If you have a business website, there are many things that you should be doing to market that website. Using social media is a good way to drive traffic to your website. The best form of marketing will depend on what kind of website you have and who you need to draw to it. If you have a local business that needs local marketing, using local SEO is the best way to get those local views.

The best source of advertising also depends on what you sell and the audience you’re looking for. If you are targeting older people, social media marketing may not make much sense. You may need to use Google Ads or other ad systems that will better reach older people.

If you are interested in doing your own marketing, you may need to engage in some business marketing training to understand the basics and to figure out what kind of marketing your specific site needs. You can look at the business model for digital marketing agency to understand what they do and how you might recreate those services. However, doing your own marketing may not make sense for a business owner who is often very busy.

Understanding the Use of Social Media As a Marketing Tool

Did you know there are roughly 4.49 billion web pages currently published? Think of how many of those web pages are competing for the same customers.Their target audiences overlap so much that they are working to pull customers and readers away from each other

In order to stay competitive, companies are forced to constantly evolve with the changing technology as well as the different ways they can reach their customers. When faced with decisions regarding social media, email marketing, content marketing and SEO, companies need to know where to invest their time and resources to get the greatest impact.

Search engine optimization

In regards to technology, companies are learning that cloud web hosting and cloud servers are no longer an option but rather a need. According to a study published in Forbes Magazine, 55% of companies experienced a significant increase in their overall efficiency once they switched to a cloud hosting service. Additionally, 80% of companies that switched to cloud hosting saw improvements within six months of the move.

Cloud-based services are growing so rapidly that over 60% of businesses are already utilizing the cloud for IT-related operations. It has been estimated that by the end of 2015, end-user spending on cloud services will surpass $180 billion.

Digital marketing is another large and constantly growing area of focus for companies. Social media marketing has grown significantly over recent years. Companies are utilizing social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Pinterest to promote their company and their products. The advantages of one social network over another are highly debated. They each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Content marketing has also grown significantly in recent years. According to several reports, content marketing generates as many as three times more leads than traditional outbound marketing and costs 62% less. Both the results and the difference in cost is enormous and something companies, even small companies, cannot ignore.

Finally, email marketing has proven to be a consistent leader in the digital marketing realm. Email marketing has been found to be 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than social media, and 59% of marketers stated they plan to increase their 2015 email marketing budgets. As accomplished marketers know, personalised emails increase click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. Additionally, a highly successful email marketing campaign will result in 1 forward for every 21 emails sent out.

What have you found to be the most effective for your business? Do you prefer social media over email? Has content marketing proven to be your goldmine? Let us know in the comments below.