Digital Marketing Blog

Very little was known about digital marketing prior to the dot-com boom in the late 1990s. For those that believed in the internet, they saw an effective online presence as nothing more than having a website with some words and a picture or two. From the early 2000s, businesses took a step further to proactively market their latest products and services digitally - though usually one-directional - through techniques such as mass emailing.

Rise of smart devices

These methods may have worked then, but smart devices have disrupted the technology scene ever since the first iPhone was launched in 2007. Today, consumers are less inclined to check their emails on the go; instead, they access social networks such as Facebook and are exposed not just to the pages they've liked, but also whatever's trending in their social circles. Based on the assumption that an individual and his/her friends share similar interests, efficiency is increased when a product or service is marketed in such a manner via social media. Just in case you’re wondering, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of digital marketing. 

Reaching the correct audience

In any business, it is crucial to be able to reach out to the correct audience. By doing so, the effectiveness of marketing initiatives are increased tremendously. Through digital channels, marketers today can choose from a vast array of demographic options such as age, location, interests etc. Such abilities are likened to precision bombing in a military sense as opposed to carpet bombing that is reflective of traditional marketing.

It has been 6 years now since I started off as a copywriter in a digital agency. During this period, I have seen the industry evolve substantially, dealt with many types of clients and honed my craft to deliver the best service I possibly can. If you're at all interested in a career in copywriting, digital marketing or online business, read on and I'll share my wealth of experience with you.

What Does it Take to be a Good Copywriter?

There is a huge gulf between a good writer and a great writer. And likewise, there's a difference between being a great writer and a great copywriter. What's the difference? Well, as a copywriter it's important to focus on results.

Here's what you need to know to write excellent copy: most clients aren't that interested in your writing.

That is to say that they want your writing to be exciting, engaging, entertaining and informative, sure – but ultimately this is a means to an end. What's most important to them is that your writing makes their business sound professional, thereby leading to increased sales of their products or services. If you've been hired through a digital agency, this applies to an even greater extent.

Did you ever set foot on a digital agency? If so, were you fazed by the fast paced atmosphere? Typically, staff slowly trickle in from 9am to 10am, getting to their desks with a cup of coffee in hand, all ready for the start of a new day. There is one noticeable group of people that come in on the dot, smartly dressed with briefcases in hand. Another will only start to arrive from 930am, dressed in casual attire. Such is the difference between client facing staff and creatives respectively; welcome to the world of digital marketing and advertising.

Today, we will bring you through the 5 key roles within a typical digital agency. Despite the differences in job scopes, staff within an agency come together for one obvious purpose - creating digital/interactive experiences to fulfil a client’s marketing objectives. 

1) Business Development 

Everything starts from here. As the name suggests, such staff serve the marketing role for the digital agency. Yes, they get in touch with prospective clients through a variety of means, follow up with them and seek to close as big a deal as possible. They constantly collaborate with the creatives for the creation of concepts and collateral for pitches. There are usually not many people dedicated to this role, yet they are extremely crucial to any agency for its continued survival and possible expansion.

Now that you’re aware of the reason for our existence, here’s a practical guide we put together so you can efficiently kickstart your initiatives in digital marketing. It covers only the most recent of techniques that you can actually get done by yourself without the help of a digital agency. Those that were present (such as text messages in the early 2000s’) but have faded away in recent times will, without a doubt, be left out of this article. Also, some of the suggestions here hinge on the assumption that you already have a proper web and social presence, specifically an optimised landing page for your campaign’s purpose.

Getting on Social Media platforms

This may seem pretty obvious, but yes it is absolutely crucial. If you are a B2C business, platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest will be bread and butter to bringing awareness to your brand. While you can take advantage of Google+ local that integrates perfectly with maps, Facebook will bring your brand incredible reach due to the sheer number of users they have. Instagram on the other hand, is a photo sharing platform with increasing popularity that caters to a younger audience (namely those from 16 to 30 years of age).

As you will realise, B2C platforms allow for a very visual approach to reaching out. This is less applicable to B2B businesses as they rely on trust, reliability and ROI for decision making. Hence, we’ll opt for a professional network like LinkedIn to connect with potential partners and prospective clients. Be sure to create not only an individual profile on LinkedIn, but also a company page that will allow you to regularly post updates and gradually gain a following for your organisation.

Regardless of the type of business, you can certainly consider setting aside a budget for paid advertising on the various platforms. Being pretty straightforward to setup, you can create ads on these platforms quite quickly without professional help and instantly bring awareness to your brand or business.

There are loads of digital marketing blogs out there. Some feature the latest trends in ad campaigns, websites and social media, while others talk about the developments in the world of digital marketing and advertising agencies. One thing that is in common for all of them though, is that they mostly bring you viewpoints from a third party’s perspective (consisting authors, public speakers, former tech company employees). 

So what exactly is so different about Yoursite.net Digital Marketing Blog? Simply put, we bring you stories from an insider’s perspective. Insiders we refer to those that hone their craft on a daily basis for brands and business all around the world. You probably got it by now, we are referring to Digital Strategists, Business Development Executives, Art Directors, Copywriters etc from the current digital ad world. We have contributors worldwide, namely from Asia and Europe. They choose to remain anonymous though, due to proprietary industry information that could be released at times for readers’ benefit.

Next, we’d like highlight the naming simplicity and domain extension of Yoursite.net (that was in fact registered well before the dot-com boom) - we hope it sends the all important message that we are natively digital. Hence, do not come here expecting to find news about traditional media such as print or broadcast as that is not our focus. If you are looking for that kinda stuff, feel free to check something like this.