Intro-

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- The retail business caters to a wide range of consumer requirements. The retail sector is built on the
concept of contact efficiency, which allows customers to get what they want faster and with fewer
interactions. This design isn't part of a larger retail strategy. Market forces are at work. When a store
recognizes an opportunity to extend its product in order to increase sales from customers at a single
location, it will do so.

Retailers assess their target buyer categories, determine the service outputs they require, and match
their products to deliver value to each segment.

The retail sector is sometimes referred to as one of the most crucial for a country's economy since it
serves as a kind of litmus test for the economy's health.

also in light of the massive changes brought forth by digital transformation in recent years.

Retailers are divided into two types: retail and institutional. One thing they have in common is that they
both entail a large number of minor transactions. Instead, the wholesale market is a marketplace where
firms trade with businesses(and not individual consumers)

The first type is referred to as "fixed location" retail. This is a traditional store where things may be
purchased. This form of retail is typically located along street streets or in shopping malls.

Supermarkets are the second type of retail; the things available range from home items to technology
and food.

The third group is bargain stores, which are primarily food-oriented and often sell "off-brand" products.

The fourth form of company is temporary stores, which are frequently located in high-traffic locations
and are only open for a brief time. This is due to the fact that pop-up stores are frequently used as part
of a marketing campaign.

Vending machines are the sixth category.

- the store is almost non-existent and entirely automated.

We cannot overlook the fact that new, increasingly important merchants have joined the market, even
though they are the primary and conventional shops in operation.

FMCG, clothing, fashion and jewelry, shelter and housing, household and consumer durables, footwear
and accessories, E-commerce, mobility, entertainment, restaurants and QSR, and healthcare and
wellness are among the nine retail sectors represented by the Sri Lanka organization, which includes 30+
leading retailers.

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Market size-
Retailers buy vast amounts of products from producers in order to resell it to consumers at a profit. The
retail store sector in the United States is mature and fiercely competitive. Many shops have been in
business for almost a century and have thus had ample opportunity to thoroughly cover their target
markets. To flourish, these businesses must deliver desired items while managing inventories and
limiting expenses. From an investing standpoint, the sector, on average, follows the larger stock market.

Consumer spending accounts for around two-thirds of gross domestic product in most cases. As a result,
the health of the retail sector is generally determined by GDP patterns. Furthermore, consumer
confidence measurements aid in determining consumer spending and savings rates, which are linked to
retailer success. Consumers limit their outlays to required day-to-day things in poor times since they
have less disposable income. Consumers, on the other hand, are more inclined to make large-ticket
purchases during periods of great economic growth.

Currently, retail commerce accounts for one-third of national GDP and employs 14% of the workforce.

In Sri Lanka, retail receives over 250 million visitors, while online-retail clicks are projected to be little
less than 2% and expanding at a rate of 200 percent every year.

Market growth-

According to a senior official, the importance of retail as an industry, as a value generator for the
economy, as an employment, and as a development accelerator, is driving the need to recognize it as
such.

in the year 2018 Hussain Sadiq, the outgoing president of the Sri Lanka Retailers' Association, stated at
the organization's second annual general meeting that the association's goal is to bring together the
resources of the organized retail industry on a common platform to promote and facilitate futuristic
innovation, growth, and global outreach.

The mission of the SLRA is to create a platform for retailers to collaborate on improving retailing
standards in an inclusive way, improving consumer experience and service in all aspects of retailing, and
facilitating the industry's growth via innovation and exchange of worldwide best practices.

and expanding at a rate of 200 percent every year.

https://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lankas-retail-industry-to-be-a-prominent-and-important-
pillar-of-the-economy/

in the year 2021 Despite the pandemic-induced islandwide lockdown significantly limiting retail
performance during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year last year, The Sunday Morning Business hears that
the industry expects to reach 80 percent of retail sales during the same period of 2019 this year as well.

Founder Chairman and President of the Sri Lanka Retailers' Association, Hussain Sadique, informed us
that the retail performance during the April festival season last year was insignificant, with people
confined to their homes owing to Sri Lanka's lengthy lockdown to combat the virus' spread.
"Businesses are still vulnerable, and we need to ensure that they develop viable business models." With
more competition, profit margins are projected to decrease. "We can expect retail performance to
skyrocket if tourism returns to normal," Sadique added.

The retail industry in Sri Lanka contributes for about one-third of the country's GDP, with sales
surpassing $ 30 billion solely attributable to retail. According to Sri Lanka's labor force statistics, the
retail industry employs almost 14% of the country's workforce.

https://www.themorning.lk/retail-industry-targets-80-of-2019-performance-in-2021/

https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/setting-shop-retail-has-become-one-fastest-grow
%C5%9Fing-sectors-and-being-driven-sophisticated-consumer

Increasing self-assurance- International retailers face significant prospects for future development as
high- and middle-income consumers increasingly move toward lifestyle-oriented items, notably in the
food, transportation, and home products areas. McDonalds, KFC, Mango, Zara, and H&M are just a few
of the worldwide merchants that have set up shop in the country. Cold Stone Creamery, a company
based in the United States, recently announced plans to join the nation in July 2015.

Consumer Attitudes

Spending habits in Sri Lanka are similar to those in Western nations, with a growing preference for
lifestyle products and aspirational luxury goods. This difference can be ascribed in part to Sri Lanka's lack
of a strong savings culture, which allows households to spend more money on non-essential products.
With growing wages and low credit rates, sales of white goods, electronics, and autos are also on the
increase in the fast-moving commercial goods market. According to Nielsen, 10% of Sri Lankan
households possessed a car in February 2015, whereas the Ceylon Motor Trader' Association recorded a
55 percent rise in vehicle imports in the same month.

Malls- Colombo is a significant retail hub, with increased investment in new retail initiatives, most
notably shopping malls, in recent years.

E commerce- In Sri Lanka, eCommerce is a developing industry. Online trading services are available
from travel firms, hotels, and a few significant businesses. Customers in Sri Lanka have access to millions
of worldwide items thanks to eCommerce enterprises.

Most international eCommerce sites, including PayPal, are available in Sri Lanka for international
purchases, although they have limits owing to a lack of a return mechanism and insufficient inbound
receipts.

As a result, new mall construction is on the increase. Among these are the Galle Face and the city center
of Colombo.

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/sri-lanka-ecommerce
Saura, J.R., 2021. Using data sciences in digital marketing: Framework, methods, and performance
metrics. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 6(2), pp.92-102.

