The digital age is very real now and traditional marketing tools alone do not offer the kind of results that befits a business to make it profitable. Digital channels need to be included in any marketing strategy and they are actually now a requirement for any business that is inclined in making profits and remaining relevant to the markets. And to be the success that you hope your digital marketing strategy will be, there are a number of elements that you can not forget to include in it. When you invest in a strategy that is comprehensive you will have an easy time introducing products and managing your brand presence as well.

A business website – This is a vital part of any digital marketing strategy. For it to be effective, it must be designed with everything important in mind. Your website should be in proper alignment with your brand and company so there is easy communication between you and your potential customers. It is beneficial to have a business website that is mobile friendly, responsive, up to date and relevant, landing pages to generate leads and one that supports customer relationship management as well.

Organic searches – It is one thing to have a professionally designed website, but quite another if it will be hard for it to be found by your target market. For this reason, you must put in efforts to optimize the site so it pops up in top search engine result pages. SEO is an element that you can not forget to integrate into your digital marketing strategy if at all you wish to drive organic traffic to boost business potential. Use phrases and keywords that are relevant to your field so you are among the top results every time a search is run. SEO helps increase brand exposure and this is good for business any day.

Marketing automation – As a good business, when you generate leads, then you must be in a position to follow up on them and nurture them as appropriate to enjoy value. This is something that you can easily do when you have marketing automation included in your digital marketing strategy. The system should be customizable so you can base it on different targets, promotions and even sales cycles. It offers an effective way of monitoring your leads as they progress in the sales cycle, maximizing potential of each active visitor entering your cycle.

Social media – Social media creates an amazing platform for consumers and this is where most of them express opinions and also get to learn about any new products and services. Through social medial platforms the consumers are able to engage with key influencers and brands and you really do not want to be left behind in finding out what they are talking about. Apart from helping you address their problems directly, you can target social media presence to build relationships with key influencers in the industry so you are able to reach a greater audience and also generate valuable leads.

There are so many helpful elements that bought to be included in a digital marketing strategy.

Worldwide Overview

The online world experienced breathtaking development in 2016, with the pace of progress quickening crosswise over every single key pointer versus 2015.

• 3.77 billion worldwide internet users in 2017

• 2.80 billion worldwide social media users in 2017,

• 4.92 billion worldwide mobile users in 2017

• 2.56 billion worldwide mobile social media users in 2017

• 1.61 billion worldwide e-commerce users in 2017

The pace of progress was a key story in a year ago’s Digital in 2016 report as well, however considering that worldwide web infiltration has now outperformed half, we were astounded by how much the rate of progress kept on quickening in the course of recent months:

• Internet users developed by 10% of every 2016, up 354 million contrasted with 2015

• Active social media users expanded by 21%, up 482 million versus 2015

• Unique mobile users developed by 5%, up 222 million in the course of recent months

• Mobile social media users developed by 30%, up to a noteworthy 581 million out of 2016

Internet users developed by somewhat more than they did in 2015, while online networking and versatile web-based social networking clients were up by more than twofold the quantity of new clients we revealed a year ago. The rate of development for one of a kind versatile client expanded by the greater part contrasted with a year ago, with 81 million all the more new clients in 2016 contrasted with the development we announced in a year ago’s examination.

Regional Overviews

Computerized in Africa became just marginally in 2017, despite the fact that the internet user information we’re announcing this year mirrors some noteworthy source redresses versus our 2016 report. Specifically, the quantity of internet user detailed by official hotspots for Egypt, Malawi, and Eritrea have all been amended down impressively, which has the impact of refuting a large number of the increases posted by different countries.

Be that as it may, 7 of the 10 quickest developing web populaces on the planet are in Africa, with the quantity of clients announced in Ethiopia dramatically multiplying versus the numbers we detailed a year ago. Less than one out of three individuals crosswise over Africa approaches the web today, however, and current development patterns propose we’ll be well into the 2020s preceding we see web entrance levels over the landmass pass the half check.

On an all the more promising note, however, versatile online networking use in Africa expanded by almost half in 2016, in spite of the fact that at only 12% entrance over the locale, there’s still bounty more space to develop.

