Not long ago, digital marketing was an option, but we are at the precipice of an era in which it will be most important marketing tool for enterprises both large and small. In today’s marketplace in many industries a company that doesn’t exist online, simply doesn’t exist at all. If your business is not listed through Google Maps or Facebook, two of the most common search platforms, how do potential clients find you?

Everything you do online to build your digital presence counts toward your brand name getting known. The sooner your target audience knows your business exists and learns the value you offer, the sooner you’ll see a change in your bottom line.

While digital marketing may have once been limited to running banner ads on search engines and applying Search Engine Optimization techniques to your website (a feature Website Rabbit offers!), nothing stays the same. The dominance of Social Media has only supercharged the field of digital marketing and for the first time put target audiences and companies with products and services in the same room. That’s right, hello direct engagement!

Here are 4 fundamental Digital Marketing tips for startups:

1. User Experience

Digital marketing should been seen as an extension of your company culture, your customer service best practices, and value you offer as a service provider. Your name, your company logo, the words you use in advertisements, the design, not to mention your products and services offered, all contribute to user experience and effective marketing practices. In other words, your online presence in every shape and form contribute to your brand image. Effective marketing has the power to attract potential customers and create an enduring relationship your brand and company.

Dig into research and discover what works for your group of onlookers.

2. Creative Content

Successful companies not only offer reliable products and services, they offer value. Now more than ever content matters. Invest in creating marketing content that clearly communicates the value your company offers and other ways your business works to exceed expectations. Deliver content that resonates with your customers’ needs and values and watch your loyalty soar. Every company has a story worth telling. Find your story, communicate it clearly and watch your brand plant solid roots in your community.

3. Social Media Platforms

When you think of branding, think of personality. Does your business have a personality? It is likable? When effectively used, social media platforms help increase awareness that your company exists, strengthen your company’s brand, and at its best has the potential to create a community based on trust and loyalty. It’s never too late to find out which platforms your target audience uses most and engage.

4. Video Marketing Dominance

We’ve heard it before, a picture is worth a thousand words. Moving pictures only compound that impact. Video is one of the most effective means of communicating to your target audience and social media platforms have caught on. Consider Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, and SnapChat stories to connect with your group of onlookers.

From instructional videos to workshops and class, question and answer sessions or short powerful authentic moments you share, when used intelligently, video allows you to convey information, company culture, leadership, and so much more in a very short period of time. Video takes digital marketing to a whole new personal level reaching target audiences where they are.