and in-store promotions. You can always improve your marketing strategy by staying up to date with the latest trends in marketing and media. More importantly, the strategy and marketing mix that work best for you will largely depend on your current and target audience, so develop your plan with them at the core of your marketing strategies.
"