Digital Marketing: The Legal Drug For Folks Who Live Online

digital-marketing-internship-mahevash-muses
Move over, coffee. You’ve got some serious competition in digital marketing because just like you, it’s a legal drug. If you’re wondering why on earth I’m talking about digital marketing, here’s the thing: I recently got a remote digital marketing internship at Digital Deepak. That’s right, this writer with five years of experience has now become an intern in a completely new field. (PS You’re never too old for an internship. Just ask Robert De Niro.)

Confused? Don’t be. I have no intention to give up writing because it is my passion. But I believe I need to do something else along with writing to make more money sans the toxic ‘hustle culture’. Since there’s been a lot of hype about digital marketing of late, I decided to see what the fuss was all about. I wish I had checked it sooner because it is here to stay.

As long as the Internet continues to be a part of our daily lives, Digital Marketing is not going anywhere. It is only going to become more popular over time, so the smart move is to adapt to it.

The program began with an important question: what do you want to get out of this internship? Since writing down goals makes them more achievable, I wrote that I want to improve my communication skills so as to monetize my blog more effectively. Heck, if digital marketing appeals to me, I can become a digital marketer in addition to being a writer. In fact, by the end of the class, I learned that it’s an essential life skill for anyone who wants to control their online presence.

Anyway, Deepak then gave a quick introduction to marketing, as you have to be a marketer first to become a digital marketer. He stated that marketing has been around ever since markets have been around, which means marketing is ANCIENT. He emphasized that it is important to become a good marketer first because technologies will change over time, but human psychology won’t.

From there, he moved on to the topic of niches because there are infinite niches in our ever-expanding global market. You will “find the gold” only if you pick a specific niche. Once you effectively market yourself as an expert in something, that’s how the world will see you too. After you pick up the required skills, of course. And then you can set up a business catering to your specific niche, one that will attract quality clients. But remember, not just any niche will do. Health, money, and relationships are the three major niches but *your niche* should be a combination of passion, talent, and market opportunity. Lastly, make sure your niche has market demand by using keyword research tools like Google Autocomplete and AnswerThePublic.

To stand out in a world full of talented people, don’t just be a generalist. Be a specialist as well.

Deepak then helped us figure out our niches by giving specific examples. I narrowed my niche down to ‘mental health support for young people’. I wondered if that was too “fancy” considering the poor economic condition everywhere. As if he were reading my mind, he stated that we should not worry about the recession as people will always pay money for value. Also, a recession will not affect a business owner if they keep their expenses low. He then spoke of the importance of communication in digital marketing, which is why the internship will focus on writing. Along with recommending daily reading, Deepak also made some quirky suggestions like standup comedy to master communication. Validation of your beliefs from an expert always helps one feel better, doesn’t it? His words gave me this soul-satisfying reminder about writing:

No matter how frequently writing is considered as something “anyone” can do, it is a skill that has to be honed.

Our conversation (the session was interactive) then shifted to digital marketing, which is a combination of marketing and technology. Today’s digitally savvy brands are using ‘integrated digital marketing’ to acquire and retain loyal customers.

integrated-digital-marketing-digital-deepak

The process is simple: first, you publish content on your blog. Because you have content, Google discovers your blog and sends traffic to it. Once you share your content on social media, some people will click on it, and end up on your blog. Now that you have a decent amount of traffic/visitors on your blog, you can start building an email list. Each time you publish new content, you can email your subscribers about it, thus driving traffic to your blog. Paid advertising will help you build your email list and drive traffic to your blog’s content more effectively. Finally, after you have built a relationship with your readers, you can focus on sales and conversion. Makes perfect sense, right?

Unfortunately, most people (mis)use paid advertising to directly drive traffic to a sales page. They try to sell without building a relationship, which results in very few sales (if any).

In today’s world, all of us are regularly bombarded with a ton of marketing messages. To cope with this, we have learned to tune out strangers. We typically listen and make purchases only if we feel like we “know” a seller. And how do we become such a seller? Two words: personal branding. As Deepak said, the best known will always beat the best. The easiest way to do this is to:
A) be yourself
B) publish different forms of content
C) show your personality on social media

Basically, people want to hear from real people, not from some impersonal brand. When you are authentic, you will find your tribe. After that, all you gotta do is take them down this marketing funnel.

marketing-funnel-digital-deepak

Just as I thought things were getting too heavy, Deepak doled out an assignment and left. Can you guess what it was? Yes, it’s this post :)

And why the drug analogy? Because Digital Marketing, like coffee, needs to be just right. Too less will do nothing and too much will annoy others.

2 thoughts on “Digital Marketing: The Legal Drug For Folks Who Live Online”

  1. Love the coffee/drug analogy. Marketing is not even in my area of interest to be honest but the title was too wacky not to read!

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