The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing Success: Simple Steps to Grow Your Business Online

Digital Marketing Solutions

At Salem Surround, we understand that digital marketing can be complex and ever-changing, making it hard to keep up with new trends and tools. In today's rapidly growing digital landscape, digital marketing is no longer an option, it's a necessity for businesses like yours to grow and thrive. That’s why we’re here to simplify it. 

What is Digital Marketing? 

Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing 

Whether you realize it or not, you interact with some form of digital marketing every day, whether that’s reading a blog, signing up for an email subscription, engaging with your favorite brands on social media, or even clicking on a Google search result. Digital marketing uses digital channels such as social media, websites, email, search engines, and mobile apps to connect brands with potential customers and their target audience. Traditional marketing, unlike digital marketing, uses offline or “traditional” channels to advertise services and products. These common channels include:

• Television 
• Radio
• Billboards and Outdoor Advertising
• In-store Displays
• Print Media (Newspapers, magazines, brochures, and flyers.)

Digital marketing works similarly to traditional marketing but takes place online. Both digital and traditional marketing strive to reach a target audience to drive sales, generate leads, and build brand loyalty. Digital marketing hasn’t been around long, but with its growing popularity, the greatest challenge today is creating a strategy that helps you stand out from the competition.

Benefits of Digital Marketing

Whether you are a B2B or B2C business, maintaining a strong online presence helps you understand your audience, track metrics to help refine strategies, and create brand awareness, all of which will later translate into higher ROI. American consumers spend approximately eight hours per day engaging with digital media, which is about twice the time spent on traditional formats. With so many people spending a significant part of their day online, it's clear that digital platforms are where your business needs to be. 

Reach a Wider Audience

Digital marketing helps you cast a wider net to reach the right audience with less effort than traditional marketing. With the internet being a global platform, your campaigns can connect with customers both locally and internationally, allowing your brand to grow beyond geographic limitations.  

Increase Brand Visibility

Building a recognizable brand is essential in today’s competitive market. Social media and other digital channels provide a way to communicate directly with your customers, fostering engagement and building relationships. Interacting with your audience through comments, messages, and shares can help create a loyal customer base that advocates for your brand.

Cost-Effective and Measurable Results

Digital Marketing, when compared to traditional marketing methods, offers a more cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes and industries. Social media marketing, email marketing, and SEO are great ways to create a cost-effective campaign that will still reach your target audience without breaking the bank. One of the most important elements of a digital marketing campaign is being able to measure results in real time. Most digital marketing tools provide built-in analytics to help you track website traffic, conversions, and much more. At Salem Surround, we will help you understand these metrics to learn more about your audience. 

Targeted Advertising and Personalization

Ever wish you could chat directly with each of your customers? With digital marketing, you can! Say goodbye to generic ads, now you can tailor your messages so they speak directly to individual interests and needs. Imagine sending personalized offers or content that resonates with each person. This one-on-one connection not only delights your customers but also builds loyalty and trust.

How to Shine Online with Digital Marketing: Salem Surround’s Digital Marketing Solutions 

Excited to jump into the digital world but not sure where to start? Let's explore some of the most popular types of digital marketing. These essential strategies can dramatically influence your business’s growth and success.

Search and Performance Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Ever wonder how certain websites show up at the top of the list when you search for something? Well, that's SEO at work! By optimizing your website with the right keywords and content, you can climb up search engine ranks. There are many components of SEO that help bring organic visitors to your business, like on-page optimization, backlinks, and mobile-friendliness. It requires patience and consistency to see long-lasting results. But trust us, the payoff is worth it!  

• Local SEO

Ever searched for “coffee shops near me” and found the perfect spot? That’s local SEO doing its magic! By targeting location-specific keywords and optimizing your online presence for local searches, your business can appear in front of customers right in your area. Strategies include claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile, managing online reviews, and ensuring your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms.

• Off-Page SEO

Think of off-page SEO as building your website’s reputation. It’s all about what happens outside your site to boost its authority and credibility. This includes earning high-quality backlinks from reputable sites, encouraging social media shares, and building trust through guest posts or influencer mentions. Search engines see these actions as votes of confidence, helping your site climb the rankings. Off-page SEO is a critical piece of the puzzle to complement your on-page efforts.

• Google Business Profile (GBP) Management

Your Google Business Profile is like your digital storefront. It’s often the first impression potential customers get when they search for your business online. By keeping your profile updated with accurate information, high-quality photos, and engaging posts, you can improve visibility and attract more customers. Responding to reviews, highlighting special promotions, and providing updated hours or services are just a few ways to maximize your GBP for success.

