Marketing Fundamentals
Every day we interact with countless digital interfaces and products. When a site is clean, thoughtful, and expressive, it can improve a customer’s day and your client’s bottom line.
Not all clients understand this, which is why it’s essential to get the word out about your services. This guide will provide the marketing basics and concepts to help you build your brand and communicate the value of great design.
The three branches of marketing
The most common ways to reach clients are through paid, earned, and owned media. These categories often overlap. Effective strategies utilize a combination of all three.
Paid marketing refers to ads and other sponsored content that generates interest in your brand and traffic on your owned pages. Owned media is the original content you create, like your website, blog, or social media presence. Earned media usually results from the buzz generated by your paid and owned content. It comes in the form of write ups, mentions, and reviews from a third party.
Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these categories and the options that may work best for you.
Paid
There are many forms of paid advertising. Your strategy, budget, and personal taste will guide you to the right investment.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search Engine Marketing is one of the most reliable ways to promote your business. When you sign up for a service like Google Ads, you pay to have your business displayed in the results of a search, according to the keywords and specific location. This type of marketing tends to be effective because ads reach people when they’re ready to buy. You can set a budget and track results, so you can tailor your SEM plan to your needs.
This is a pay per click model. Hopefully, you're only paying for real hits on your site. To make a service like this truly worthwhile, it’s important to have a striking landing page.
Display Ads
These are what probably come to mind when you think of online ads. Pop-ups, banners, wallpaper, and animated ads all fall under this category. They’re hosted on third party sites and embedded on, or around, content. It’s helpful to choose sites relevant to your service. Display ads are usually the most affordable option and some sites may even offer specific targeting for the audiences you would like to reach.
Native Ads
Native ads have the same look and feel as the sites they’re on. They’re designed to blend in with their surroundings, so they aren’t as disruptive as display ads and function better on mobile apps. People are more likely to read and click on native ad content than a pop-up ad. Like display ads, they can be purchased per impression or click and tailored to your desired audience. You can track your results and stick to your budget.
Email Marketing
This type of marketing is another good example of how paid and owned media intersect. It costs money to run email marketing campaigns. However, you own the contact list and the content you distribute.
Squarespace provides a powerful suite of email marketing tools. You can automate your email marketing efforts, manage your contact list, and personalize each message. You can even track your metrics in real time.
Learn everything you need to know about Email Campaigns.
Owned
Owned content can seriously impact the return on investment from paid advertising. Your owned media is all of the content you create and control: your brand’s website, email list, blog, newsletter, and social media presence. Squarespace’s templates and tools make it easy to present your ideas beautifully. This carefully curated content is also key when you’re looking to improve your SEO rank and attract earned media responses.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can qualify as both owned and earned media. It’s owned because it’s a direct reflection of your site’s content. It’s earned because a strong SEO ranking, complete with searchable keywords and quality content, leads to organic traffic.
Successful SEO can place your business at the top of the page when clients are looking for you. Squarespace has built-in SEO tools and guides that enable you to maximize your search engine results. Keep in mind that it’s built over time.
Check out this SEO checklist to make sure you’ve got your bases covered or hire an SEO Expert in the Squarespace Marketplace.
Blog
Blog posts can convey your point of view, address frequently asked questions, share case studies, and offer valuable content that makes clients want to work with you. A well structured blog post can also improve your SEO rank.
Social
Social media is a smart way to bring meaningful content to potential clients. It’s key that the content you promote reflects your brand’s identity and message. To encourage organic growth, optimize your social media profile with a recognizable profile picture and a clear username. Your description should link back to your site and use keywords that make you more discoverable. Posting evergreen content that strikes the balance of timeliness and timelessness will give your posts a better shelf life.
Squarespace helps you integrate social media into your site to keep your followers in the know with social sharing.
Earned
Earned content is where you gain credibility and visibility. It has the power to strengthen consumer interest and trust in your brand, and expand your base of potential clients. While it’s technically free, it’s usually the result of the investment into your paid and owned channels. It encompasses content made by media outlets, customers, and other people expressing interest in your work.
Publicity
Earned media may come in the form of mentions from journalists or bloggers. To get coverage, you may have to do something new or extraordinary. A stunt or a well-written press release can be a great way to get attention, especially when launching a new product or service.
Cultivating relationships with influencers and bloggers, investing time into your social channels, networking with others in your industry, and providing excellent customer service all boost your odds of earning media.
Referrals and word of mouth
The oldest form of marketing is still one of the most effective methods. It just takes results that turn your customers into brand ambassadors. Nothing wins a person’s trust like a firsthand account. Building, and strategically engaging, your customer base, can help you generate social media shares, shout outs, and word-of-mouth recommendations.
When a client is particularly pleased, don’t be shy about asking for a testimonial. Chances are that if they’re happy with the work, they’ll be happy to oblige. They may also know other prospective clients who can benefit from your services.
Finding your balance
When marketing your brand it’s best to take a holistic approach. Consider your options and understand that marketing is an investment and it will take time. The more you’re able to amplify your perspective, the more you’ll find clients who understand your vision. We can’t wait to see you build a better web.
Want more?
Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional designers. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
