The Top 9 Digital Marketing Channels and How to Use Them Effectively

Today, brands can inconveniently get spoilt for choice when targeting customers in the digital space. There are tens of digital marketing channels to choose from — and probably a newer one when you’re reading this.

However, the challenge lies not in the abundance of options but in strategically selecting channels that drive brand visibility and  convert leads effectively into loyal customers.

With over 5 billion internet users worldwide, the potential for global reach is staggering.

More importantly, with the right digital marketing strategy, you can reach up to 9 out of 10 American adults daily with personalized messages.

In this guide, I’ll cover the top digital marketing channels you must focus on in 2024 and the marketing tools and strategies you can use to increase your campaign ROI.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing involves using digital platforms like websites, social media, search engines, email, and mobile applications to engage with existing and potential customers. It helps promote your products or services, build brand awareness, and drive engagement and sales.

An effective digital marketing strategy helps you create a cohesive customer journey, from initial awareness to conversions and long-term customer loyalty.

Top Digital Marketing Channels for Your Business Promotions

As a business owner or marketer, you must embrace more than one online platform to maximize the outcomes of your marketing efforts.

In this section, I’ll highlight different digital marketing channels, their benefits, and how to leverage them effectively to maximize your reach and sales.

1. Website or Blog

A website is a digital storefront for your business, operating 24/7. It allows visitors to access information about your products or services anytime.

A well-designed website demonstrates professionalism and lends credibility to your business, helping build trust with your audience.

Let’s take a look at this example of my website’s homepage.

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Your website is a powerful marketing tool where you can post blogs, videos, and customer testimonials that drive traffic and generate leads. Besides, almost every business has a website, and if you haven’t got one yet, you may put yourself at a disadvantage within your industry.

Here are steps to get started with building a website:     

1. Define your goals with the website. Is it to provide information, sell products, generate leads, or support customers?
2. Register a domain name (e.g., www.mybusiness.com) and choose a reliable hosting provider like Bluehost or Cloudways.
3. Determine the navigation menu elements of your website. Standard pages include Home, About Us, Services/Products, Features, Contact, and Blog.
4. Design your website using a user-friendly website builder like WordPress or WooCommerce.
5. Develop high-quality content for each page. The text, images, videos, and all other multimedia elements should be engaging, informative, and consistent with your brand messaging.
6. Start blogging regularly on niche-relevant topics and create an integrated SEO content strategy to help your website rank well on the SERPs, driving traffic and leads to your site.
7. Test your website for functionality, usability, and compatibility across different devices and browsers.

To keep your site relevant and secure, update it regularly with fresh content, security, and new features.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Once your website is live, you must focus on search engine optimization (SEO). It is the practice of improving a website to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

The higher your pages rank in search results, the more attention they will attract, drawing in potential and current customers to your business.

Your goals when investing in SEO should include:

• Attracting more visitors to your website through organic search results.
• Achieving higher rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and phrases.
• Ensuring your website is user-friendly, loads quickly, and offers practical content.
• Improving your brand’s visibility and recognition through higher search engine rankings.
• Converting website visitors into leads or customers by optimizing conversion paths on your site.

According to SparkToro, Google accounts for over 63.41% of all website traffic in the U.S. Therefore, to increase your web traffic, you must target ranking higher on Google.

There are various ways to implement SEO for your website.

Keyword Research

Identify the keywords and phrases your target customers might use when searching for your products or services.

Use SE Ranking or Semrush to conduct keyword research for your niche. The key is to select keywords with higher search volume and comparatively lower keyword difficulty.

Create content around your selected keywords and track your ranking positions regularly compared to your competitors’ using rank tracking tools.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO involves creating content to match the search intent of various search queries. Some of the best on-page SEO practices involve optimizing:

• Title tags: Incorporate the primary keyword in your title tag. Keep them concise and descriptive.
• Meta descriptions: Create compelling meta descriptions, including primary and side keywords, to entice users to click and read .
• Heading tags (H1, H2, H3): Use heading tags to organize your content and include keywords where appropriate.
• URL structure: Create clean and descriptive URLs that include keywords.
• High-quality content: Produce high-quality and relevant content that addresses your audience's needs and interests. Use Frase to check keyword frequency and add relevant related terms and NLP suggestions.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing your website to ensure search engines can crawl and index the site effectively. Some of the crucial technical SEO factors include:

• Website speed: Optimize your website’s loading speed.
• Mobile-friendliness: Ensure your website is responsive and can adapt to mobile devices.
• XML sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines.
• Robots.txt: Use a robots.txt file to direct search engine crawlers on which pages to index.
• Website security (HTTPS): Use HTTPS to ensure your website is secure.

You can use tools like Semrush and Google PageSpeed Insights to conduct an in-depth technical SEO audit and identify areas for improvement.