The Middle East claims the top spot in the current year’s development rankings, however, with every single key pointer indicating noteworthy development. Web clients are up 15% year-on-year, with the local aggregate quickly approach the 150 million stamp.

Online networking use general grew an amazing 47% in the previous a year, with versatile web-based social networking up 44%. Infiltration for both key social pointers stays beneath 40% however, so there’s still a lot of space for more great development in 2017.

Global Facebook Users

Facebook global monthly active users recorded 1.78 billion users with the end of the 3rd quarter, 2016. The USA leads the Global Facebook users with about 200 Million users that are representing about 11.7% of the global Facebook users. Egypt is ranked the 12th among the world countries in terms of the number of Facebook users.

Regional Facebook Users

Egypt leads among the Arab countries with its 33 million Facebook users that are representing about 26.4% of Facebook users in the Arab world (125 million users).

However, in terms of penetration Qatar leads, while Egypt comes at the 12th place among the 20 Arabian countries.

Usage Insights

Internet users benefited the most form the internet for socializing and for learning:

• Better social activity and networking
• More learning opportunities and resources
• Wider variety of goods and services to choose from
• Better choice from the available goods and services
• Getting the needed support in personal emergencies
• More interaction with the community and civic organizations
• More interaction with the business organizations
• More interaction with the governmental organizations and agencies

Trust Vs. Online Ads Formats /Channels

Ads displayed via Social channels are the most trusted

1. Social media advertising (e.g. Facebook…
2. Displayed in search results
3. Mobile SMS
4. Online video (in-video advertising)
5. Mobile (applications)
6. Email advertising
7. Display and banner advertising

Trust Vs. Sectors

Ads from technology sector are the most trusted

1. Technology
2. Communication
3. Events & Entertainment
4. Home Appliances
5. Home Furniture & Home Products
6. Tourism & Travel
7. Retail & Shopping
8. Food and Beverages
9. Jobs & Training
10. Automotive & Related
11. Media
12. Housing & Real Estate
13. Business & Professional Services
14. Cosmetics & Pharmaceuticals
15. Financial Services

Once interesting, and trusted the INITIAL responses to Ads would be Search or Click

• 44%: I searched for the product/brand using a search engine
• 40%: I clicked on the Ad itself
• 36%: I investigated the product/brand through online communities and discussions
• 24%: I just ignored the Ad
• 23%: I typed the company website address into the browser and visited
• 18%: I shared to my online contacts & networks

"The future of advertising is the Internet" – Bill Gates

Considered among the smartest men alive, Bill Gates could not have put things more distinctly. Digital Marketing has taken the field of marketing itself in a direction many did not see coming some time ago. The ubiquity of internet devices and social media connectivity has made this field an indispensable today's advertising business.

On the outside, this does seem an easy enough concept. The promotion of products and services online through peer-to-peer sharing and other strategies seems simple enough to understand, but notoriously tough to implement.

Before delving into techniques and strategies, the question is- What is digital marketing?

The Essentials of Digital Marketing

The marketing of any product or service on a digital medium is called digital marketing. The medium can be computers, mobile phones, tablets or even iPods.

There is a reason why such marketing overpowered traditional advertising. On televisions and billboards, advertising is a one-way street. Customers do not have a platform to communicate with manufacturers and companies themselves. This gap in communication is eliminated by the internet.

Online platforms selling products like Amazon and Flipkart rank products based on consumer ratings and allow customers to give in-depth reviews about the product in question. This creates a direct line of communication between consumers and manufacturers as the latter is able to forgive what the former really needs.

Strategies and Techniques

As mentioned above, digital marketing may seem straightforward but involves a large amount of planning. Some techniques used by the individuals to increase the online visibility of a website are stated below:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): It is a set of guidelines set by search engines which if followed, results in a higher position of a website on Search Engine Page Rankings (SERP). These guidelines include factors like keyword density, back-linking, domain authority etc.

2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM): Although SEO is a subset of SEM, many experts use SEM while talking about paid advertising online. To get higher rankings on search engines, companies often purchase certain keywords on search engines. SEM deals only with paid results while SEO is about unpaid and organic results.

3. Social Media Marketing: Seeing a chunk of the online audience on social media websites, forming a solid social media marketing plan has become essential for digital marketing strategies of companies. Using trending posts and targeting specific groups of people online who may feel interested in a product offered by a company are only some ways of promoting products on social media.

