In the last edition, we have discussed some tips that enhance engagement on your Social Media business accounts. In this edition, we would like to elaborate further about the broader topic i.e. Digital Marketing. Unsurprisingly, there is a shared belief which indicates that Digital Marketing itself is Social Media. Well, the answer is yes and no ; yes because Social Media is only one part of the bigger Digital Marketing topic, and no because many other components, combined, formulate the concept ‘Digital Marketing’. The term refers to any electronic or technological methods that are used to connect to your customers, and undoubtedly it is not limited to Social Media.

So, what are these methods, and how can we utilize them for a better brand awareness and more reach?

1-Websites and Social Media. The first instance people hear about a business, they think about checking out its website and social media. These two components exemplify your business existence in the digital world today. Although numerous entrepreneurs underestimate the power of having a website, they tend not to think of the confidence websites can bring to a prospective consumer who would like to know more about them, their products and services with photos and descriptions, perhaps their prices, their location through a built in map and certainly their contact details. Websites enhance the trust and ease of access between you and your prospects and if you promoted well, you can easily get leads and turn them into customers. Likewise, you may have come across some businesses which do not have certain social media platforms. Guess what, being actively there on most of the platforms is better than not, and that is because some market segmentations, and a number of cultural and ethnic groups, extensively follow and prefer one platform to the other. To illustrate this point further, Gulf residents differ in their preferences in each country according to their ethnicity; while Saudis spend more time on Twitter, Asian residents use Facebook more. Even if you do not want to have an account on a specific platform, you can certainly run campaigns and sponsored ads on any social media without having an active account. One way or another, you have a wide and active digital presence and a boost of trust and confidence.

2- Blogs. Even if you have a website, a blog is always a strong and helpful tool for Content Marketing. People seek information on blogs, social media and videos, blogs, ‘vlogs’ and testimonials to search for experiences about a certain topic. To understand their value, try to see blogs such as TechCrunch which provides the latest tips, news and advice on technology, or Seat61 which provides travel information to Europe. People love to listen, view or read how others booked a room or reserved a train, or felt about a gadget, and this is why blogs are important. If you create your own blog, think of Google AdSense which will allow you to place ads on your website or blog through having a code on certain pages of your choice. By doing so, Google will automatically choose sponsored ads from various advertisers and place them on the selected pages and pay you per click on the ad, because your blog led to a lead to another supplier.

This can also be extended to Affiliate Marketing if you join a network such as Amazon Affiliate Network and sign an agreement to get a commission for every purchase that is made through the link you posted on your website or blog. Imagine having an income while you are asleep, well, this is it.

Therefore, the aim of a blog or a vlog is to share information, advice, tips, such as travel tips, recipes, tailoring tips, technology advice, automobile trends, and when you get popular with a high number of visitors or ‘traffic’, you can stimulate the interest in your visitors and leverage them into business deals. So why not start a free blog on blogger.com or wordpress.com, or create informational online channels, or even share ideas on Pinterest and Snapchat.

3-Similarly, you can be on the other side of the table. You can display your own ads on others’ websites, blogs, videos and so on through Display Advertising.

4-Having talked about websites and blogs, the next important element of Digital Marketing is the ‘SEO’ or the Search Engine Optimisation. Try to search the name of the service you provide or the product you sell on any search engine. For example, type in Arabic or English ‘Tailors in Bahrain’ on Google, or type ‘Nail Polish Manama’ on Bing, or even ‘Flight to Dubai’ on Yahoo and look at the search results. Some results are shown on the top of the screen with a small ‘Ad’ sign next to them, but some still appear on the top without the ‘Ad’ icon. The difference between the two is simple; when you pay a search engine company to let your business come up first, you are using the Search Engine Marketing or ‘SEM’, and you can do this by subscribing to BingAds or GoogleAds or Gemini.Yahoo depending on your search engine preference. These platforms then let consumers see your business first as a sponsored Search Engine Result ‘SER’ when they search for a word of your choice e.g. Courses, Car Service, Health Insurance. However, when you want to do this for free, you will be using the Search Engine Optimisation ‘SEO’. This is done through optimising your websites and blogs, and even social media platforms with suitable wordings, texts and hashtags that potential customers would possibly look for. Keep updating your websites regularly with quality content as search engines have algorithms to read and scan data automatically.

5-There are other means of Digital marketing which are very common and debatable. Guess what! SMS and Email Marketing! Yes they still exist. Both of these tools could be effective digital marketing techniques. Many local and international companies, serving local or global brands use them broadly. Let’s start with the Short Message Service ‘SMS’; companies employ SMS in two ways, either by first utilizing the existing database of mobile numbers that are provided by various online suppliers, or subscribing to a website and uploading your own database of numbers and start sending your messages. Every SMS can cost you as low as 4 Fils or $0.01. You can definitely combine these two options. If you don’t keep a log of mobile numbers of your customers, start doing so in order to send them your special offers and new arrivals, or keep them updated. Nevertheless, Email Marketing can be utilized for free mostly albeit some agencies sell their databases. Large to small enterprises, for instance, airlines, car rentals, and even chocolate shops; keep your data when you purchase something online or fill in the online query form, and when you subscribe to receive latest offers, they will send you their latest offers and updates frequently. Digital Newsletters can be sent on emails as well to showcase your products and services and add life into your organisation. Make sure to take the consent of recipients in order to follow the data protection acts.

So why not start now, and begin utilizing one of the Digital Marketing tips above, and see how it impacts your business?

Hussain Sharakhi
Co-writer
A renowned trainer and regional speaker for more than 13 years. He specialises in Soft & Social Skills including Sales & Marketing, Blended Learning, Human Resources and Linguistics.