Here’s what my website’s PageSpeed Insights report looks like:

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to all the activities you and your team do away from your website to increase its authority, credibility, and relevance through external means.

For example:

• Backlinks: Earn high-quality backlinks from reputable websites. You can do guest blogging, partnerships, and content promotion. Use Serpple or Semrush to monitor your backlinks and optimize your link building strategies.
• Local SEO (best if you run a brick-and-mortar store): Create and optimize your Google Business Profile listings and encourage customers to leave positive reviews on Google and other review sites.

3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is a digital marketing channel where advertisers pay a fee when a user clicks on their ads. PPC is a method that helps you buy traffic and visits to your site instead of earning the top SERP positions organically using SEO.

PPC ads can appear on social media platforms, search engines, and other websites.

Here’s an example of a PPC ad on Google SERPs. When you search the keyword “email marketing tools,” a few email marketing platforms labeled “Sponsored” pop up first. These platforms have paid to be there and are more likely to get clicks than those that appear organically.

Investing in PPC can help your business:

• Get immediate visibility on search engines and social channels. Unlike SEO, which can take time to show results, PPC ads can attract traffic as soon as you launch the ad campaign.
• Reach the right audience. PPC allows you to target keywords based on demographics, location, time of day, device, and more.
• Measure ROI by tracking clicks, impressions, and conversions with detailed analytics and reporting.

To conduct a successful PPC campaign:

1. Determine your PPC campaign goals, such as driving traffic, generating leads, increasing sales, or boosting brand awareness.
2. Select the platform(s) where you want to run your PPC campaigns, such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and X (formerly Twitter).
3. Use Semrush to identify relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. Select keywords with a high search volume and little or manageable competition.
4. Craft compelling ad copy that incorporates your target keywords. Ensure your ads have a clear call to action to encourage clicks. Use high-quality images or videos for display and social media ads.
5. Ensure that your ads lead to relevant and optimized landing pages that provide a seamless user experience and encourage conversions.
6. Set a PPC budget and choose a bidding strategy that aligns with your campaign objectives.
7. Determine your target audience based on location, interests, demographics, and buying behavior.
8. Once everything is set up, launch your campaign and attract traffic to your site. Use the right PPC tools to optimize your strategy for higher ROI.
9. Track your PPC campaign performance by monitoring key metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost-per-click (CPC), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Based on data insights, adjust your bids, refine targeting, test new ad copy, and improve landing pages.

4. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing involves using social media platforms to connect with your audience, promote your brand, boost sales, and improve website traffic. Leveraging top social channels can help you:

• Reach a large audience quickly and effectively, increasing brand visibility.
• Communicate with your customers in real-time, allowing you to gather feedback and answer questions.
• Ensure ads reach the right people by using targeted advertising to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Drive traffic to your website or ecommerce store, leading to increased sales and lead generation.
• Keep up with competitors and industry trends.

Big and small businesses invest in building an active social media presence where they announce new product launches, resolve issues, and get feedback on their products and services.

Here’s an example of GoPro’s Instagram account, which has over 20 million followers. The account shows beautiful photos shot with GoPro cameras.

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Is it still necessary to have a website if you successfully manage your social channels? Absolutely! While a successful social media presence is valuable, having a website is still crucial for several reasons:

• You have total control of all your content on your website, unlike on social media platforms, where you are subject to their rules and changes. A social platform like Instagram is very restrictive, and you can lose your account if you violate the rules.
• A website adds credibility and professionalism to your business. It is the central hub for all your content, products, services, and essential business information.

The table below shows the top social media channels and their demographics. We have also listed what each platform is best for.

Social Media NetworkActive Monthly UsersTarget DemographicBest ForFacebook3.06 billionAdults aged 25-54
Slightly more female users than maleComprehensive advertising and community buildingYouTube2.70 billionAll age groupsVideo tutorials and product demonstrations
Short vertical videos as YouTube ShortsInstagram2.35 billionA younger audience of 18 to 34 yearsVisual branding and influencer marketingTikTok1.67 billion16 to 24 year oldsViral trends and short video contentX600 million18 to 49 year olds
More male users than femaleReal-time updates, customer service, and industry newsLinkedIn310 millionProfessionals, companies, and business owners aged 25 to 54Networking, B2B marketing, and professional content

To make the most of your social media strategy, use these tactics:

1. Set realistic and measurable goals.
2. Understand your target audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors to tailor your content and messaging.
3. Maintain a consistent brand messaging, tone, and visual branding across all social media channels.
4. Build relationships with your audience by encouraging conversations and promptly responding to comments, messages, and mentions.
5. Publish high-quality, valuable, and engaging content. Focus on quality over quantity.
6. Track key metrics such as likes, engagement, follower growth, and website clicks using social media tools like Sprout Social and Vista Social. Adjust your strategy based on data insights.
7. Partner with influencers in your niche to expand your reach. Use BuzzSumo and Heepsy to find the best influencers in your niche and craft a content strategy.
8. Post consistently to keep your audience engaged. You can use AI social media post generators like Flick and Tailwind to generate creative content or get ideas.
9. Stay current with social media trends and platform updates to remain relevant and competitive.