Digital Marketing (DM) has come a long way in terms of usability and profitability since the turn of the
century. As a result, a digital ecosystem has emerged, which connects users 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, and has influenced users' new routines and behaviors.

DM is defined as a set of Internet-based tactics for persuading customers to purchase a product or

service. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), or the optimization of search results from major search
engines; Search Engine Marketing (SEM), or programmatic advertising, or strategies to sponsor ads in
search engines or in advertising space on banners in websites; and Social Media Marketing (SMM), or
strategies to interact with users on social networks through social ads, are all on the daily roadmap for
companies that operate on the Internet today.
Krishen, A.S., Dwivedi, Y.K., Bindu, N. and Kumar, K.S., 2021. A broad overview of interactive digital
marketing: A bibliometric network analysis. Journal of Business Research, 131, pp.183-195.

Digital marketing (DM) is the notion of marketing on electronic platforms using any technology
equipment (. Social media, television, radio channels, SMS, email, search engines, websites, mobile
applications, electronic billboards, and social networks have all been used to adopt metrics-based,
objective, relational, and interactive marketing over the last two decades. Innovative technologies and
approaches in digital advertising and marketing have brought more convenience, a wider reach, cost-
effectiveness, and the capacity to bridge distance and time barriers.

Digital marketing is the application of technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of
Things (IoT), to achieve marketing goals in both consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer
settings. Traditional marketing tactics are supplemented and replaced by DM sites based on retail
platforms (e.g., Alibaba, eBay, Booking.com, Expedia) and social media marketing communities (e.g.,
Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). As a result, DM is a multi-disciplinary subject that is always evolving, not
limited to a simple application of electronic technology to marketing, but also capable of progressing
with new ICT tools and platforms.

digital marketing definition the use of data, ICT-based technology (e.g., artificial intelligence), platforms
(e.g., social networks), media, and devices to broaden the reach of marketing in both physical and virtual
places with the goal of empowering, informing, influencing, and engaging customers.

As a result, the primary goal of this research is to look at the research and development dynamics in the
field of digital marketing from a a multidisciplinary approach by examining the corpus of relevant Social
network analysis in research articles (SNA).

Olson, E.M., Olson, K.M., Czaplewski, A.J. and Key, T.M., 2021. Business strategy and the management
of digital marketing. Business Horizons, 64(2), pp.285-293.

The internet is more of a platform for communication than a marketing tool. It is a platform for
conducting business and implementing specialized marketing strategies. The number and sophistication
of online marketing strategies have expanded substantially in the intervening years. These strategies are
now referred to as "digital marketing." While there are several digital marketing strategies to choose
from, we'll focus on seven of the most frequent, as recognized by an independent technology research
and marketing agency.

Content marketing is defined as "a strategic marketing approach centered on developing and delivering
valuable, relevant, and consistent content in order to attract and keep a clearly defined audience and,
eventually, to drive profitable customer action." (2) Search engine optimization (SEO) is defined as "the
long-term, continuous enhancement of content and digital asset design with the goal of ranking as high
as possible on search engine results pages."

Content marketing refers to any endeavor to advertise using online content (and often employs SEO,
paid search, and paid social advertising). All of these content types (and more) are categorized as part of
the content marketing category:

Posts blog

Infographics

Videos

eBooks

White papers

Marketing automation, design, apps, mobile marketing and SMS, web analytics, and growth hacking are
all examples of digital marketing.

Paid Social and Paid Search are two types of paid advertising. search engine result pages (SERPs)

Paid social advertisements appear on social media, and all ads that display on the SERPs when you type
a query are paid search ads. Advertisers generate these paid adverts and compete with others for
placement on their preferred social network or the SERP pf selected the search engine

Email marketing is the act of distributing timely and relevant information to prospects and consumers
via email.

4. Search and social ads: the placement of advertisements at the top of search results or in a sidebar on
a search results page. When certain keywords or phrases are entered into a search engine, these adverts
are connected to keywords and appear alongside search results.

Data-driven personalization is the technique of segmenting audiences and making marketing decisions
based on data about individuals rather than past choices.

6. Marketing technology usage: a collection of software and technology tools used by marketers to
automate or streamline marketing activities, collect and analyze data, and give a variety of ways to reach
and engage a target audience.

. Social media advertising: any advertising in which you pay a social media business to put your content
on their platform (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat).
SEO stands for "search engine optimization" (SEO)

Simply put, SEO is meticulously designing and optimizing your website's pages in order to reach the
greatest possible position on search engine result pages (SERPs) when internet users conduct a related
search on a search engine like Google.

https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/digital-marketing-tutorial/what-is-digital-marketing

The technique of advertising items or services through digital devices and technology is known as digital
marketing.

In simple terms, digital marketing refers to any type of marketing that takes place online via a mobile
device, a laptop, or the internet. Aside from digital signage and technology that isn't always connected
to the internet. It might be as complicated as automated email marketing campaigns or as simple as the
content choices on your website's blog.

Customers and clients are spending more time online these days, and they expect their favorite
businesses to online as well.

Although the online world can be frightening, efficient digital marketing can be a huge help to
businesses. The advantages of digital marketing for businesses include expanding the audience, reaching
target customers where they spend their time, and doing it at a much lower cost than traditional
marketing tactics enable.

More than 60% of marketers have shifted their attention from traditional to digital marketing for these
and other reasons.

Organizations benefit greatly from digital marketing because it allows them to expand their audience as
far as their budget allows. Additionally, internet marketing allows companies to focus precisely on
marketing to the correct audience. To put it another way, a company can reach the ideal target
audience on a local, national, or international level while staying within budget.

Jayasuriya, N.A., Azam, S.F., Khatibi, A., Atan, H. and Dharmaratne, I.R., 2018. The Role of Facebook
Marketing on Customer-based Brand Equity and Purchase Intention in Fashion-wear Retail Industry, Sri
Lanka. Global Journal of Management and Business Research

People in today's world have an entirely different perspective on things than prior generations. Social
media has influenced and controlled consumer goods, lifestyles, and decision-making.
media. As a result, reaching the target customer, a new trend in consumer behavior
Traditional methods of reaching out to groups may not be effective.
For firms of business As a result, recognizing the potentials of For businesses, new avenues are
becoming increasingly important. This is a paper about
investigate the actions on marketing on such a massive scale social media
Facebook is a popular social media platform.
as well as elements of a customer-based brand On the same platform, you can invest and plan to buy..

