so you’re thinking about getting into digital marketing and don’t know where to begin maybe it feels confusing with all those fancy words like seo ppc email funnels and whatnot well you’re not alone and the good news is you don’t need to be a tech wizard or spend years studying to get started what you need is a clear easy path and some patience
before we get to the tools or platforms let’s just understand what digital marketing is all about
what is digital marketing
digital marketing is just using the internet to promote sell or talk about your products or services it can be anything from posting on facebook to running ads on google even sending emails to your audience all of this falls under digital marketing with more and more people spending time online this way of promoting things has become the heart of almost every business out there even if you run a small store or offer services from home digital marketing can help you reach more people without needing a lot of money in short digital marketing means using online platforms to reach the right people at the right time with the right message
why should you learn digital marketing
you don’t need a big budget to start learning or trying digital marketing many tools are free and you can even learn by practicing on your own social media pages or blog here’s why it makes sense to learn this skill
more jobs and freelance work
helps grow your own business
you can work from home
easy to learn at your own speed
you get to try creative stuff
learning digital marketing gives you a good mix of tech and creativity you get to play with words images ads videos and ideas while also learning what works and what doesn’t
main parts of digital marketing
before you jump into the tools or websites it helps to know what the main pieces of digital marketing look like let’s keep it simple
seo search engine optimization
this helps your website or content appear when people search for stuff on google like if someone types best mobile under 10000 your blog or site should show up if it fits what they’re looking for this is all seo work
smm social media marketing
this means using platforms like facebook instagram twitter linkedin etc to promote your content or products you make posts ads videos reels or stories to get people interested in what you offer
content marketing
this is all about creating useful or fun stuff like blogs videos podcasts ebooks or infographics to attract people and slowly turn them into buyers it’s like giving value first before asking for anything
email marketing
yep emails still work when done right sending newsletters or offers to people who want to hear from you is still one of the best ways to make money online you build a list and send them helpful stuff
ppc pay per click ads
you’ve seen those top results on google with ad written next to them those are ppc ads businesses pay google or facebook to show their ad and only pay when someone clicks it it needs money but gives fast results
affiliate marketing
you promote someone else’s product and get paid when someone buys through your link simple and doesn’t need your own product perfect for beginners
analytics and data
this tells you what’s working and what’s not like how many people clicked your ad or opened your email it helps you do better next time
what do you need to get started
you don’t need much to begin just a laptop or phone good internet and a willingness to learn that’s it everything else can be figured out slowly here are a few things that help when you’re just getting started
create a gmail account you’ll use this for most tools
open a blog or free website to test and practice
use canva to design posts and graphics
watch free tutorials on youtube
join facebook groups or forums where others are learning too
pick one skill at a time don’t try to learn everything at once
how to choose what to focus on
don’t try to learn all parts of digital marketing in one go it gets too much instead ask yourself what you enjoy if you like writing try content or email marketing if you like social media spend time on instagram or facebook pages if you’re into numbers then ppc and data might be your thing
here’s a little guide to help you pick
like writing or storytelling try blogs email or content marketing
like visuals or editing then try social media or youtube
like numbers or logic then try ppc seo or analytics
free tools to get started
you don’t have to spend money to learn here are some free tools that help you get going
canva for graphics
mailchimp for email marketing
wordpress for blogging
google analytics to track visitors
ubersuggest for keyword ideas
facebook creator studio for scheduling posts
youtube for learning everything for free
how long does it take to learn
depends on how much time you put in if you give 2 to 3 hours daily you’ll know the basics in a month or two you don’t have to master everything just understand how things work and keep practicing real learning starts when you try stuff on your own
building your online presence
before people trust your service or skills you need to show them something your blog your website your linkedin profile or your facebook page all of that builds your online face so make sure to post helpful stuff stay active and connect with others
share tips
make small videos
write about your journey
show what you’re learning
help others in groups
this will help you get noticed even if you’re just starting
can you make money with digital marketing
yes you can once you know a few things you can start offering services as a freelancer or grow your own small business here’s how people make money using digital marketing
run facebook or instagram ads for small shops
write blog posts for websites
do seo for local businesses
manage social media pages for clients
sell your own digital product like an ebook
promote affiliate products and earn from sales
there are hundreds of ways just start with one and keep going
what is digital marketing in okr
a lot of companies use something called okr to plan their goals and track results it means objectives and key results so how does digital marketing in okr work it means setting a clear goal like grow my website traffic or get 100 leads this month and then deciding what steps you’ll take to get there
say your goal is to get more traffic
your key results could be publish 8 blog posts run 2 fb ads post daily on instagram and get 10 backlinks
you check every week if you’re on track
this method keeps you focused and helps you measure how well your marketing is doing lots of startups and even solo business owners use this approach
mistakes to avoid in digital marketing
trying to learn everything at once
not practicing what you learn
ignoring the importance of content
copying others instead of being yourself
giving up too early
not tracking your efforts or data
being afraid to try new platforms
you’ll mess up a few times but that’s how you learn don’t wait to be perfect just start doing things even if it feels messy
future of digital marketing
with more people using phones and internet businesses are now shifting online faster than ever digital marketing will stay around for a long time but it’ll keep changing new apps new ways of advertising and new tools will show up so the only way to stay updated is by keeping your eyes open and trying stuff early join courses follow people on linkedin or twitter read blogs and most importantly keep testing your own ideas
some personal advice
when i first started digital marketing i had no clue what seo was or how facebook ads worked i used to watch youtube videos and try whatever they showed on my own page sometimes it worked sometimes it flopped but over time i got better if you want to give your personal touch to your learning journey start a blog about your progress talk about what you learned each week or record a video sharing tips for beginners that way you not only learn but also build your brand at the same time there you go everything you need to get started in digital marketing and remember it’s not about being perfect it’s about showing up trying new things and staying consistent with time you’ll figure out what works for you and where you shine if you’ve got a website and want to start getting visitors online this content can be used