The Legacy of Digital marketing

While there is no denying the importance of digital media, there will come a time when companies will have to change their approach yet again. Marketing is a very dynamic field. Considering the organic nature of audience online, it is safe to assume the tide will turn soon. Whatever digital marketing chooses to swim or drown remains to be seen.

With the widespread use of the internet, mobile phones, smart devices, tablets, laptop and desktop computers – the way that we search for anything that we wish to purchase has changed over the last years. When it comes to looking to purchase an automotive vehicle we often turn to the internet in order to compare and contrast our preferred car to drive. We want to look at multiple images as well as a video if possible so that we can fully take in the look and feel of the vehicles – this may even assist us in purchasing the auto vehicle, car, van, motorcycle or maybe even caravan without even going to view it in person.

So we have established in general what the car purchaser expects to be available at their fingertips so aid in purchasing. But, what about the car dealers large and small that are out there? The large organizations will most likely have a corporate engine behind them which will be used to showcase their stock. But what about the smaller car dealer or the person who may go to the car auctions now and again and looks to showcase their purchase in order to effect a quick sale?

We do know that there are industry platforms that can be used for a fee [similar to what we find in the restaurant take away industry] which many choose to make use of. With that said many savvy car dealers are becoming more and more aware of how important it is to establish a digital marketing footprint in their area of ​​operation and that managing their operations via a third party platform may well prove as a hindrance in their business branding goals .

It is with the above point in mind that automated showrooms are taking steps to have their own auto showroom car sales and marketing platform. This will enable them to be in full control over when they list vehicles, change images and with the car sales platform listed on their own company domain along with their own branding and imaging; over time this allows them to build real equity into the business with no ongoing commission or individual car listings fees to pay.

Digital marketing for car dealers and automotive sellers in the form of having their own website with their own domain, based around company specific auto dealership marketing which will see users coming directly to the car dealer website and not an industry platform. Adopting this form of car sales marketing is surely the way to carve out a car sales and marketing brand which will lead to increased revenues, expanded digital marketing footprint and enhanced brand equity.

I am currently enrolled as a student at the University of Michigan Dearborn College of Business. My majors are Digital Marketing and Information Technology Management. I think the weight of this duel degree will carry a special edge upon entering the business world. UofM Dearborn was one of the very first schools to offer this specialized degree in Digital Marketing. It is important to understand how this degree is different than a normal Marketing degree and the ramifications it will have for the business world.

Why is this degree so important? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the market research analysts and marketing specialists increase in number is at 32% expectancy during 2012-2022, surpassing the national average of merely 11% for other professions. This is clear evidence that not only will jobs in this field be available, but businesses will be actively seeking out candidates to fill these positions. Commonly, a business faces a dilemma when looking to hire digital marketers. They must either hire a person skilled in regular marketing that must be trained extensively or they must hire in a seasoned digital marketing veteran that requires a much higher salary. Businesses instead will now be looking to fill this void with students that have this pertinent degree.

More and more businesses are moving their marketing campaigns to focus heavily on their online platforms. The perks of marketing this way are more extensive than merely reaching a wider audience than other marketing means. Online marketing allows for real time analytics to be transferred back to the people running the campaign. This allows the business to alter and change their campaign as they see fit. Also, in this day and age information is king. Digital marketing allows for companies to collect their own information and data free of charge.

Here at the University of Michigan Dearborn, we have classes that focus mainly on digital marketing and are supplemented with traditional marketing courses. These classes range from learning how to rank a webpage on the first page of Google to processing and transposing data analytics in a meaningful way. The core classes required for the digital marketing major are as follows:

• Digital Consumer Search and Marketing
• Communications Strategy and New Media
• Digital Analytics and Content
• Marketing and Research
• E-tailing and Retailing

From here a student must also choose two of the following classes:

• Managing Electronic Commerce Systems
• Understanding Consumers
• Marketing Management
• Global Marketing and Consumer Culture
• Database Systems 1
• Advanced Computer Applications

All of these requirements are in addition to the normal classes needed for a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.

The uses of this degree are endless. A person with this degree is equipped to handle social media pages, website management, content management, digital analytics, etc. With everything going digital these days, it only make sense that marketing will continue down this path too.