When applying digital marketing to retail industry, like fashion-wear - New small and medium players
are currently accessing the platform in search of the possibilities of this new medium.
Facebook is the most popular media among public and private sector organizations in Sri Lanka. It is
used to reach out to a big number of customers. At a reasonable cost, this new platform allows
businesses to be more engaging with their target client group. The filtering tools accessible on Facebook
allow for more precise targeting of the proper audience, improving the efficiency of marketing messages
even more. All of these strategies encourage businesses to make efficient use of this medium in order to
increase sales. Businesses should prepare to meet the needs of millennials, who will soon be their
primary target market. Millennials who live in a digitalized world prefer to shop online rather than at
physical establishments. It provides consumers with a lot of convenience, a lot of options, and fantastic
prices. As a result, in the Sri Lankan context, social media offers significant business prospects that have
yet to be explored.

"A series of Internet-based apps that rely on ideological and technological foundations and allow the
creation and exchange of user-generated content" is how social media is defined. The fundamental
benefit of these platforms is that there are no constraints on time, place, or media, and they are
inexpensive. Consumer behavior reflects the increased interest in using social media. Before making a
purchase, the majority of clients conduct research online. They are quite sensitive to other consumers'
internet platform reviews. Even if they physically visit a location, they are more likely to utilize their
mobile to find a better price elsewhere. This will be a rich area for practicing creative social marketing
approaches in the fashion retailing sector.

Social media marketing is defined as the process of promoting websites, products, and services through
online social channels such as blogging, photo sharing, and online posting.

In the fashion sector, there are millions of blogs that keep clients up to date on the current trends, as
well as fashion applications that increase customer involvement. Customers are encouraged to share
their favorite outfits and trendy goods with their social media networks. In the garment industry, more
shoppers are using social media and relying on it for decision-making, thanks to marketing on these
platforms.

Facebook Advertising in the Fashion Industry

Facebook is the most widely used social media network on the planet. In comparison to other social
networks, it has the most daily active users.

As a result, Facebook can be regarded as a fantastic social platform for both organic and sponsored
chances with the greatest potential reach.

When it comes to social media usage in Sri Lanka, Facebook stands out among the other platforms.

Customers' capacity to recall a brand name relevant to a specific product category is known as brand
awareness, and customers' ability to associate a brand with anything in their minds is known as brand
association.Perceived quality has been defined as the total perception of a brand's product or
services. Unlike traditional media, which focuses on increasing brand awareness, social media has a
direct link to brand equity.
Rathnayaka, U., 2018. Role of digital marketing in retail fashion industry: A synthesis of the theory
and the practice. Journal of Accounting & Marketing, 7(02).
With the globe's significant technological growth, the old notion of marketing has been replaced by a
digital method that brings the entire world to the customer's doorstep in a single click. The internet's
increasing prevalence, as well as numerous faster digital communication channels, bigger networks,
and new devices, and their connectivity with marketers, made consumers more informed and
educated about the value they expected to receive for the money they spent. The study's main goal is
to determine the impact of digital marketing on consumer behavior, with a focus on the retail fashion
industry.

The fashion retaining industry is a very new industry with a limited life cycle. In today's digital age,
social media has evolved into a trend setter for society in terms of displaying, sharing, and
revolutionizing fashion trends for the general public. Increased internet penetration, busy daily
schedules, status anxiety, and access to worldwide brands and trends have all contributed to today's
consumer's decision to go online. strategizing customer relationship marketing In today's digital age,
marketing will aid in attracting and retaining a devoted customer base. In response, traditional
marketer skills, attitudes, and behaviors are no longer valid, and instead, they must sharpen some
specific skills such as technical, creative, and people skills, as well as a relationship-oriented and
mutually beneficial attitude toward competitors, and a personalized behavior for customers is
expected.

Digital marketing is a type of direct marketing that uses interactive technologies including emails,
websites, social networks, online forums, newsgroups, interactive television, and mobile
communications to link consumers and sellers electronically.

The world of fashion has emerged as a result of the strengthening of digital marketing, branding, and
innovative technological integration with the most recent fashion trends. With the significant progress
that the modern world has undergone, digital media has become much more accessible to people, as
they now have simple access to the internet. Fashion is a fast-paced industry with a short product life
cycle that is completely dependent on changing trends. Marketers should be able to analyze and
forecast fashion trends before clients transfer to competition, making the fashion marketer a trend
setter and digital media the greatest platform for acquiring and converting customers.

Digital marketing has been recognized as a pivotal point in the fashion industry, while in today's
commercial world, it serves as an ideal medium for attracting consumers' attention, interest, desire,
and action to a specific product or brand.
PURCĂREA, T., 2018. Retail digital marketing strategies.

ContentSquare,( Contentsquare's digital experience analytics cloud helps companies understand hidden
customer behaviors) a digital experience insights platform, found that supermarkets and grocers that
already offer a digital experience must consider the ecommerce giant Amazon's recent acquisition of
Whole Foods, by reviewing their systems and addressing every single pain point they can find in the
customer journey in this era of digital convenience, tailoring the digital experience.

allow customers to create and share wish lists in order to achieve an increase in return shoppers and
loyalty to combine digital shopping with physical pickup offering delivery or pickup options, in U.S.
online grocery sales will increase faster compared to in--store sales .
Jayasuriya, N.A., Azam, S.F. and Ferdous, M., 2017. The impact of social media marketing on brand
equity: A study of fashion-wear retail in Sri Lanka. International Review of Management and
Marketing, 7(5), pp.178-183.

Social Media Marketing Activities and Their Effect on Brand Equity- Social media marketing is
the technique of promoting websites, businesses, and services through online social media channels. It
includes marketing-related activities like as blogging, photo and article sharing on the internet, as well as
tools, platforms, and programs that allow customers to connect and communicate with one another.

Those who claim this

findings The impact of social media has been identified.

Rather than relying on traditional media to promote a brand

brand recognition Furthermore, as a component of communication

The interaction between SMM and BE has a significant impact on brand equity, and social media has a
significant impact on brand equity.

been put to the test

Facebook Marketing- Among the several social media networks, Facebook is the most
popular and widely used.

Because a quarter of social media users follow their favorite brands on Facebook, having a
presence there is vital for business.

In their social network, a quarter of online social media users follow their favorite product
or brand. Eighty percent of them are Facebook fans of the corporate or brand pages. As a
result, having a Facebook presence makes brands more discoverable and connected.

