5 fundamentals of Digital Marketing

Ask anyone in this industry and they’ll agree — digital marketing is ever-changing, which means marketers always have the opportunity to learn something. Whether it’s a new platform, algorithm, or update, the evolution of the industry proves to be endless.

However, there are a few parts that haven’t changed in the past decade or so. Here are five fundamentals of digital marketing that will always be relevant.

1. Data is everything — Have one look at my site and you’ll see I live for a creative set and an iconic shot. However, creativity is subjective and data is not. Investors don’t respond to ideas, they respond to facts. As a business owner, budgets and detrimental decisions must be based on objective insights — no exceptions — otherwise, you’re just making educated guesses and there’s too much at stake for that. Data allows objectivity and it backs up theories. When it comes to every single decision you make within your digital marketing, always stop to ask yourself, “what does the data say?”.
2. Organisation is key — No matter how organised you are, things don’t always go as planned — but it helps significantly if you’re prepared when they do. In the digital marketing world, being organised means you have time to react in real-time with less stress. This is why strategy is so important; it’s the foundation for your marketing efforts that gives you room for any last-minute or unexpected changes. Whether that’s reacting to a stock shortage, a new trend, or an upset customer, when you have organised systems in place, your team will be prepared and ready to catch any curve balls. This applies to your data, task lists, collaborations, and everything else.
3. Multi-channel matters — I’m not saying you have to create quality content for every single channel out there and maintain it. The companies that are able to do this have significant marketing budgets and entire teams dedicated to each process. But, no matter how small a company you are, you should make sure your business exists online everywhere it can. That means, creating a profile wherever you can and ensuring there is enough brand-aligned information for customers to find when they find you. The channels that your audience is most active on are the ones you create consistent content for. Either way, always provide an easily accessible link people can click through to your website, linktree, or most active channel. Update your SEO, any specific settings, tags, and/or bio details to align with your current branding. Again, this doesn’t mean you need to post consistently on every channel, but existing with simple brand saliency is the first step to solidifying your digital footprint.
4. Quality outrules quantity — Google’s algorithm favours fresh, consistent content with value and so do social media platforms. There’s a general consensus that we should be sharing content every single day, several times a day. Make no mistake about it, this is an exhausting feat to keep up with. As mentioned, the ones that can do it, have the allocated budget and resources to do so. Quality is what makes the difference when you’re a small business creating content. As stated in my Content Batching post, if you’re only able to produce a few pieces of content per month, that’s okay, just make sure each piece is as valuable as possible for your customers. If you’re pushing out low-quality content just to keep up with quantity expectations and trends, please know it’s at the sacrifice of your audience engagement and customer relationships. Say it with me now — quality content always wins.
5. Great marketing takes time — There is no ‘set it and forget it’ option when it comes to digital marketing. Sure, you can set up flows and have funnels in place, but even those will need management, analysis, and updates as time goes on. Nothing great in life is ever easy — and the same goes for digital marketing. It takes time, commitment, and a whole lot of hard work to get it right. Digital marketing is never done and there’s always room for improvement. So if you’re looking for a crock-pot version of digital marketing, I’m here to tell you there isn’t one.

With nearly 13 years under my belt, it’s fascinating to look back and see how far the industry has come, how much has changed, and where we’re heading.

Fast-forward to today, I would suggest keeping an eye on the development of long-form and short-form content and where these sit within your strategy. If you’ve heard about this TikTok update and Youtube’s growing stats, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Need help with your digital marketing? Get in touch or email styledbygracieclemens@gmail.com.