Guide to Digital Marketing
Welcome to Punchmark’s Digital Marketing Knowledgebase! We know that digital marketing is a complex and sometimes overwhelming topic, so we wanted to put all of the high-level definitions and our best practices in one place for you. We’ll also include examples that are specific to the jewelry industry so you can better understand what a real-world application of these practices might look like for you.
Digital Marketing Overview
Digital marketing is incredibly complex and very new compared to many other industries. The best practices are constantly shifting as search engine giants like Google constantly update their algorithms and social media marketing changes with new platforms, not to mention shifts in consumer behaviors and expectations. While physical mailers and billboards might still be useful, people are now spending hours each day on their computers and phones. You can (and should) tap into that behavioral shift to attract new and younger clients and engage with your existing clientele to build loyalty.
So What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is everything from making sure your website shows up on Google to using social media effectively. It is, at its very core, getting noticed on the internet. The end goal of digital marketing is no different than traditional marketing. You are looking to make a sale and grow your customer base. Whether you prefer to do that using customized newsletters delivered to your client’s inboxes or location-specific paid ads on Google, digital marketing is a tool that every business should be taking advantage of.
Due to the near-infinite adaptability of the internet, your routes to digital marketing are limitless. Some of the most common approaches include a combination of sponsored content, increasing your website visibility on search engines, and driving client interaction and positive perception of your store.
Is Digital Marketing Right for My Business?
The short answer: YES!
If you have a business and you want to grow your sales, digital marketing is absolutely right for you. A website and a digital presence aren’t helpful if no one finds them! In the twenty-first century, many prospective clients won’t even consider coming to your store if they can’t first learn a bit about you online. Showcasing your brand and voice online is only ever helpful.
But that doesn’t mean you need to drop your traditional marketing tactics. Altering your marketing to accommodate both a traditional and a digital approach can yield great results.
Categories within Digital Marketing
We have broken down the Digital Marketing Guide into a few broad categories for ease of use. Some of the individual topics may have significant overlap, but we’ve done our best to categorize them according to how you might go about improving your digital presence.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO: this is a huge category that covers everything you need to know about how to help your website rank within Google and other search engines. Within this section you’ll find topics such as how to use keywords and key phrases, meta descriptions and title tags, internal and external linking and anchor text, URL redirects and broken links, and URL structure.
Paid Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: if you’ve ever wondered about how to get the most from Google Ads or social media marketing campaigns, this category deserves your attention. We’ll go over the basics of paid marketing, targeted ads, and the differences between running ads on Google compared to Facebook or Instagram.
Social Media and Digital Outreach: building your online presence encompasses more than running ads and ranking on Google. Once a customer finds you, they should have ways to interact with your store in a variety of ways. Social media includes best practices for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Pinterest. We’ve also placed other outreach methods, such as newsletters and email campaigns, within this category.
Keep in mind that while we’re suggesting current best practices and overall approaches to each of these topics, our current ways of doing things will look markedly different ten years down the road as new technologies arise and algorithms change. Therefore, the suggestions we present should be viewed as helpful advice and not the gold standard. Experimenting with your approach and figuring out what works for your business will ultimately provide the best results.
Digital Marketing in Action
An Example Pipeline
Sarah and Tom are going to get engaged soon. Sarah is looking for the ring of her dreams so she can tell Tom what she wants. She starts her search with a quick Google search for “diamond engagement rings.” One of the top five suggestions is for a local jeweler near her called The Golden Karat. She clicks on the website to see what the inventory is like. She browses the collection and sees a few styles she likes, but she doesn’t do more than look around.
Over the next few days, Sarah continues to see Google Ads for The Golden Karat. She doesn’t click any of them because she’s at work, but she keeps seeing the name of the store and remembers the rings she liked.
A week later, Sarah sees an Instagram post from one of the local influencers she follows wearing a gorgeous diamond engagement ring, the ring of her dreams. The influencer has tagged The Golden Karat in the post, and Sarah assumes that’s where the ring is from. She recognizes the store name immediately. Sarah wants to see more details about the ring, so she goes to the store’s website. This time, she creates an account so she can add this ring to her wishlist and show Tom later. The store now has her email address.
A month later, Sarah gets an email that The Golden Karat is having a semi-annual sale, and she realizes she could get a discount on the engagement ring she really liked. She forwards the email to Tom, who goes to the store the next day. He says his girlfriend Sarah saw a ring she really liked, but he doesn’t remember which one it was. The salesperson is able to look up Sarah’s name in their customer database and see the ring she added to her wishlist. Tom gets the ring she wanted and proposes to her. (She says yes.)
Digital Marketing Touchpoints
How many digital marketing touch points did you count in this short tale? For Sarah to even find the store, she started with an internet search. The store’s website had to show up on the first page of results. Then, the store used targeted ads. Even though Sarah never clicked on the ads, the name became familiar to her. Once she recognized the name, she saw a local influencer post that prompted her to go back to the website. She created a wishlist and ended up on their email list. Using email, the store was able to incentivize her to send Tom to make the purchase.
Digital marketing isn’t about someone seeing your content and making a purchase immediately. It requires multiple touch points across various platforms. If Sarah had found the website but never seen the ads, she may not have recognized the store name when she saw the Instagram post. If she hadn’t been able to create a wishlist, Tom might not have purchased a ring because he wanted to be sure it was the one she wanted. While everyone’s journey through the digital marketing pipeline is different, each touchpoint is important. Using a variety of strategies is therefore a must-do.
How to Use This Guide
Each page of the guide is broken down into four parts:
The first section is a high-level overview of the term, concept, or subject of the page. Treat this as a good reference to refresh your memory on concepts or gain a basic understanding of the topic.
The second section is a deep dive into the nuances and details. Here you will find more information and different ways that the same concept might be applied in a variety of scenarios or formats. This section will help you understand the specifics and go into detail about use cases and applicability.
The third section will highlight real-life examples, specifically within the jewelry industry. If you’ve read sections one and two and are still confused, use the examples to see each term or concept applied. This section is designed to help you understand how to execute each concept.
The fourth section contains some questions to get you thinking about where on your Punchmark site you might incorporate this concept followed by a checklist of action items. Use these resources to guide you in making decisions and deciding where to prioritize adding in this digital marketing concept.
Within each page, there will also be links to Punchmark pages within SiteManager where you can add or edit your existing settings to make your site more digital-marketing friendly. We will also provide links to external or third-party sites we find helpful as well as related episodes of our podcast, In the Loupe.
Still Have Questions?
Contact our digital marketing department by emailing us at info@punchmark.com and putting “Attn: Digital Marketing” in the subject line. We have a comprehensive list of digital marketing services provided in-house that you can easily add on to your Punchmark website. Please email us to schedule a consultation today!