Facebook marketing is the use of Facebook to achieve business goals.

Facebook Marketing Activities of Fashion-Wear Retailers- The fashion retail sector is a high-
value-added industry with strong brand assets. Leading fashion-wear shops are
increasingly using social media marketing to strengthen their brand assets. In Sri Lanka,
companies such as Kelly Felder, fashion market.lk, Glock, and spring and summer are
showing an expanding trend. Because Facebook has a far larger fan base than a fashion
magazine, these shops may get a greater market reach on this platform. Statistics suggest
that shoppers are seeking for friends' recommendations on Facebook before making a
purchase decision. As a result, Facebook can be deemed an appropriate platform for
cultivating brand preference. It enables shops to "showroom" their products and lets
shoppers to compare them to other products before making a purchase.
Udadeniya, U.P.R.P., Yalegama, M.M.H.H., Wickramasinghe, A.K.K.D., Mannapperuma, M.Y.S.S. and
Jayasuriya, K.K.N.A., 2019. Online Behavioral Advertising Avoidance in Online Retailing in Sri
Lanka. Global Journal of Management and Business Research.
In this extremely competitive market, businesses must do miracles to get customers'
attention.

As a result, marketers are constantly on the lookout for new technologies that may be used
to enhance their marketing messages. Online behavioral advertising (OBA) is a relatively
new technique that has gained a lot of popularity in the commercial sector.

Online behavioral advertising (OBA) is targeted

advertising which monitors user’s personal information

such as purchasing history, browsing history and their

preferences by the online retailers to create and deliver

personalized or customized ads.

Not sure- Cookies are a tiny file that stores users' online information in order to create
personalised adverts based on their choices (. In the worldwide environment, tailored ads
are incredibly beneficial for most online merchants and other businesses, such as Amazon,
Stitch Fix, eBay, Henrys, and others. Because online retailers conduct their business online
in this manner, OBA has become a more convenient tool in the retailing industry, with
tailored adverts having a greater click-through rate.

Online Behavioral Advertising in Online Retailing- paraphrase- Online Behavioral

Advertising is known as the

collection of user data from their computers or devices

with regards to their internet activities and behaviors

over the periods of time covering multiple web domains

under the common objective of using such data to

forecast customer interest and preferences in order to

present and deliver Online Behavioral Advertisement to

those users.
Limitations-

Aside from the data presented above, a huge number of studies have been conducted
around the world to examine the impact of social media marketing on value generation
such as word-of-mouth, consumer engagement, sales, and brand awareness. However,
there is a lack of understanding about the usage of social media on a Facebook page.

privacy tools are being enhanced, and customers

increasingly use the ad blocking facility in their online

browsing. As a result, created an inability to reach the

target customers and loss of online revenue as well.

OBA is a method of tailoring a commercial advertisement to the needs of consumers by

analyzing their search patterns, history, and interests. They utilize "cookies" as a specific
technology to identify users' search history and actions. These cookie profiles with
information about users' interests are used in online retailing to provide personalized/
behavioral adverts or purchase suggestions. As a result, OBA has become a highly useful
instrument in online retailing. Because it provides numerous advantages to advertisers and
online businesses. However, based

on some serious issues like privacy concern, users

reject those behavioral ads in first sight.

You may identify a minimum of 5 key trends in your

business or field of study.

https://www.marketingevolution.com/knowledge-
center/retail-marketing-trends-2020
Leverage Experiences is the third trend. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are at
the heart of this technology.Customers' real-time needs will be used to develop customised
recommendations using AI marketing and machine learning. This enables them to make
quicker and more informed decisions, resulting in a better client experience. Peapod, a
supermarket delivery business, is an example of this, as it uses a tool called "Order Genius"
to provide individualized recommendations for online grocery consumers. It generates a
smart grocery list that may be completed in a matter of seconds based on a customer's
previous purchases and buy cycles. This personalized approach to grocery shopping makes
the process simpler for customers, improving their experience.

Socially Integrated Visualized Search is the fourth trend.

Users may simply take a photo of an outfit – or download a photo of a matching outfit –
and search for articles of clothing within the image using visual search. Then, using a
search engine like Google, customers will be presented with a list of products that meet
their criteria, making it simple for them to make a purchase. Retailers should establish a
presence on image-based platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest to prepare for the rise
of visual search. Fashion firms, for example, should give updated images of their latest
apparel on a regular basis. Customers can then use an app like Google Lens to figure out
exactly which piece of the outfit they want to buy from the snapshot. As image search
becomes more sophisticated, retailers can also use it alongside marketing AI to create
product innovations. Customers might use this technology to link their Instagram or
Pinterest accounts to their customer profiles, allowing the shop to evaluate the
photographs contained within. They might then create a list of suggested things based on
the shopper's current clothes or general sense of style.

Trend #7: Shopping Assistance via Smart Home Speakers and Chatbots-The smart speaker
market is quickly expanding. Customers can use these gadgets, such as the Amazon Echo
or Google Home, to place orders without ever having to look at a screen. Furthermore,
retailers are abandoning face-to-face customer service in favor of using chatbots and
virtual assistants to guide customers through their online buying experiences. As these
trends continue to grow, retailers will need to consider how they can optimize their
strategies to meet customers where they are.

Trend #5. eCommerce Shopping on Social Media-E-commerce shopping experiences have

been added to various social networking networks. Instagram, for example, recently
launched the Shop tab, which allows users to find and connect with businesses, creators,
and items. Many brands, on the other hand, are utilizing influencer marketing by
collaborating with well-known content providers for sponsored partnerships and affiliate
marketing. As these digital platforms continue to bring the shopping experience closer to
customers, brands should think about how they can leverage them to gain actionable
insight into their target audience for even further personalization.
Paraphrase- Trend #2. Streamlining Online and Offline Experiences for
Hyper-Personalization
Personalization has been a mainstay in retail innovation for
most of the decade. In 2021, this trend is expected to continue
as retailers take a more holistic look at customer data.
Instead of using a customer’s data to send them targeted
advertisements and promotions, retailers will use
personalized people-based marketing insights to create
simple, streamlined shopping processes. For today’s time-
pressed consumers, this is a significant value-add. At a time
when many people would prefer to shop online only, creating a
personal experience based on customer insights can help to
fill the gap that would otherwise be filled by a selesperson in-
store.
Retailers should use information about a customer’s likes,
needs, and values to provide the most relevant experiences to
customers. So, if a customer visits your online storefront, they
should view personalized recommendations based on their
recent search and past purchases, both online and offline .
Rather than sending targeted adverts and incentives based on a customer's data, re
tailers will employ personalized people-based marketing insights to develop simple,
streamlined shopping processes.
This is a big value-add for today's time-pressed consumers.
Creating a personalized experience based on consumer insights can help to bridge t
he gap that would otherwise be supplied by a salesperson in-store at a time when
many customers prefer to purchase only online.To give the most relevant experienc
es to customers, retailers should leverage information about a customer's likes, req
uirements, and values.