• Franchise SEO

Managing SEO for franchises involves a unique set of challenges. With multiple locations to oversee, it’s important to ensure each one is optimized for local searches while maintaining consistent branding. Franchise SEO strategies include creating location-specific landing pages, building local backlinks, and ensuring each location has its own optimized Google Business Profile. By balancing local and corporate SEO efforts, franchises can drive both local and national visibility.

• Technical SEO

Behind every well-performing website is solid technical SEO. This includes making sure your site is fast, secure, and easy for search engines to crawl and index. Key components of technical SEO are optimizing site speed, implementing a proper sitemap, fixing broken links, and ensuring your site is mobile-friendly.

• Google Analytics

Google Analytics is like a treasure map for understanding your audience and their behavior on your website. It tracks everything from how users found your site to which pages they visit and how long they stay. This data is invaluable for making informed decisions about your marketing strategies. By regularly reviewing reports and metrics, you can identify what's working, what needs improvement, and how to optimize your site for better results. With Google Analytics, you’re not guessing—you’re strategizing with solid data.

Search Engine Marketing

SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, is a digital marketing strategy aimed at increasing a website’s visibility on search engine results pages through paid advertising. This typically involves Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns, where advertisers bid on keywords to have their ads appear alongside organic results. SEM allows businesses to quickly reach targeted audiences, driving immediate traffic to their site, but requires an ongoing budget to maintain visibility.

Pay-per-click (PPC)

Pay-per-click advertising is pretty much what it sounds like, you pay whenever someone clicks on your ad. Imagine it as a way to skip the line on search engines like Google or even social media platforms—your ad gets to be seen first, and you only pay when someone actually clicks on it. The nice part about PPC is that it’s super targeted, so you’re reaching exactly the kind of people who are already interested in what you’re selling. Plus, you have a lot of control—setting budgets, choosing keywords, and even adjusting the ad content to make sure it speaks to your audience. And since you’re only paying when someone clicks, you can keep track of your return on investment (ROI) pretty easily.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a strategy where you partner with individuals or other businesses—known as affiliates—to promote your products or services. It works on a commission basis, meaning affiliates earn a percentage of the sales they help generate. Imagine it as having a team of advocates out there promoting your brand to their own audiences, whether that's through blogs, social media, or other platforms. The great part about affiliate marketing is that it’s performance-based—you only pay when a sale is made, which makes it a low-risk, high-reward approach.

Addressable Geofencing and Geofencing

Addressable geofencing is a precise way to target specific households or businesses using location-based advertising. Imagine being able to draw a digital boundary around a particular address and then deliver ads directly to mobile devices that enter that space. This approach allows you to reach people with hyper-relevant messaging based on where they live or work, making it perfect for delivering personalized offers or promotions. Addressable geofencing is great for tailoring your marketing to an exact audience, which can lead to higher conversion rates and better campaign performance.

Geofencing, on the other hand, involves setting up a virtual boundary around a specific location—like a store, event, or neighborhood. When someone with a mobile device enters or exits this defined area, it triggers an action, such as sending a push notification or showing a targeted ad. Geofencing is all about reaching people in real time based on where they are, which is ideal for driving immediate foot traffic, promoting time-sensitive offers, or creating a more engaging local experience. It’s a powerful tool for attracting nearby customers and encouraging them to visit your business.

Paid Media Marketing

Paid media marketing is when brands use paid channels to reach broader audiences and achieve specific goals like driving traffic, increasing brand awareness, or generating leads. Paid media channels are advertising platforms where businesses pay to promote their content, products, or services to a targeted audience. Unlike organic channels, paid media guarantees visibility because it involves purchasing as places across various media outlets.

Common types of paid media channels include:  

• Political Advertising

Political advertising is like the loudspeaker of any campaign—it’s how candidates get their messages out to voters. You’ve probably seen it everywhere, from TV commercials to social media posts, billboards, and even those mail flyers you find in your mailbox. These ads can be positive, promoting a candidate's platform and achievements, or negative, focusing on their opponent's shortcomings. They aim to shape public perception, build trust, or, sometimes, create doubt about the other side.

• Native Advertising

Native advertising is a bit like the undercover agent of the marketing world—it blends in with the content around it, so you might not even realize it's an ad at first. Unlike traditional ads that stand out with flashy banners or pop-ups, native ads are designed to match the look, feel, and function of the platform they appear on. You’ll often see them as "sponsored" articles on news websites, promoted posts in your social media feed, or even suggested videos on streaming platforms.

