In my brief, but exciting, career in digital marketing, I have observed companies putting in their most energy and resource in paid campaigns. For them, organic, or non-paid, activity merely acts as a supporting element to their counterparts paid campaigns. Where paid activity gives them short-term pleasure, the ignorance towards non-paid activities costs them in long-term.
Often I believe it’s not the fault of companies, but experts who act on their behalf. Without doubt, paid campaigns provide immediate leads and connect them with their audience, but there will come a point when nothing can be achieved by just pumping in all available money into it. One has to take a step back and move their focus towards non-paid activities. Hence, I would recommend that pay equal attention to organic activities whilst you’re busy managing your paid campaigns. Let’s understand in deatial what it is and what are its different elements.
What is Organic Digital Marketing?
In the simplest term, Organic Digital Marketing is the one that’s excluded from paid digital marketing. Now, this means that’s free and doesn’t cost you a penny to market them or attract audience to your website, products or services.
Another important aspect of organic digital marketing is that it is a long term activity. It’s like a seed you sow today, water and care for it for days and months to see the result in future. It’s not a magic bean, like paid, that will get you clients and leads instantly.
Why Organic Digital Marketing?
Because it’s free. Yes, this could be the foremost need to have an organic digital marketing strategy in place because it costs you nothing. All you have to do is write amazing content, circulate them on various platforms, observe audience’s behaviour, interact with them, build your brand, and be present in front of them.
Another important reason for having this, amongst multiple other reasons, is it helps you built your brand. Brand building is important, whether you’re a B2B or B2C company. Unless there is no recall value, unless people don’t visit your website on a regular basis, unless they don’t see important email on their inbox on regular interval, they won’t know you. Running an ad for a day won’t pay unless you feed your audeince with intersting information on regular interval to improve your recall value. This is why organic digital marketing.
Organic Digital Marketing – Types
The primary element of organic digital marketing is content. Every digital marketer says ‘Content is King’. This may be in the form of blog or video, but without content it’s impossible to conquer the digital marketing world. Even in paid campaigns, without the right content one can’t get the right lead.
Paid campaigns are primarily monitored by keywords and bidding for those keywords; whereas in organic, it’s been dominated by keywords along with quality content, type of content, information shared, and ultimately it’s marketing on multiple platforms. Listed below are types of organic content that everyone must know about.
#1 Blog –
We all know what blog is. Today, every website, be it an e-commerce website, or a B2B company’s website; they’ve a tab named ‘Blog’. This is a place or a section on the website where companies share informative piece of content making people return to their website, on a regular basis.
These are well-written well-researched piece of content that targets towards the pain-points of their targeted audience. It’s not just blog, but also how subtly you establish yourself as a thought-leader of your industry in the market also matters.
Blog tips:
Before even starting writing the blog, drive a strategy around it. The keywords you wish to target, number of blogs you can publish in a week (ideal is 2-blogs per week), prepare a quarterly calendar, look for possible topics around those keywords, and then stick to the plan. Keep space for ad hock blogs and be flexible with the calendar. Use proper keywords in the right amount in each blog. Make it SEO-friendly.
#2 Exclusive Content –
It’s not mandate but having them really helps, especially for B2B companies. These could be whitepaper, case study, how-to guide, or in some cases, exclusive interviews. These are important content and the writer or the team has worked really hard to collate it. Making them available for free is not recommended. Instead, prepare a landing page, put your lead generation form and let people download this exclusive content.
It serves two purposes:
- First, it helps you get leads when they enter their details to download this exclusive content.
- Second, it helps you brand as you share your thoughts and idea about the industry you’re in.
#3 Infographic –
I remember proposing this idea to one of my previous employers. They shunned it saying it won’t make a difference; well, it does. There are various kinds of audience. Some who prefer reading a lengthy blog, whereas there are others who would prefer grasping knowledge on-the-go. The second type would avoid scrolling down the web page and reading the information you’ve put in there; hence infographic.
Infographic is amazing. They give out information in the most creative and attractive manner. One can share complex information in the most entertaining way possible through it. Also, by adding infographic in your organic digital marketing strategy, you’re supporting SEO to increase.
With infographic, you must share at least 300-words write-up that would contain the relevant keyword. Also, they keyword can be used in Alt Text section as well. The chances of your infographic to rank increases in the search result. The infographic can be shared on social media platform as well as a brand building activity.
#4 LinkedIn Pulse Article –
Why LinkedIn Pulse Article? And how is this even relevant to organic digital marketing? Not, directly, but it does is relevant. As already mentioned, organic digital marketing helps you emerge as a brand. It ensures that your audience knows about your expertise and the recall value increases. LinkedIn Pulse Articles does the same thing.
It is highly recommended for B2B companies. Audience need a person to trust, to hold on to. Blogs and exclusive content speaks on behalf of the company, but when someone writes an informative piece on LinkedIn Pulse, they brand themselves. They write for their audience, their connection and followers. They demonstrate their knowledge and emerge as thought-leader in the industry.
This way, when they would recommend a company, or are associated with a company, people would trust them. This is why advertisements go for known face, as people are able to relate to them. So, if you’re not writing an article on LinkedIn, start doing it now.
#5 Social Media –
Lastly, there is an inevitable solution, social media. People spent most of their time on social media, whether they like it or not. Everyone is hooked to some or the other social media platform. Majorly, there are five players:
- YouTube
These five platforms have different motive, different audience type and different language. The post designed for Facebook won’t work on LinkedIn or Twitter, and likewise. So, when posting something on a social media platform ask yourself these questions:
- Who are the audience?
- What do they expect?
- What am I trying to achieve?
- How is it going to benefit me?
Additional Tips:
#6 Guest Blogging –
When you invite other writers to write on your platform or when you write on someone else’s platform, you are reaching to a wider audience. In either case, you’re reaching out to each other’s viewers, which is what everyone wants.
Furthermore, by guest blogging writers are confirming their authenticity and thus help search algorithm to push things further. This happens as there is always an exchange of link to each other’s website.
#7 E-mail newsletters –
Many may argue that email newsletters and email campaigns don’t work, but they actually do. These are always about indirect selling. You’re letting your audience know that you exist and they can reach out to you in case they need your service.
Likewise, whilst sending out your latest achievement or content piece, you’re building your image subtly. Hence, never ever underestimate the power of an email newsletter or campaigns.
#8 Medium –
Medium allows you to publish content pieces and even link it back to your website. You can always republish your existing content or write a fresh one taking the audience back to your website. Now, this helps in improving search ranking. The more people will visit your website from various platform and sources, more you would be building up your credibility in the digital market. So, use this platform wisely and increase your audience base.
Conclusion
It’s quite difficult to reach at the top in the digital world. Paid campaigns demand money and organic activity needs time. Only, if you can use these two activities wisely and synchronise them properly, you can achieve what you aim. However, before you even start doing things like this, you must identify your business aim, make a milestone chart and start working towards it. It’s all the game of right ingredient, that’s it.
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Chirag Barjatya 