Although 2020 brought a lot of chaos and uncertainty it also changed the face of marketing. Online marketing became the norm during the COVID-19 lockdown. With the shut down of physical stores, businesses turned online to keep open the channel of communication with their customers. 

Businesses that had an online presence recorded a large percentage of increase in their sales. As a result of this, the benefits of online marketing have come to light and more businesses are beginning to move their businesses online. 

In a bid to improve the overall success of your brand, below are digital marketing tips you should always keep at your fingertips.

1.  Online presence is everything

With 2020 came a lot of attention on the internet. We came to realize the importance of online communication. This year as a brand, business, or organization, it is key that you put extra effort into improving your online presence. Understand how the online market works and strategically position yourself in a way that attracts customers to your business. Focus on key elements like SEO and optimized contents that generally improves your visibility and ranking on search engines. 

A well-designed website that boasts of a good user interface and user experience (UI/UX) is a great way to position your brand on the internet. Also, you should not neglect the use of social media platforms as they are a great way to put your brand out there and interact socially with potential and existing customers. 

2. Search Engine Optimization

An important key to success is identifying a problem and coming up with a solution to solve the problem. Now the next step is to understand how people search for these “problems'' online. You will agree that '' what is digital marketing” is different from “ digital marketing courses near me”. The first indicates that the researcher wants to know more about digital marketing while the second point more in the direction of a digital marketing academy or where he or she can get certified. 

This is known as keywords, which simply means understanding what customers are searching for and the words they use. This is the main source of organic traffic which is one of the reasons why you should invest in it. Optimizing your website is a good way to rank for keywords that are commonly used by customers. It's almost like using a magnet to draw potential clients to your website.

3. Video marketing

Video content is becoming a more preferred mode of advertising products and services. Marketers in the past months and years have recorded increased traffic when they include videos in their marketing strategy. Why? Videos tell a better story than pictures. Infusing videos on your adverts campaign and website can significantly increase your conversion rate. Commercial videos, product reviews, testimonial videos, and explainer videos are a great ways to tell customers about your product and services. 

Also do not neglect the importance of authentic and original videos when it comes to marketing. Most customers prefer to watch an advert video that is original and speaks directly to their problems.

4. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Gone are the days of billboard and radio adverts and welcome to the era of digital advertising. Pay-Per-Click is a form of digital advertising where you pay for everything someone clicks on your advert. This is basically used to drive more traffic to your website, create brand awareness and improve visibility. The good thing about PPC is that it allows you to run ads targeting a particular audience based on their occupation, gender, location, or even interests.

Platforms like Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Ads are the most commonly used Ads platform by marketers. We strongly advise that you include paid advertising in your next marketing plans as you are sure to see an increase in your business ROI.

5. Make your website load as fast as possible

If you ever want to improve your ranking on search engines, one of the key things to consider is the loading speed of your website. Page speed is vital for more visibility and higher ranking.  If your website takes a second less to load it can negatively impact the number of traffic that comes to your website. Most people will move to another website if yours takes too long to load and this ultimately affects conversion. Avoid heavy graphics or videos that may reduce the loading speed of your website. 

The faster your page loads, the more chances they are likely to stay and go through all you have to offer. Nobody wants to be kept in the waiting line for too long trying to gain access to your website. Keep in mind that there are other competitors that can offer what your website lacks.