5. Content Marketing

Content marketing refers to consistently creating, publishing, and distributing high-quality and relevant content to attract and engage your target audience.

Content marketing lets you showcase your expertise, enabling you to build trust and authority among your audience. You establish thought leadership by providing information that addresses the audience's needs and interests.

You can create various types of content, including:

• Blog posts
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Ebooks
• Infographics
• Case studies
• Roundup articles
• Buying guides

The top content marketing trends for 2024 include:

• High-quality, long-form content: This content characteristic continues to be important in content marketing strategies as it provides in-depth information, solves complex problems, and demonstrates authority on a subject.
• Video content and podcasts: Video content and podcasts are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to engage audiences. These formats cater to different preferences and content consumption habits, expanding reach and engagement.
• Storytelling and personalized content: Stories are crucial for building strong connections with your audience. Sharing stories and tailoring content to individual preferences can help nurture your audience and create more memorable experiences.

Here are some tips on how to implement content marketing strategies and trends to grow your business:

• Create a comprehensive content strategy that outlines your target goals, audience, keywords, content types, content distribution channels, and ROI measurement metrics.
• Allocate resources to create high-quality content, including skilled writers and editors salaries, videographers, and designers. Leverage tools like Invideo and WeVideo for video content creation and distribution.
• Regularly measure the performance of your campaigns by tracking metrics such as engagement, traffic, leads, and conversions. Use the insights gathered by your favorite content marketing platform to optimize your strategy and improve results.

6. Email Marketing

Email marketing refers to sending emails to a list of subscribers to promote your products or services, build relationships, and keep customers informed. It allows you to communicate directly with your audience, delivering your message straight to their inboxes.

This digital marketing channel is known for its high return on investment. For every $1 spent on email marketing, you can generate an average return of $36.

Emails can be highly personalized based on subscriber data, leading to more relevant and engaging content. You also get detailed analytics that allows you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

BuzzFeed is an example of a company that has the best email campaigns tailored to individual interests. You can sign up for their newsletters about recipes, gossip, lifestyle, quizzes, and more.

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Email marketing can help your business:

• Drive sales and encourage repeat purchases by sending targeted promotional emails.
• Nurture your customer relationships by providing valuable content and personalized recommendations or discounts.
• Increase brand recall as regular emails keep your brand on top of the minds of your subscribers.
• Drive traffic and increase conversions by including links to your website, blog, product pages, or online store.
• Conduct surveys to gather feedback and insights from your customers. The top online survey tools can help.

How to Get Started with Email Marketing

1. Select an email marketing platform like Constant Contact, Brevo, and ConvertKit to build and grow your email list and run and manage your email campaigns.
2. Create sign-up forms on your website. Offer incentives like free resources or access to exclusive content to encourage email sign-ups.
3. Divide your email list into segments based on criteria like demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels to send targeted and relevant emails.
4. Develop content that provides value to your subscribers, such as informative articles, special offers, product updates, or personalized recommendations.
5. Design visually appealing emails, ensure your emails are mobile-friendly, and include clear calls to action.
6. Create automated drip email sequences for welcome emails, abandoned cart reminder emails, birthday wishes, and other triggers to streamline your email marketing efforts. A tool like Brevo can help you with email scheduling delivering your emails on time.
7. Conduct A/B tests on different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, content, and calls to action, to determine what works best.
8. Monitor metrics like email open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to measure your email campaign performance using tools like Omnisend. Use the data to improve your future emails.

7. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing refers to collaborating with individuals with a huge following and influence within a particular niche (influencers) to promote a brand, product, or service.

The most common channels for influencer marketing are Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Look at this YouTube video of an influencer marketing various running shoes.

Influencer marketing is one of the top digital marketing channels because:

• It can introduce your brand to a larger audience, increasing your visibility and awareness.
• Influencers have established trust with their followers. A recommendation from them can enhance your brand’s credibility.
• They have a dedicated following within a specific niche. Collaborating with the right influencers ensures your message reaches your targeted audience.
• Influencers’ content has high engagement rates from their audiences. Therefore, their endorsements often increase user interactions and build greater trust in your brand.
• Influencers create high-quality content you can share and repurpose on your channels, providing fresh and engaging material for your audience.