Now a day’s most of the consumers look for company products & services reviews through different search information and get educated for themselves before going to purchase or order services.

More people are turning towards the internet as the first stop for information. The changes of communicating, connecting with people and consumers have been changed and it is no surprise that digital marketing has been an essential part of any business strategy to connect & communicate with the people through the internet.

A business that doesn’t connect with their customers through digital marketing for their industrial product & services promotions is missing the opportunities of getting more sales & leads.

How To Use Digital Marketing To Expand More Business Opportunities

Digital marketing can impact on any kind of industrial business, digital marketing is not just about posting ads it is about building an online presence that adds valuable customers. For example, a business that sells machine parts might post content about streamlining the manufacturing process or cutting costs with sustainable solutions. Construction companies might create content regarding their projects & development of a particular location and target to that particular location people.

Digital Marketing Strategy For Industrial Products & Services

Strategy No1 – Social Media Marketing – social media platform is a great way to build your company professional network. Which establish connections with consumers for your product & services which can lead to more communications & eventual sales lead

Strategy No2 – Content Marketing – distributing the content which is related to your product & services in social media platform is a great way to communicate. A hand in hand distribution of content through social network helps in aggregate audiences and gives them material to share & circulate to their audiences in turn which results in an increase of your product & services reach to more audiences.

Strategy No3 – Branding – People trust that the primary listing in Google may be an esteemed company. By doing SEO, your website becomes THE BRAND. You’re the guy the competitors need to beat. Any back area unit you’re in rankings on Google then a lot of people are doubtful in concerning your website. If Google includes a spot dedicated to you at prime the highest particularly if it’s a prime tier listing with alternative subpages listed below of the most home pages it offers your website believability that no ad will top. Ads will typically be seen as annoying and plenty of folks have ad blockers put in on their browsers.

Strategy No4 – Expand Website Traffic – Top positions on the web index result pages get a dominant part of the impressions and snaps, so positioning in these best positions can bring about huge activity increments for your site. Website design enhancement additionally concentrates on making instructive and watchword important title labels and meta portrayals, which appear in the outcome pages. Having enhanced labels and portrayals expands active clicking factor, which likewise advances increments in qualified web movement.

Strategy No5 – SEO – Google’s search engine uses a range of strategies to work out what pages are displayed 1st within the results. Their actual formula may be a secret, however, there are forever a couple of belongings you will do to boost your rank in Google search results. The term for this can be known as search engine optimization or SEO.

The world, today, is becoming progressively digitalised with millions of folks going online. Companies are realizing the encompassing reach their brands can enjoy by being proactive in the digital arena. No matter a brand is small or a giant unit, they certainly do not hesitate to invest in the top digital marketing agencies that have the power to make their business outshine in the busy gala.

Digital marketing has the potential to reach out to a much wider audience in comparison to the traditional advertising mediums. Not only because it can target a larger group of the audience but also because it can do the same at a minimum cost. The powerful digital marketing tools like emails, social media posts and other online campaign and promotional strategies offer a cost-friendly yet extremely effective to stand out in the competitive marketplace.

Digital marketing trends are, however, in an ever-evolving stage with new strategies getting introduced every season. In this respect, selecting a marketing agency will help a business to keep itself updated with the changing trends and achieve the business goal. Investing in a good digital marketing agency is very important for the success of your business lie on their hands to a great extent. The following checklist will help all the affiliated marketers to choose the best digital marketing agency for their business –

Make Yourself Clear about What You Want:

Long before you start your search of finding a digital marketing company for your business, you must be clear about your own needs. Digital marketing is a broad area and involves various approaches like- SEO marketing, social media management, website development, Blogging, content management, inbound marketing and more such things. Discuss with your team and sketch out a list of all the services you need from a digital expert.

Know Their Digital expertise:

Not all firms have a perky office set up and have an office in an extremely corporate address. Remember that just because they are not a big name, doesn’t have any connection with their expertise. For example, if your company specializes in sportswear, you would definitely want to work with a high profile marketing firms that cater to brands outside your niche. You want your work done at its best and it has nothing to do with the outer image of the agency. It may be that the agency is not much aware of your product. Are they exceptionally creative? Have they worked with products outside their comfort zone? A “yes” to these questions means you can proceed with a positive note.