As a result, when a consumer visits your online store, they

should see personalized recommendations based on their most
recent search and previous purchases, both online and offline.

Flexible marketing analytics will be crucial in 2021 and beyond

to stay up with unforeseen changes in the marketplace.
Marketers should re-evaluate whether their present solutions
can accommodate this fact. Otherwise, they should look into
platforms that use cognitive algorithms like Bayesian learning
and forgetting, which allow marketers to collect only the most
relevant data.
https://linchpinseo.com/key-consumer-trends-in-digital-
marketing/

Consumers spend more time increasingly with mobile devices-Every year, it

appears that a new smartphone is one of the most popular items on people's
holiday wish lists. This year is no exception, and the tendency is just getting
stronger in the market. With the introduction of 5G internet this year, there is even
more reason for people to replace their smartphones. Adults are now spending
more time connecting with their mobile devices than they do watching television.
This is a golden opportunity for digital marketers.

More shoppers are using BOPIS tactics-The idea of "buy online, pick up in store," or
BOPIS, is getting popular. This feature is extremely useful for retailers with a large
number of physical stores. The appeal of BOPIS to consumers is that it avoids the
cost of delivery. In many circumstances, this type of shipment is faster than
delivering to a customer's home. Clothing, electronics, cosmetic products, and
groceries are the most popular items that customers desire to buy at the store.
Generation Z, or persons aged 25 and under, is the population that is most
interested in this.

Consumers continue to demand personalization-As web platform technology

advances, digital shopping will be able to provide more personalized experiences
and items. Consumers are interested in things that are relevant to their interests,
which can be determined using information such as prior purchases and listings
visited. Consumers can also get firsthand information on the products they're
interested in. This could be in the form of an email informing the shopper of price
or availability changes. Online marketers will need to enable an omnichannel
strategy that includes social media, email, search engine ads, and more to adopt a
full personalisation plan. More personal information is shared as personalization
develops. Although people expect more personal attention from retailers, they are
also more aware of the need to protect their identity and payment
information. This means that digital marketers must increase their brand's trust
factor and strengthen customer interactions. Creating great items that encourage
customers to share messages about them on social media helps a business gain
credibility and trust.

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digital-marketing

Digital Signage

This might be as simple as replacing current posters with video displays, or it can be
as complex as changing other items such as price cards or menus. Once digital, all
of these screens can be updated more easily, often remotely, and can provide a
more dynamic experience through the use of slideshows, presentations and video,
as well as animation.

Product Catalogue-A digital product catalogue might simply be a digital version of a

paper catalogue, or it can go even further by combining design and technology to
produce a more technologically savvy catalogue. A digital product catalogue can be
shown on a kiosk touch screen or made available to customers via their mobile
phones in a retail store scenario. These catalogs are ideal for highlighting features
or product possibilities that aren't readily apparent on the shelves. They can also be
used to buy items that aren't currently accessible in the store.

Product Selector-A digital product selector is a kiosk or mobile tool that directs
customers to the best product for them. To assist narrow down product selections,
information such as desired price range and product attributes can be provided or
selected. Typically, the tool takes the entered features, runs an algorithm, and then
makes recommendations based on the consumer's needs. These tools are
especially helpful when a sales professional is unavailable, but they're also a terrific
resource for sales representatives to use with customers as part of the in-store
experience!

NFC and QR Codes on Mobile Devices

QR codes are computer-generated barcodes that may be scanned with a mobile

device to retrieve information about a product or an item. These codes are ideal for
delivering product information to customers in a retail context. A customer, for
example, scans a QR code on the label of a product they're interested in. They can
see what other color options and sizes are available right away. They can compare
it to similar products on the market or read user reviews.
PARAPHRASE-Near Field Communication, or NFC, acts by wirelessly transferring
small amounts of data from one item to another. The most commonly used form or
NFC is the chip on your credit card that allows you to use pay pass. This marketing
tool works great in a retail setting for passing information from a poster or display
shelf to the customer’s wireless device. The NFC ‘tag’ will often contain web
addresses, discount coupons, or even better, the ability to instantly pay for an item.

Customer Aware Video-This is a great method to let consumers know about special
offers or what's new in the store right away. Some digital kiosks now have cutting-
edge technology that can recognize age and gender from video. This type of data
will allow the video to be customized to show content that is most appealing to the
demographic identified! Smart shelves are also incorporating customer-aware
videos. The video can then suggest other things that a consumer might be
interested in or promotions that they should be aware of based on what they pick
up off the shelf.

Personalized Retail App-Retail apps are mobile phone applications used by retailers
to keep customers connected with their brand even when they are not in the shop.
The majority of apps provide information about current products and announce
the debut of new ones, with many also allowing clients to place orders directly from
their phones. Product comparisons, favorite lists, reservations to meet customer
support employees, product holds for purchase or rental, and browsing maps of
retail locations near you are all available in the more in-depth apps. In addition, a
variety of mobile retail methods are being utilized to keep customers engaged.

Track In-Store Movement-Wireless signals, Bluetooth, iBeacon, and geofencing

technology can all be used to track a customer's in-store movements. In-store
tracking may tell you how many consumers came in and where they spend the
most time in the store. If the user has a store app, tracking can be used to
determine the customer's location within the store and then give them relevant
offers and product information. Tracking results can be visualized using heat maps
and they can be used to sharpen the retailer's marketing strategy.

● Present a minimum of 8 tools-

https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-
strategy/customer-acquisition-strategy/useful-tools-for-
digital-marketers-a-list-of-lists/

Search Engine Optimization: Organic search

There are many free and paid premium tools available to help improve
and guide your SEO tasks. It's vital to consider both on-page and off-
page SEO techniques to optimize your copy for search rankings. There
are 6 types of SEO tools:

 Audience insights (which is covered later)

 Analytical tools (which is covered later)

 Keyword analysis

 Rank checking

 Site crawling

 Backlink analysis
To fully streamline your SEO, companies need to be taking into
consideration all aspects of SEO and have the right tools in place to
efficiently optimize and target.

