Digital Marketing FAQs

If you want to grow your business, you need to sell more, whether to existing customers, new customers or both. Getting the sales you need to really transform your business could mean having to sell new products or services, target new types of customers or sell in new places in the UK or beyond. Selling overseas can really take your business to new heights and technology makes this quicker, easier and cheaper than ever.  

Marketing is central to your growth ambitions, because people cannot buy from you if they do not know you exist. They also need to know what you sell and why they should buy it from you. In basic terms, marketing is attracting people’s attention, getting them interested in what you sell, convincing them to buy from you and turning them into loyal customers.  

Digital marketing has overtaken offline marketing and it is now powering the success of many UK businesses. To increase your understanding of digital marketing and how to use it to grow your business, below are the answers to 12 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about digital marketing.  

1 What is digital marketing? 

Digital marketing means using online channels, technologies and methods to promote a brand/business and its products and services. Businesses of all sizes can use digital marketing to reach targeted audiences, even with little or no budget and limited marketing knowledge and experience.  

2 Why do businesses use digital marketing? 

Businesses of all sizes, types and sectors use digital marketing to build brand awareness and trust, increase their reach, target specific customers, increase their sales and keep customers coming back for more. Because it can be highly effective and does not necessarily require huge budgets, digital marketing can deliver an excellent return on investment. 

3 What advantages can digital marketing provide? 

• Cost-effective: You can reach many people even with a limited budget. 
• Targeted: You can “segment” your market and target specific customers. 
• Effective: When digital marketing works, it can bring excellent results. 
• Measurable: You can track clicks, leads, conversions, etc, learn and improve. 
• Scalable: You can scale up your digital marketing as your business grows. 

4 How important is my website to marketing my business?  

Crucial – websites are hugely influential when it comes to people’s buying decisions. Your website should be your main marketing hub. Having a professional-looking site encourages trust and strengthens credibility. Your website should work well and do a great job of showing off your products and services. It should tell visitors what makes your business special and why they should buy from you. Your website images should be attention-grabbing, attractive, high quality and in tune with your brand. Your website should not include too many images, pages or too much text. It should be fast-loading, mobile friendly and easy to navigate.  

5 Is optimising my website for search engines still worthwhile?  

You should still optimise your website for search engines. Even though AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini answer questions directly, they still “scrape” (ie take information) from top-ranking websites. SEO (search engine optimisation) can make your website discoverable, relevant and trustworthy. The right keywords must appear in the right density in headings, subheadings, body copy, title tags, meta descriptions and image alt text. Valuable, relevant, engaging and regularly updated content that is original and authentic can boost your search engine visibility, as can backlinks from other trusted websites. 

6 What is the key to successful email marketing? 

Email marketing remains hugely popular. It is a proven way to attract and retain customers for little cost. Sending emails to customers/prospects to promote products, services, share content, news and offers can be a highly cost-effective digital marketing option. Email marketing includes new customer welcome emails and monthly customer newsletters, as well as special emails promoting discounts, events, sales and product launches. 

You need strong email subject lines and your email copy should be concise and engaging, with timely, relevant content and clear calls to action.  

Sending emails regularly is advised, but do not overdo it (once a month is recommended). Your email contact lists should be “clean” (delete old contacts) and only send your emails to those who have given their permission (they should also be able to opt out).  

Another proven tactic is “segmentation”, which is splitting your customers into smaller groups who share similar characteristics, needs or behaviours, and sending tailored versions to each. Also A/B test two different versions of your emails to see what works best and learn from your results. 

7 How can I use social media to market my business?  

Many businesses create and share content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, etc. It can be a great way to raise awareness of your brand, generate leads and sales, build relationships with customers, support them and create a loyal online community.  

Social media marketing can be exceptionally low cost and your campaigns can be highly targeted, while giving you access to a huge audience. Paid social media means paying to advertise on social media and when they appear, ads are labelled as “sponsored” or “promoted”. They can be highly effective.  

For social media marketing, as with other options, your approach should be well planned. And you should have measurable objectives, a clear strategy and know who you are targeting. You must choose the right platforms, create and share high-quality content and analyse your results, because it can allow you to improve.  

8 What is digital advertising? 

It refers to displaying adverts on third-party websites, apps and social media platforms. Advertisers use platforms such as Google Display Network, Meta Ads or programmatic ad exchanges. Display advertising can be a good way to re-target those who have visited your website but left without buying. 

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is where you pay a fee after someone clicks on your digital advert. Your ads can appear at the top of search results very quickly. PPC campaigns can be carefully targeted and easy to measure, while daily or campaign budgets can be set to limit your spending. 

9 What is content marketing? 

Content marketing is creating and sharing content that is relevant and provides value to customers and prospects. It can establish your authority on certain topics, build trust and relationships with customers, whether through blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, how-to guides, whitepapers or webinars.  

Your content must provide genuine value. It should help your customers or prospects to overcome challenges, or save money and time, be more successful or knowledgeable. Content marketing is not broadcasting sales messages. It is about getting people to know, like and trust your brand, so that they later buy from you. 

10 What is mobile marketing? 

Mobile marketing is targeting potential and existing customers via their smartphones and tablets. You can use SMS (direct text) and MMS (multimedia) messages, mobile apps (in-app ads, push notifications, etc), your website (optimised for small screens and fast loading) and social media (“mobile-first” platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc).  

Mobile marketing can be a good option, especially as 95% of people in the UK aged 16+ own a smartphone (source: Ofcom). You need to gain consent before sending SMS marketing messages, while recipients must be able to easily opt-out. Keep your SMS marketing messages short and clear, with a strong call-to-action. 

11 Which digital marketing channel should I use? 

There are many digital marketing channels and one is unlikely to offer a total solution. You will need to choose a mix of channels – online (ie digital) and offline (ie non digital). Offline marketing includes leaflets, brochures, word of mouth, postcards and print adverts, which still work well for many UK businesses. Measure the success of all your campaigns, so that you can learn and improve. Find out what works and do it as well as you can.  

12 How do I plan a digital marketing campaign? 

Begin by setting SMART objectives:  

• Specific: Decide exactly what results you need to achieve. 
• Measurable: Analysing key digital metrics enables you to judge your success.  
• Achievable: There is no point in setting aims that are unrealistic. 
• Relevant: Your objectives should align with your overall growth aims.  
• Time-bound: You should set a hard deadline for achieving your objectives. 

Make sure that you target the right buyers with the right content and messaging, using marketing channels that will reach them. Be engaging and authentic. Provide clear value; be original, relevant and timely. Your content should be visually appealing. Repurpose content across various marketing platforms to maximise your reach.  

Use digital analytics to “measure what matters” (eg click-through rate, page visits, page views, conversion rate, etc). Calculate your return on investment, and if something doesn’t work – stop doing it. Adjust your budget and tactics based on your successes and failures. Run test pilot campaigns, trailing one or two channels before going bigger. Budget permitting, get support from digital marketing experts, because it could bring you far better results.