Research on The past and ongoing projects:

Of course, you have learnt that the agency you are going to hire is creative and has worked in diverse fields, but having a look from a closer view will make your decision stronger. Don’t hesitate to have a look at the sample of their works. You can always have a look at their clients’ website, the content written for other companies and then decide whether you are moving on or not. Don’t hesitate to find out whether they are aware of the trending digital marketing techniques and also the metrics they use to define success.

Learn About their Employees and Experts:

A good digital marketing agency is formed only when it is surrounded by passionate, creative, intelligent and enthusiastic people. It is only through their skills that your brand is going to shine. You can always have a chat with the marketing experts and learn about them.

Consider the Budget:

Budget is one of the most significant parts in the process of choosing a digital marketing agency. Asking about the estimate or quotation is very important. Negotiation may be uncomfortable for all who are not attuned to it. Make yourself clear before finalizing the deal. Finally, don’t be ready to compromise for few bucks because you need the best.

You will have to devote lots of time marketing yourself and earning referrals. Content marketing then will be more prone towards user-generated, instead of professional, content within the next calendar year. The secret to content marketing is that the content has to be interesting to your audience and will supply value to them.

There are a number of reasons to put money into influencer advertising. It is a way to get past the need to use ads to reach your audience. Although email promotion is highly effective, not all startups can harness the real power of email marketing.

Digital marketing is not rocket science. It has no boundaries. Since you may see, digital promotion is a big and complicated topic. Digital Marketing is a huge subject and you can not turn into a hero in 30 hours! It is a type of marketing technique where the marketing activity is carried out with the help of channels and platforms available on the internet. It uses the internet as a main promotional medium, in addition to traditional TV and radio.

It is one of the fastest growing industries so there is much room for growth and development. It is one of the top 5 growing sectors since the year 2009. In simple terms, it is the promotion of products, services or brands via digital marketing channels. It is much more advanced than the traditional style of marketing because, One has to be very careful in selecting the right strategy to generate reach.

Getting your own digital advertising and marketing blog is able to help you set yourself apart from others in the business and stand out when you should speak to an influencer or potential employer. The ideal marketing influencers are individuals who speak and reveal themselves in front of individuals.

Your email marketing strategy will vary a lot based on the essence of your small business. Needless to say, there are a number of different reasons your data-driven advertising and marketing strategy could fail in addition to a deficiency of comprehensive tools. It's simple to separate your digital advertising strategy into various channels like pay per click ads, social networking, search engine optimization and so forth. A digital marketing and advertising strategy does not require demand a detailed analysis, it purely takes a set of objectives and goals which you are seeking to realize. You should develop a content marketing strategy based not just on the info you need to give your clients, but also based on your understanding of what information people are trying to find.

Your digital marketing and advertising strategy may incorporate elements of all 3 channels, all working together to assist you achieve your objective. An intelligent and powerful digital marketing and advertising strategy has many faces. Then you'll have a fully integrated digital marketing and advertising strategy.

Developing a digital marketing and advertising strategy does not need to be hard work. Based on the scale of your organization, your digital marketing strategy might involve a number of objectives, but coming back to this easy way of thinking about strategy will be able to help you stay focused on meeting those objectives. It needs to deliver the right content based on their buying stage. A clearly defined digital marketing and advertising strategy encourages existing customers together with new customers to engage and stay loyal.

You need to construct a marketing system which focuses on a group or groups of individuals. The key issue is to develop your promotion system with the most suitable expectations. Fortunately, marketing software has come a very long way in the past few decades, and there are a lot of tools which may help. Ask yourself these questions before you pick any new marketing and advertising tool. You are going to learn how to use the digital instruments and techniques effectively for a prosperous campaign. In other words, it's because digital instruments and skills have an established capacity to create revenue, and companies wish to harness that power and keep competitive.

Using digital radiography has rapidly increased in recent decades. You could also take advantage of sophisticated email marketing software to run targeted campaigns with an objective of convincing your audience to have a particular action such as signing up for a class, buying your goods, attending an event, or in any case may be. It explains using email marketing, online affiliate marketing, Facebook marketing, and the way to use social networking tools like Twitter, podcasting and blogging.