Keyword analysis and customer search analysis

1. Google Keyword Planner - Google offers a range of different

tools and analytical platforms to keep data analysists happy -
they are never without tools which help you plan, manage and
optimize SEM strategies. Keyword Planner can be located
within your AdWords dashboard under 'tools'. You can still use
it even if you don't invest in AdWords. This is a great tool
which allows you see the average monthly search volume for
keywords and your average organic position for it. It also
allows you to filter keywords by location and set parameters
 for Google or Google and search partners.

2. Google Trends - A good tool for understanding seasonal

content. It also displays results in a more visual way but
presents much simpler results than Keyword Planner. It shows
interest in keywords and search queries, but doesn't give you
the exact number of searches or your organic position. It is
definitely worth having with Keyword Planner, but I wouldn't

recommend only using Trends.

3. SEMrush - a free or paid tool which has features such as

seeing keywords your competitors are ranking, the value of
keywords, and the landing page for each keyword. This tool
gives you a great insight into keyword research, a vital stage

in planning your SEO strategy.

4. Keywordtool.io - the free version allows you to see 750+ long

tail keywords for each term on Google. However, if you want to
search for keywords on Youtube, Bing, Amazon, Ebay and App
Stores this requires a Pro subscription. This would be
beneficial for ecommerce businesses that want to know
search volume for products.

Rank checking

1. Google Search Console - this does more than rank checking!

This gives you a view of your site via the 'backdoor'. Check
your search appearance and how your amp pages are
 performing, as well as links to your site and crawl

errors.

2. Moz Pro Rank Tracker - Moz Pro tracks selected rankings

data over time to see which efforts are making the most
impact as well as schedule automated reports to stay informed
on changes. This is compatible with the major search engines,

Google, Yahoo! and Bing.

3. Advanced Web Tracking (AWR) - This allows you to view your

rankings daily, weekly or on demand. You can access reports
from any device. However, it also offers a plethora of other
useful services like localization, Developer API, and even
social media exposure.

Site crawling

1. Google Search Console

2. Screamingfrog - Not only does screamingfrog crawl for broken

links (404s) it also offers an SEO crawling feature called SEO
spider. This crawls website links, images, CSS, and script from
an SEO perspective and reports on how SEO friendly your

pages are.

3. Yoast

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/digital-marketing-tools
 - a very useful and FREE (or freemium) WordPress plugin which
analyses page copy in a traffic light signal basis for how SEO
friendly the copy is based on keyword density, alt-attributes, SEO
titles and Meta descriptions, slug etc. It cannot guarantee
ranking, as it in no way affects search engine algorithms, but
gives a great estimate of how well your copy is written based on
your keyword. This is great to use as a guided SEO editor whilst
you write and makes you aware of key on-page SEO techniques
you should be utilizing.

Backlink analysis

1. Buzzsumo - Not available on its free version, the backlink

tracker allows you to identify who links to your competitors
and analyze their most shared backlinks. With Buzzumo you
can also see your social share for each URL, your most shared
content on social and find influencers.

2. Majestic Backlink History Checker - This is a great premium

tool. This allows marketers to see the number of backlinks

their site has for their domains, subdomains,

and even individual URLs. They track, over time, the number of
backlinks so you can see in a visual graph the volume of
backlinks you receive. you can also compare competing
domains.

Many tools now offer more than one service - you'll find that they each
have their own USP but it'll get quite expensive if you have
subscriptions to every tool available. We recommend having a good
selection of free and premium tools to give you a full 360-degree
insight into your target audiences search behaviour and making sure
your site is fully search engine optimized.

Paid Search: AdWords

I find that everything you need for AdWords can be given to you by
using the Adwords Campaign Management dashboard, keyword
planner tool, and other search engine keyword tools. Essentially,
you're looking for keywords to target on search, but instead, you're
paying for it. What tools you use depends on your paid search strategy
- you may want to target paid keywords that you don't / can't
organically rank for (which would be a wise decision). However, if you
want help chosing the best keywords and reporting on campaigns,
other tools that you can use include:

1. WordStream - Their performance dashboard charts all key

metrics from AdWords, bing, and even Facebook accounts, to
make it easier to consume paid ad data.This is great for
benchmarking your own performance rates across digital
channels.

2. SEMrush - again, they also offer analysis tools for paid search

and not just organic search.

3. BidCops - This is a free tool that pulls Google AdWords data

into a single, easy-to-follow-report. They also offer a free
AdWords Audit, which shows the keywords that are wasting
budget and finds the best keywords in your campaigns to
maximize traffic and conversions.

Analytics

Having the right set of analytics tools is vital - a good analysis tool will
give you all the data you need to know about campaigns that you're
running, projects and other key metrics for your company's all-round
performance. They can also give your valuable insight into your
customers' behaviour patterns.

1. Google Analytics - you'll find that unless companies use paid

analytical tools such as Adobe, then you'll certainly have a
Google Analytics account. There is a premium version, but for
$150,000 per year.

2. https://mediaboom.com/news/the-impact-of-digital-marketing-
on-business-growth/

3. Google Analytics can help you examine your website traffic and
where it is originating from. Since Google also has its own
services like Google search and display ads, the ability to track
and analyze that data is there as well.

4. Kissmetrics - This allows segmented conversion tracking,

reporting on individual registered users and simple retargeting
options through promotional banners.

5. Social media analytics - the information you need to track

social campaigns can be found on each individual platforms
analytical tool dashboard. They are now providing
comprehensive insights into reach, CTRs and audience
profiling.

At Smart Insights we also use "GAAPI" - Google Analytics application

performance interface. This can be built in Google Sheets and run as
an add-on to create an analytics report.
Social, PR, and influencer

This is a list of premium tools or software vendors that offer advanced

social media and PR listening features, amongst other USPs.

Social Media Publishing

1. Buffer - We use Buffer at Smart Insights as it allows us to

schedule in posts across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,
Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram. It has a feature for most
popular content that allows you to 'rebuffer' and share again.

2. IFTTT - This automation tool allows you to connect your

social media accounts together. For example, posting a picture

on your Instagram will mean IFTTT

automatically posts the native image to your Twitter, or
Facebook depending on how you've set it up. It's great for
keeping all your content aligned on various channels.

