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Digital Marketing and Why it Matters in 2024

By Jesse Masalia (Copywriter)
January 26th, 2024

The Importance of Digital Marketing 

Have you ever wondered how some businesses manage to stand out in their industry? You might ask, “What makes a company or business come out on the top of Google searches?”, “What made that ad pop in my feed?”. Present times where online presence can be as confusing as it is crucial, the role of Digital Marketing for a business has become more significant than ever! Thankfully, CRE8 Digital has got your back in coming to terms with what you'll see is the secret sauce in your next marketing campaign in 2024.

What is Digital Marketing?

So, what's the big deal about digital marketing? Well, it's the creative way of promoting a business, person, product, or services using the *poof* magic of online channels…such as Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Paid-Ads (PPC) , and yes, E-mail Marketing! Using these methods, potential customers are reached in a much more effective and affordable way compared to traditional marketing (like newspapers and TV Ads) for a business looking to increase its brand awareness, audience connection, and ultimately, revenue!

A persons hand highlighting the importance of audience for digital marketing

What does Digital Marketing Services Include?

Decoding Digital Magic: Let’s talk Marketing Strategies

Now that we've taken the briefest of overviews on what Digital Marketing even means, let's get into some specific strategies employed to make it all come together! Each one of these methods plays a distinct and particular role in achieving a brand’s marketing goals, and each comes with its own set of perks to bring to the table.

1. Content Marketing

“Content is king”, a phrase popularized by Bill Gates in an essay in 1997, is a statement that is as true today as it was when the tech-revolutionary penned it almost 30 years ago! Content, simply put, is just about anything produced and added to the huge online landscape.
These can include Pictures, Videos, Blogs, E-Books, Podcasts....the list goes on! These days, it seems just about anyone with a phone can produce content.
The problem that many brands struggle with is generating quality content. “What is quality content?". Well think of it like regular content, but it actually does its job for a brand by resonating with its intended audience by being: relevant, informative, and probably the most challenging…original. 

It’s easy to see why Content Generation is seen as the fuel behind the rest of the marketing engine. And much like your car or truck, without good octane fuel, you’re not going far in Texas.

Thankfully, content generation and client consultation is one of CRE8 Digital’s most detailed specialties. We have helped Houston companies in many industries craft specialized content that showcases hand-crafted and engaging stories. We want to show what makes a brand great and love collaborating with our client’s, their leadership, and their employees.
Need your brand’s presence boosted with high quality content? Contact us today to get started reaching out to more audiences for your business!

Now that we’ve taken a look at the importance of content, we need to ensure that a potential customer or client actually sees it so they can see a brand’s vision. One popular (and inexpensive) way to go about this is through another type of Marketing…

2. Social Media Marketing

Half art and half social-science, this style of marketing leverages free and popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), Tik-tok, and many others, to connect a brand with its audience, build awareness, and offer easy options for directly communicating with potential customers. 

A phone screen showing popular social media app platforms

These platforms are the perfect places to upload and distribute your content.

Here these pieces of content can go on to craft interesting narratives about your brand and develop dynamic conversations with your audience. Say you posted a video where you spoke about one topic in your industry. This could spark an online conversation leading to questions that help generate even more content for your brand. 

With so many social media platforms these days,each with their own quirks, it’s easy to wonder how a company is expected to maintain these lines of communication with their audience in a genuine and adaptive way.
Luckily, the team at CRE8 Digital is primed to help your brand manage these spaces professionally and with a personal touch that is sure to catch the eyes of the 43% of Texans on social media for news alone, let alone the entire spectrum of social media users.

After many brands have their social media platforms set up and appropriately managed, the next step for many is dedicating a space online just for them. A space that is customized to their values and spurs action from their online audience. This is where creating a custom website comes in.

3. Web Design and Development

Did you know that 71% of businesses have a website as reported by Forbes? It’s no secret why; A solid and well performing website for your brand will serve as its bedrock and allows it to fully benefit from the other marketing techniques. On top of this, a website is often the first impression many people get with a brand when taking their initial trip hunting for a specific service or product they need online.

That means a good website should have:

  • Professional Design: Your website should be visually appealing and have that -pop- that showcases that your brand or business is worth looking into. It’s the first thing that will catch a potential client’s eye and can help you stand out from the crowd of run-of-the-mill sites. Additionally, it’s important that the website accurately reflects the feel of what customers should expect. A gym’s website should have an entirely different feel than a construction company’s!
  • User-Friendly Navigation: Your website should be intuitive and clear in its interface, allowing a visitor on your site to understand where to go and how to get there, not clunky and disorienting leading to visitors running to the Help Button (Looking at you, every name-brand mobile company’s website!!).
  • Mobile Responsiveness: More and more internet users are feeling comfortable browsing and shopping with their phones and with the increase in phone size over the past years; websites need to be correctly formatted for your audiences mobile devices to better allow them to see your content…wherever they are.
  • Compelling Content: Lastly, and as we’ve mentioned prior, most importantly….is Quality Content. Your website should have content that showcases your brand’s culture and values to best drive interaction and positive purchasing decisions from your target audience. A clean website doesn’t mean much if it’s just a veneer with nothing of value inside! Think of it like a beautifully wrapped gift – it may catch the eye, but the gift inside needs to match the paper surrounding it! 

4. PPC - Pay Per Click

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a cornerstone of digital marketing services in 2024, offering a direct and measurable way to drive targeted traffic to your website. At its core, PPC is an online advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads.

Unlike traditional advertising, PPC provides the flexibility to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and search behaviors. Platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads dominate the PPC landscape, allowing businesses to display ads in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and across a network of partner websites. The immediate results of PPC campaigns provides a stark contrast to organic SEO strategies, delivering instant visibility and results.

The Mechanics of a Successful PPC Campaign

PPC's success in of digital marketing is undeniable, offering a blend of visibility, speed, and control that other advertising forms struggle to match. Its cost-effectiveness is a major draw, as advertisers only pay when their ad is clicked, ensuring that the budget is spent on genuine interest.

The granular level of targeting allows businesses to reach their ideal audience at the right time, with ads tailored to the search queries and interests of potential customers. Moreover, the rich analytical insights provided by PPC platforms empower businesses to make data-driven decisions, optimizing campaigns in real-time for better performance and ROI.

As part of our full spectrum digital marketing strategy, PPC acts not just as a traffic driver but as a tool for brand exposure, market penetration, and valuable audience insights.

Partner with CRE8 Digital for Your Digital Marketing

Get Started With Your Digital Marketing Today!

Now that we’ve walked you through what Digital Marketing is and what are some ways it can positively help a brand reach its marketing goals. We’ve also looked a little at the core values of Content creation, Social Media, Web Development and PPC. Stay tuned for future blogs covering other fascinating topics about Digital Marketing with CRE8 Digital, your source for Local SEO, Social Media Management, Content Creation Services and other services.. Follow us on your Social Media platform of choice and get in contact with us today to discuss how we can help you meet your online marketing goals!