Digital Marketing can be said to be one of the packages that came alongside the digital age. As the world continues to advance digitally, social connection is becoming a concept that can be achieved digitally, thus making marketing such a concept as well. A market is simply a concentration of people, one might even go as far as saying that people equal money, so, if the digital world draws a large concentration of people, it is impossible for a market to not be formed. 

The term Digital Marketing was coined in the 1990s, therefore, one can say that it has been around for a considerable amount of time. In simple terms, digital marketing is the act of marketing digitally; this involves advertising and sales. It is the promotion of products or services, via the internet, or any other electronic media. Digital advancement is gradually but surely creating a world where a good number of people are actively connecting on the internet, at every given time, thereby removing the boundaries once created by time and distance; digital marketing takes advantage of this fact. 

What is Digital Marketing Sales?

To have a clear understanding of what digital marketing sales are, we have to first examine the difference between marketing and sales. Marketing refers to the process of building brand or organizational awareness, while sales is the point where the said awareness is converted into money (profit). In essence, marketing is introducing your product to the market, while sales are handing that product or service to your customer, this is why great marketing effort often results in greater sales. To learn more, read (What is the Difference Between Marketing and Sales).

Having understood the difference between sales and marketing, one cannot help but notice that they are incredibly similar or even intertwined, in that one cannot function optimally without the other. 

Digital marketing sales refers to the sales that are made in connection to digital marketing efforts. Gone are the days when salespersons had to walk from door to door, marketplace to marketplace, trying to introduce their products or services to their prospective customers, digital marketing has to a great extent eliminated that stress, as introductions and launching of products or services can be done digitally to a significantly larger audience. Effective digital marketing is capable of increasing sales, in that more time can be spent on lead conversion, rather than product introduction. 

One basic thing to note is the fact that a larger audience can be reached digitally. Companies cover more ground with a lesser budget when they subscribe to digital marketing, because not only are they visible in their immediate environment, but they are also visible wherever the internet exists, which is pretty much a large percentage of earth. By having a good online presence, businesses can not only improve their reach but put themselves in a position where they can measure their mobile visitors against their onsite visitors, this would give businesses clarity on what form of marketing to invest in, in the future. 

Ways to Increase Digital Marketing Sales

Digital marketing has proven to be a good investment for most businesses that use it as a form of marketing, but for a few others, not much. This is to say that digital marketing just like any other concept if not understood or used correctly would not produce the best result. Are you interested in using digital marketing to improve the digital sales in your business, below are a few tips that when applied correctly can ensure maximum results. 

• Have a Strong Online Presence; having a strong online presence is a must if you want your business to benefit from digital marketing. Having a great online presence simply means that you are widening your reach and you are planting yourself or your business in the subconscious of the public, this is capable of influencing the public perception of your organization. Creating a good organizational image is a step towards marketing in general, but in this case, digital marketing. Think of being present in relevant spaces online as mounting a billboard in every busy part of town, this would drive the traffic your way. 
• define your target audience; effort put in the wrong place is wasted. How can a business avoid wasting its effort on unprofitable digital marketing? Success in digital marketing is tied to meticulous planning. When trying to increase sales through digital marketing, your marketing team needs to conduct thorough audience research. Just like physical marketing, audience research and segmentation carry weight. Who exactly are you trying to sell to? Who is your product or service made for? By asking these simple questions, you will be able to identify the set of people that should be reached with your marketing message. After identifying your target audience, you can then go forward to delivering messages that cater to the said demography
• Choose your platform strategically; after deciding on your target audience, the next step is choosing the best media to reach them. If you are targeting younger people and you are concentrating all your marketing efforts on Facebook, your marketing would be a total miss. Older people are on Facebook. In the same vein, if you are trying to market an intellectual product, the best social platform to use is Twitter, as this platform is known to be the home of intellects and sarcasm. Once you have decided on who your audience is, take it a step further by researching what social platform would be best to reach them, then concentrate the bulk of your effort on that social medium.
• Excellent Content Creation: words are powerful, pictures are powerful, and infographics are powerful as well. The above-mentioned can even be referred to as the basic tools of persuasion. How can content be delivered in such a way that they persuade and convert people? Content that intends to persuade people should *stand out, *promote feedback and *have a strong call to action. You cannot afford to put out exactly what your competition is putting out, look for your product or service USP (unique selling proposition), and highlight it, this would give your business an edge over its competition. Your content should also be programmed in a way that creates room for conversation. Engage your audience and look out for their replies and input. Finally, have a strong CTA (call to action) do not leave your message open-ended and open to interpretation, instead, guide the decision of your audience, using a call to action. 
• Follow up; it is one thing to get someone interested in your product or service, but it is another thing to keep them interested until they decide to make a purchase. It is at this juncture, that SMS becomes a relevant tool

Role of SMS in Increasing Digital Marketing sales

While some argue that SMS is a form of digital marketing, others believe that SMS only acts as strong support to digital marketing.

SMS plays a significant role in increasing digital marketing sales. As a result of the simplicity of this medium, it is often used by businesses to keep the relationship between them and their customers alive. Below are a few ways businesses can use SMS as a means of increasing digital marketing sales.

• Follow-up Messages: after all, said and done, prospective customers need to be reminded to patronize your business constantly. It is not enough to have put up a wonderful sales ad on your social media or to send a wonderful email, SMS is taking your digital marketing one step further, this way you keep your audiences updated, in the case there are any of your posts they missed. This is why it is important to collect your mobile visitors' information, especially phone numbers, this way you can stay connected to them.
• Personalized messaging: even after segmenting your audience, deciding on your target audience and writing content that caters to their needs, you can use SMS to further narrow down your audience. Through the use of SMS, you can send personalized messages to your target audience, this would make them feel noticed, important, and as though they are part of your business. With SMS, you can address your message to your audience individually, using their names.
• Reminders: SMS can be used to send out reminders to your business audience. You can remind them of a pending purchase, a bonus that will soon expire, you can even remind them to browse through your store, or to check an email sent to them. Since SMS is 98% successful, chances are that they would view your SMS.
• Survey: you can use SMS as a research instrument. You can use SMS as a means of getting feedback from your target audience. You can send out SMS inviting them to participate in a survey or to rate your business, product or services. 
• Special Offers: you can use SMS to communicate to your audience, special offers that do not apply to the general public. Some offers are meant for a specific set of people, SMS is a great way of passing such information across. 

Using SMS in digital marketing helps your organization make more sales, in that SMS gives you more opportunities to communicate personally with your audience. It brings a personal touch that most digital mediums do not provide. Are you interested in exploring further the role of SMS in digital marketing? Visit smartsmssolutions.com. SmartSMSSolutions is a communication company aimed at improving the communication and relationship between our client businesses and their audience, using basic communication tools such as SMS, Email, and Voice call. To learn more about us and the services we provide, visit our website @ SmartSMSSolutions.com to create a free account and get started, or call 08035515868.