3. Tweetdeck - This is great for monitoring Hashtags. If you

don't want to pay for social media scheduling software like

Buffer or Hootsuite, Tweetdeck also allows

you to manually schedule in Tweets (Facebook also has it's on
scheduling feature) but it's great to have one tool that
scheduling in social content across all your available social
channels.
Social Media Listening

1. Buzzsumo (Also offered as a Chrome extension) - Buzzsumo is

great for seeing social shares of individual pages. Now, we've
found that higher social shares do not necessarily equate to
higher traffic or engagement as many people will like and
share posts without reading them straight away or at all, but
it's a great free tool that gives you a rough idea of how your
post is performing on social media. However, if you're looking
for more advanced social insights it also has a paid
subscription which allows, social monitoring and alerts,
Industry and key influencer research, content analysis, and

backlink analysis (as previously discussed).

2. TalkWalker Alerts - This is a free alerts tool to help you find

versatile opportunities for link building quite easily - for
instance if you set up alerts for your brand name or keyword,
you’re going to get a list of posts which mention your brand
and/or keywords. You’d be surprised at how often people
mention you but don’t link to you! After you're done identifying
a list of these posts, reach out to the authors and request that
they link back to you. You can track mentions on Twitter,

blogs, and discussions.

3. Social Mention - Very similar to TalkWalker Alerts, Social

Mention is a media listening tool that shows in-depth insights
into phrases/discussions on the web. Tracking brand name
shows the reach, strength, and passion that users are having
 with brand names. It also shows sentiment analysis (whether
users are referring to your suggested phrases with a positive
or negative sentiment. Another cool feature includes what
other keywords are used in discussions with your brand. For
Smart Insights our top keyword is 'marketing' ...that's always
good to know!

PR and influencer tools

1. Onalytica - Onalytica specializes in providing Influencer

Relationship Management software and supporting
professional services to help brands scale 1-to-1 Influencer
Relationship Management results. It helps configure bespoke
influencer programmes to better automate and streamline
influencing activity as well as identify on-going engagement
opportunities.

2. FollowerWonk - Owned by Moz, this is a great tool to find

highly influential people in your industry. You can search
keywords and it brings up a result of people who have that
keyword in their bio, their number of followers and how
influential they are. However, this tool is only for Twitter

influencers.

3. Brand24 - Brand24 is simple online monitoring application.

Use Brand24 to identify and analyze online conversations
about their brands, products, and competitors. Brand24
provides a reliable, easy to use, and affordable solution that
allows you to both track and engage online conversations
 relevant to your business. They also offer an influencer score
insight to help you identify people with the most social

influence.

4. Mention Me - This software powers the referral programmes

of leading retailers worldwide. The referral software works
with just two javascript tags and works with many
ecommerce platforms and tag containers, so your tailored
refer-a-friend scheme can be up and running quickly. As well as
16 social sharing options, their software also enables their
unique "share by name" functionality. AB testing comes as
standard.

If you're wanting more platform-specific tools, here's a good summary

of twitter tools for effective marketing.

Content marketing management

1. WordPress - a free and open-source content management

system based on PHP and MySQL. This is a great content

management system to build your site.

2. Smartling - Smartling’s Translation Management Platform is

an end-to-end solution for digital content translation designed
to simplify and streamline translation by eliminating 90% of the
manual processes and costs associated with localization.
Smartling’s advanced technology centralizes global content in
the cloud and integrates seamlessly with any tech stack to
provide visibility through a centralized workplace and deploy
flexible workflows that enable team efficiency and ensure

translation accuracy.

3. Trello - Trello is easy and simple to use and makes organizing

content much more efficient. We have lists for different
 campaign content, which we assign to internal team members
to remind them of content that needs writing. It's a great way
to organize and distribute content to team members and keep
track of ideas.

4. WordPress Calendar extension - A very small tool that can

make a big difference to your content strategist's day.
WordPress' calendar plugin allows you to see what content is
scheduled when and quickly and simply move it

around.

5. Episerver - or content management to publish and edit web

pages and create desktop and mobile experiences. A popular
tool across B2B and B2C sectors including retail.

There is a multitude of content management systems, blogging tools,

and content curation tools available. Our Digital Marketing tools
infographic explains more tools available, including, HubSpot,
SiteCore, and Feedly.

Marketing automation tools

Email service providers and marketing automation services include:

1. GetResponse - GetResponse offers email marketing, webinars,

landing page creation and marketing automation. Their email
marketing services allows businesses to set up auto-
responders, advanced analytics, a/b testing, and forms. You
can also plan and build individual customer journeys through
 their marketing automation, with automation segmentation,
basket abandonment, and web event

tracking.

2. DataBowl - Operating as a standalone data management

platform, or easily integrating with your existing system,
DataBowl generates, runs and automates B2C marketing
campaigns from conception through to completion. Ensuring
international, on-demand monitoring of accuracy, quality and
performance, alongside the eradication of fraudulent

data.

3. Segmetify - Segmentify is a SaaS conversion optimization tool

that helps e-commerce and content websites increase sales
and/or page views by making smart recommendations and
personalization with easy-to-use real-time predictive analytic
solutions.

4. Communigator - CommuniGator's core platform functionality

caters to email marketing with automated welcome series, a
HTML editor for designing your emails,
templates, responsive design, dynamic groups, integration
with the leading CRM platforms and so the list goes on. On the
marketing automation side they track prospect activity across
the web pages they visit on your website and the email
content they engage with.

Other tools include Act On, MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc. There
are many email service providers and marketing automation services
to chose from so it is vital you pick one that is right for your business
needs and growth development. We have a comprehensive Email
marketing and marketing automation buyers guide to help with the
selection process.

UX and page insights tools

Making sure your pages/site is accessible and provide a fast and clear
user experience is essential in keeping your audience on your site and
browsing. Google has announced that they will now take Page Speed
into account when indexing mobile pages so having a fully optimized
page that loads fast is vital, not just for UX but for search ranking.

1. PageSpeed Insights - this is a simple tool provided by Google

which shows the page speed of your site / URLs (and your
competitors) - if it is slow they also offer insights into how to
improve your page speed.

2. Test My Site - Think with Google - Another Google tool to help

you benchmark your page speed on mobile. This checks UX for
connection speed (3G), checks HTML and CSS, mobile
usability, and analyses sites similar to yours. They offer a full

report for free.