How to Leverage Influencer Marketing for Your Business

Here are a few tips for successful influencer collaborations:

1. Identify the right influencers for your campaign depending on your objective and industry. Consider their reach and relevance. You can use BuzzSumo or Heepsy to find influencers in your industry.
2. Decide what content you want the influencer to create — blog posts, social media posts, videos, reviews, etc. Set a budget and timelines for the campaign.
3. Reach out to the influencer with a clear proposal outlining your campaign goals, expectations, and compensation. Create a formal influencer agreement or contract that details the terms of the collaboration, including content requirements, deadlines, and payment.
4. Share the influencer’s content on your social media profiles, website, and other marketing platforms to maximize its reach and impact.
5. Keep tracking the campaign performance using key metrics such as engagement rates, website traffic, sales, and social media follower growth. Use Sprout Social to gather data and leverage insights to optimize your influencer marketing strategy.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing channel where businesses like yours reward affiliates (partners) for driving traffic or sales to the brand’s website through various channels.

Affiliates promote products or services through trackable links or unique discount codes and earn a commission for each sale or lead. They can add links to blog posts, social media captions, emails, and more, providing a multi-channel approach to promoting your products.

Here’s an example of an affiliate program by Semrush. If you click “Apply Now,” you’ll get a unique link to market their SaaS tool and receive a monthly commission when a user subscribes to their product using your link.

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Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective digital marketing channel as you only pay for actual sales or leads, reducing the risk of wasted marketing spend. It’s easy to scale by adding more affiliates to your program, increasing your potential for generating sales.

Affiliates create content that includes backlinks to your site, which can improve your search engine rankings. They act as third-party endorsers of your products, adding credibility and trust to your brand. 

Tips to Run Successful Affiliate Marketing Campaigns

• Choose affiliates whose audience matches your target market, and they should have a strong reputation, high engagement rates, and relevant content.
• Ensure your commission rates are competitive to attract and retain top-performing affiliates. Consider offering higher commissions for high-value products or loyal affiliates.
• Supply your affiliates with high-quality banners, images, product descriptions, and other marketing materials to make it easier for them to promote your products.
• During your campaign, track clicks, conversions, sales, and ROI to identify top performers and optimize your program. You can also sign your top affiliates as brand ambassadors.
• Keep open lines of communication with your affiliates. Provide regular updates, share new product information, and offer support to help them succeed.
• Motivate your affiliates with performance-based incentives and bonuses.

9. Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is also known as word-of-mouth marketing. This digital marketing channel leverages your existing customers to bring in new ones.

According to a study by Nielsen, people are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend. That’s because they trust their friends and family members, and this trust translates into higher conversion rates.

Airbnb has one of the best referral programs. You receive free stays during your future bookings with Airbnb if your referrers book a stay with them using your link.

Source Follow these tips to succeed in referral marketing:

• To encourage participation, simplify the referral process. Make it easy for customers to share referral links via email, social media, or text. You can use referral marketing software to do this.
• Provide practical rewards for the referrer and the new customer. This could be discounts, freebies, or exclusive access to new products.
• Use analytics to track referrals, clicks, conversions, and the overall effectiveness of your referral program, and tweak your strategy to maximize results.

How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Channel for Your Business Needs

There are various digital marketing channels to choose from. You can use two or more channels that align with each other to achieve your marketing goals.

For example, you can use email to drive sales, social media to create brand awareness, and your website to provide comprehensive product descriptions.

Let’s explore the key factors to consider when choosing the right marketing channels for your business.

1. Your Business Type

Different industries and business models have unique characteristics that determine the suitability of specific digital marketing channels.

For example, ecommerce businesses may benefit more from channels that drive immediate sales, like PPC and social media ads. In contrast, B2B businesses might find more value in content marketing and LinkedIn for building trust and generating leads.

Additionally, service-based businesses might prioritize SEO and content marketing to establish expertise and attract clients. On the other hand, product-based businesses may focus on visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to encourage shopping.

2. Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial to determining which digital marketing channels will effectively reach and engage them. Each channel has different user demographics and behaviors.

Analyze the age, interests, and geographical location of your target audience. For example, Instagram and TikTok are popular among younger demographics, while LinkedIn attracts business decision-makers and professionals.

If your audience frequently reads blogs and searches for information online, content marketing and SEO are the ideal channels for your business. However, if they engage with video content, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels could be more effective.

3. Your Marketing Budget

Your marketing budget is critical in determining which channels you can afford to use and how extensively you can leverage them.

The top digital marketing channels have varying costs. PPC advertising can be expensive but offers quick results, while SEO and content marketing have lower upfront costs but require a long-term investment.

Consider both monetary and time resources. Some channels, like social media marketing, require ongoing content creation and management, while others, like PPC, need a consistent ad budget.

Choose Your Top Digital Marketing Channels to Drive Success

A diversified digital marketing strategy is crucial for success. Each channel offers unique benefits and can complement others to create a comprehensive approach. 

Reach a wider audience, mitigate risks, and maximize ROI by leveraging 2-3 channels. Pick the most important and relevant ones to get started. See how they work for you and make data-driven decisions to boost your marketing ROI.

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