• Programmatic Advertising

For years, traditional online advertising—like banner ads and display networks—has been a core part of marketing for businesses of all types. Programmatic advertising takes these online ads to the next level by adding sophisticated technology that targets exactly the right audience, at the perfect time, across the websites and apps they’re already using. This means you get all the benefits of online advertising but with unmatched precision and efficiency in reaching your customers.

At Salem Surround, we specialize in programmatic advertising that makes the most of your marketing budget. Our team places your ads across a wide network of websites, video platforms, and mobile apps, ensuring they are delivered to the right people based on interests, behavior, and demographics. Your programmatic campaign reaches your customers at every stage of their journey, supporting brand awareness, consideration, and conversion. 

• Radio Ads

For decades, radio ads have been a cornerstone of advertising strategies for businesses of all sizes. With Salem Surround, radio advertising continues to be a powerful tool, helping you reach your customers with compelling messages that resonate while they’re on the go—whether in their cars, at work, or at home. Radio’s unique ability to create a personal connection makes it an ideal channel for building brand awareness and reaching diverse audiences.

• Display Ads

Display ads have been an essential part of online marketing for businesses looking to reach customers where they spend their time—browsing websites, reading articles, and exploring content. Display advertising uses eye-catching visuals and targeted placements to build brand awareness and keep your business top-of-mind for potential customers as they navigate the web. Our team at Salem Surround ensures your ads are seen on the right sites at the right time by leveraging advanced targeting options. 

• Digital Out of Home Ads (DOOH)

DOOH advertising has become popular for its flexibility and impact, as well as its ability to reach consumers where they spend a significant portion of their time outside their homes. Unlike traditional out-of-home advertising, such as static billboards or posters, DOOH uses digital screens that can display dynamic content, including videos, animations, or changing images. These screens are often found in high-traffic areas like shopping malls, airports, transit stations, stadiums, and on city streets.

• Youtube Ads 

YouTube ads offer a powerful way to reach audiences through engaging video content on one of the world’s most popular platforms. 

• Podcast Ads

Podcast ads are a unique way to connect with audiences in an intimate and trusted environment. Listeners tune in to their favorite shows regularly, forming a close bond with the hosts, which makes podcast advertising a powerful channel for delivering authentic, memorable messages.

Personalized and Niche Marketing

Marketing to Christians

Display marketing showcases your brand through visually engaging ads, and with the Salem Display Network, you can reach Christian audiences who align with your values. Surround Faith provides access to the largest online faith-based audience, reaching over 6 million users each month through popular websites like Bible Study Tools, Christianity.com, and faith-based apps like Daily Bible Devotional and Bible Trivia.

With more than 433 million monthly display impressions, Surround Faith guarantees visibility for your brand. By promoting your message across 100+ local radio station websites, 17 global-reaching websites, and 66 mobile apps, you can increase brand awareness, donor support, and lead generation.

Our expert team is committed to helping you build trust within the Christian community through impactful storytelling and targeted advertising. With 54 million monthly app sessions, 43 million monthly site visits, and 54 million active email relationships, Surround Faith offers unparalleled engagement and reach. Connect with us today to elevate your brand’s digital presence and strengthen your connection with a faith-driven audience.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is all about using emails to connect directly with your audience, whether you’re promoting products, services, or events. It’s like having a personal line to your customers, where you can share updates, special deals, and useful information straight to their inbox. One of the big advantages of email marketing is the ability to build long-term relationships with your customers. By delivering personalized content—like exclusive offers or tailored suggestions—you can keep your audience engaged and turn potential leads into loyal fans. Plus, it's a cost-effective strategy that lets you easily track key metrics like open rates, clicks, and conversions. This way, you can see what works, make adjustments, and continuously improve your campaigns.

Content Marketing 

Content marketing is all about creating and sharing informative content to attract and engage your audience. It's like being the friendly expert everyone turns to for advice but for your target audience. The main goal of content marketing is to attract leads that will turn into loyal customers. Content marketing comes in many forms such as: 

• Blog posts
• E-books
• Newsletters
• Video or audio transcripts
• Whitepapers
• Infographics

Businesses everywhere are discovering innovative ways to connect with their audiences through valuable content. In fact, 54.5% of businesses plan to spend more on their content marketing in 2024 than in 2023. 

Video Marketing

Video marketing is a dynamic way to capture attention, connect emotionally, and keep your audience engaged longer than other content formats. By combining visuals, sound, and storytelling, video allows brands to communicate in ways that are both memorable and impactful. With the rise of platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, video has become an essential part of content strategies, reaching audiences where they’re already spending time.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is everywhere, it's how we connect with others and share information. Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok to build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, share information with both new and existing customers and drive sales. Choosing a social media platform is a critical step in crafting a successful social media strategy. Each platform has its unique audience demographics, strengths, and types of content that perform best. Salem Surround offers many social media advertising services, such as:

Social Media Brand Management

When it comes to having a strong social media presence and connecting with your target audience, having a strong and consistent brand voice and personality is essential. At Salem Surround, we will help you build and maintain a brand voice across all social media channels. 