Search Engine Optimization is a very critical part of digital marketing. Here are some Search Engine Facts which a digital marketer must know. These SEO Facts 2018 can really help them to plan for different marketing strategy.

1. Most of the users click on top 5 search results: – According to the latest researchers, 75% of the users click on the first 5 search results shown by the search engine. To be more precise, 32% users click on the topmost result compared to 18% users going for the second result. This stat very clearly shows that the higher your website will rank, the more visits it will get.

2. Users do not typically scroll past page 1: – Only a mere 20% of the users are persistent enough to scroll to page 2 of search results. So if your website is on page 2 then you must work on your digital marketing and SEO strategies.

3. Mobile Friendly Keywords are the need of the hour: – Around 50% of users start their searches on a mobile device. When people use their phone for a search, they tend to use different keywords. Also, when it comes to looking for local business, 88% of the searches are initiated on a mobile device.

4. Mobile SEO and Local Business: – As we mentioned before, users tend to search for local business on their smartphones. The number of smartphone users is increasing year after year, since, it is very important to plan your keywords according to the rise in mobile searches.

5. Websites with more pages are likely to attract more traffic: – The number of pages on a website plays a direct role in determining the amounts of traffic it generates. It simply reflects the importance of relevant keywords.

6. Around half of the search queries are 4 words or longer: – It is a clear fact that short keywords will help you to show up higher in the search results. But at the same time, it is very difficult to rank those keywords as short keywords are very competitive. So, instead of going for short competitive keywords, you should just use longer ones effectively.

7. Organic Search still trumps over Social Media Traffic: – Although social media traffic is increasing day by day, organic searches are still the way to go. Organic searches account for 41% of the total search which is 3 times the social media traffic. Here, moving completely to social media platforms to generate traffic is not wise.

8. Quality Content: – Google adores rich and definite substance which gives per users esteem and answers questions. Whenever you're trying to get a site on the first page of Google, ensure you incorporate a lot of substance.

With the rise of digital technologies, marketing has become less expensive, more effective, and measurable. Online marketing is a promising way of promoting a business and getting new customers and retaining the existing ones. The power of online interaction and diversity in online channels highlight the significance of having a strategic sound customer acquisition strategy.

Social media and other digital channels drive engagement and we know engagement can help businesses acquire new customers and build long-term relationships with them. But how can a business leakage online marketing techniques to attract new customers?

Successful businesses put efforts to meet customer's expectations. Just imagine a business has an incredible marketing strategy but the products or services it offers are disappointing. Will it be easy for that business to attract a large number of new customers no matter the quality of its marketing efforts? It all starts with delivering great products. Following are some of the suggestions that would help you build an effective customer acquisition strategy for your business using digital tools.

Valuable content

Prospects and customers should be at the center of a marketing strategy. When it comes to the customer acquisition, a business has to create and present valuable content that provides easy and quick solutions to its online visitors. The purpose of building a strong content strategy is to cater the needs of potential customers as well as to keep a certain level of engagement with the existing ones. Content is probably the only way to communicate with people who use the internet to find solutions.

Value proposition

Why does a customer prefer to buy from a specific business when there are plenty of others offering the same thing? A business has to build a realistic statement about why people should choose it. A SWOT analysis would help companies understand their strengths and weaknesses. This is what makes a business unique.

Social media

People spend plenty of time on social media sharing and receiving information. A business needs to figure out the social channels where it can find the most of its potential customers. A solid presence on relevant social media channels enables a brand to engage with its prospects and customers. Again, it is the content that helps a brand build an effective social media presence.

Search engine marketing

Paid search or search engine marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing techniques to get new customers. However, marketers have to be considerate in building paid search campaigns. Once executed in the right way, paid search can instantly drive new leads. If a marketer really understands how to optimize paid search campaigns for better ROI, he can consistently bring in a great number of qualified leads.

Mobile optimization

It may seem superfluous to repeat that businesses have to optimize their web experiences for mobile in order to stay competitive. A large number of people use mobile devices to buy different products and services. Therefore, it is inevitable to build responsive business websites in order to attract new customers.

Precisely speaking, build great products and present them well on the internet. Digital marketing is all about how well you present your business to the online world and then how effectively you interact with your prospects and customers.