Social Media Content Management

Merely setting up social media profiles isn’t enough to drive meaningful engagement. Effective social media management requires a well-crafted strategy, consistent effort, and the skill to strike the right tone to captivate your target audience. With Salem Surround Social Media Management, you gain a full-service solution that not only creates and schedules content but also strategizes for maximum impact.

Social Media Reputation Management

On social media, first impressions matter, and nowadays, most people rely on reviews to help them make a decision to interact or not interact with a brand. In fact, the percentage of consumers who said they trust reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends has increased by 4% since 2023. An unengaging presence can lead to misunderstandings about your brand—and in today’s connected world, those impressions can travel fast. That’s why Salem Surround’s social media reputation management focuses on building a loyal, positive community around your brand. With active engagement and customer care, we help you strengthen trust, boost brand awareness, and drive growth

E-commerce Marketing: Strategies for Boosting Online Visibility and Driving Sales

In the world of e-commerce, the key to success isn’t just having great products—it's making sure the right people can find them. Boosting online visibility and driving sales involves a mix of strategies, but the good news is that there are proven steps that any business can take to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

E-commerce PPC

PPC for e-commerce involves paid ads on platforms like Google and social media to attract people who are actively searching for products like yours. It’s highly targeted, allowing you to reach specific audiences and maximize return on investment by constantly adjusting keywords, bids, and ad formats.

E-commerce SEO

E-commerce SEO is all about making your site and products easier to find on search engines organically. By optimizing product descriptions, meta tags, site structure, and loading speeds, you can boost your search ranking and drive free, long-term traffic to your site.

E-commerce Web design

A well-designed e-commerce site combines aesthetics with functionality to create a smooth shopping experience. This includes clean layouts, fast loading times, mobile optimization, and easy navigation. Effective design helps build trust, making visitors more likely to make a purchase.

Reputation Management

Reputation Management is a critical component of any comprehensive digital marketing strategy. A strong online reputation builds trust, attracts new customers, and retains loyal ones. Here’s what Salem Surround can offer through reputation management services:

Online Reputation Management and Reputation Management Software

ORM focuses on monitoring and influencing how a brand is perceived online. This includes managing reviews, responding to feedback, and improving overall public sentiment.

Software Tools: Specialized tools automate tasks such as review aggregation, sentiment analysis, and performance tracking, making it easier for businesses to maintain control over their digital.

Franchise Reputation Management

Tailored for franchise businesses, this service ensures consistent reputation management across multiple locations. It handles location-specific reviews, customer feedback, and digital branding to maintain a cohesive brand image.

Local Listings Management and Digital Presence

This service ensures businesses are accurately listed across all online directories (e.g., Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places). It optimizes visibility in local searches by managing NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistency and enhancing local SEO.

Online Reputation Repair

Focused on mitigating the impact of negative press, reviews, or other damaging content, this service uses techniques like positive content creation, SEO optimization, and PR campaigns to rebuild a brand's image.

Web Design and Development

At Salem Surround, we create custom websites that combine stunning design with seamless functionality. Our team ensures your site is user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and optimized for performance, giving your business a strong online presence. Whether you need a sleek WordPress site or a fully custom-built platform, we tailor every project to meet your unique goals and deliver results. Let us build a website that not only looks great but works hard for your business.

Custom website design

A custom website design is essential for standing out in today’s digital landscape. Unlike generic templates, custom websites are tailored to reflect your brand, engage your audience, and drive conversions. 

Secure Website Hosting

At Salem Surround, hosting your website is about more than just providing a place for it to operate. We ensure it aligns seamlessly with your overall digital marketing strategy. Our secure, reliable hosting solutions include expert support to keep your site running efficiently and performing at its peak. From updates and backups to troubleshooting, we take care of the technical details so you can focus on growing your business with confidence.

Why Choose Salem Surround as Your Digital Marketing  Agency

At Salem Surround, we’re all about helping your business thrive in the digital world. Whether you're trying to boost brand visibility, drive more sales, or simply connect better with your audience, we've got you covered. Our team knows the ins and outs of online advertising, SEO, social media, and more, so we can make sure your business stands out where it counts. We create strategies that fit your specific goals, and we focus on getting results you can see. When you work with Salem Surround, you're not just getting a service,  you’re gaining a partner who’s committed to helping your business succeed.

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