3. User testing services e.g. WhatUsersDo - this platform allows

you to test your website remotely with users in their own
homes. Users record their screen and audio, so you can see
the full experience. You give them tasks to focus the user test.
You can then use their tagging tool to collect insights from the
video outputs. It's fast, focused research that provides insights
to help improve your website

Personalization tools
Here we'll take a look at a few of the best tools for personalization
integrated with web analytics, Saas for ecommerce and
personalization features available as part of CMS or commerce
management systems. For the full list of recommended personalization
software tools, check out Dr. Dave Chaffey's post 28 Website
Personalization and Recommendations Software Tools.

1. Adobe Target. This is one of the most established

personalization engines evolving from the original Touch
Clarity back in 2004 and then integrated into the Omniture
analytics suite as Test and Target

2. Google Optimize 360. This is the most recent analytics

service offer added in the latest update to this

page. Optimize is available free as AB

Testing to all GA users, with some personalization features,
but the full version of this Personalization option is only
available to enterprise subscribers currently.

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3. Social media marketing tools

4. Email marketing tools
5. SEO (search engine optimization) tools
6. Conversion optimization tools
7. Lead enrichment tools
8. Landing page and lead capture tools
9. Graphic creation tools
Social media marketing tools

We’ve seen firsthand how social media has evolved into a priority marketing channel for
businesses today.

A prime place to nurture leads and build business relationships, social is ideal for gathering
valuable data when it comes to what your customers want.

Managing all of the moving pieces of social media “by hand” is a recipe for burnout. Instead,
consider how dedicated software allows you to publish more meaningful content and use social
media to meet your big-picture business goals.

1. Sprout Social

Hey, you can’t blame us for putting ourselves on the top of the list!

That’s because Sprout Social is the ultimate control center for any business looking to translate
its social presence into actual results.

As a social media management platform, Sprout helps businesses organize their content
calendar and assets in one place. This allows you to publish and schedule your content across
multiple platforms, all timed to perfection based on when your followers are most active.
Beyond social media management features, Sprout makes it easy to collaborate with colleagues
and customers alike. Our Smart Inbox gives you a bird’s-eye view of all of your social messages
so you can respond thoughtfully and in a timely manner.

Oh, and don’t forget about Sprout’s full suite of social analytics.

Optimizing your content’s performance doesn’t have to be a guessing game as Sprout identifies
your top-performing posts and the success of your social campaigns. Coupled with robust social
listening features, you can uncover trends, hashtags and opportunities to engage with new
customers.

2. Loomly

Loomly’s self-described “brand success platform” is a tool that’s ideal for smaller social teams
looking to organize and collaborate on content.

Built-in calendars, deadlines and workflows make both scheduling and brainstorming content a
breeze. As an added bonus, Loomly actually curates fresh content ideas for users based on
trending topics and Twitter conversations.

The clean, no-frills interface is easy to navigate and friendly to users who might not be the most
tech-savvy. The affordability of the platform is enticing for solo businesses and smaller agencies
looking to wrangle their social presence.
3. Audiense
We’ve talked time and time again about the importance of social listening for identifying
trends and potential customers.

Tools like Audiense take listening to the next level by helping companies both identify and
segment their social media audiences. Doing so makes it easier to run laser-targeted ad
campaigns and likewise dive deeper into your customer personas. Digging into demographics,
personality straights and beyond, you’d be surprised at what you can learn from social alone.

Audiense’s platform focuses primarily on Twitter, making it great for B2B brands interested in
prospecting and B2C companies looking to understand more about their target audience.
Email marketing tools

Email represents arguably the most tried-and-tested, scalable marketing channel available to
modern companies. As such, email solutions are a staple of Internet marketing software for
businesses big and small.

From list-building and improving deliverability to coming up with awesome offer campaigns,
let’s look at some tools that can break down your customer data and put a good chunk of your
marketing efforts on autopilot.

4. SendGrid

SendGrid offers a full suite of email marketing services, many of which are totally friendly to
novices and email veterans alike.

For example, the platform offers flexible design options via visual, drag-and-drop editing,
coding or a combination of both. In-depth deliverability and performance analytics are also built
into SendGrid, cluing marketers in on which messages are performing and what needs work.
We know: there are more email marketing solutions out there than we can count. That said, a
big upside of SendGrid is the forever-free plan for up-and-coming businesses as well as scalable
pricing that matches your needs as you grow your list.

5. lemlist

lemlist is unique among our email marketing tools because the platform is primarily focused on
deliverability. Emphasizing the best times to send your messages (and how often) for the sake of
more opens and clicks, lemlist is awesome for optimizing your existing campaigns.

Rather than second-guessing your marketing pushes, lemlist can be an eye-opener in terms of
how to warm up your list.

Additional features include personalization tools to make your outreach emails sound less
spammy and follow-up email sequences to encourage more replies from cold prospects.
6. Moosend

Moosend is among the most user-friendly and affordable of our digital marketing tools,
representing a surprisingly robust email solution for those just beginning to build their list.

Codeless campaigns, simple automations and easy-to-read reporting are all built into the
platform. Paid users can also take advantage of landing page features, including mobile popups
and countdown timers.
SEO (search engine optimization) tools
Fact: over half of all website traffic comes from search queries.

As the digital landscape becomes increasingly competitive, anything companies can do to

increase their search presence is a plus. Although SEO might be daunting, especially to up-and-
coming businesses, there are plenty of online marketing tools to help you uncover search
opportunities and optimize your existing search engine efforts.

7. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is the gold standard when it comes to brainstorming keyword ideas and opportunities to
rank.

The platform’s site explorer lets you check any URL’s top organic keywords, while also
estimating how much traffic a competitor receives for any given search term. You can also
identify a site’s top-performing content and sources of backlinks.

In short, Ahrefs is a fantastic tool not only for competitive analysis but also for making sure that
your existing content is up to snuff for search.
8. Clearscope

Now, let’s say you’re interested in capitalizing on keyword opportunities and optimizing your
existing content. That’s where Clearscope comes in.

Particularly useful for content writing, the platform provides a detailed editor to recommend
keywords, headers and readability to help you write (or rewrite) high-ranking, well-balanced
blog posts.

Whether you’re creating a content strategy from scratch or refreshing your existing blogs,
Clearscope covers every nook and cranny of search optimization.
9. SEMrush

Another staple SEO tool, SEMrush allows you to track the position of your priority keywords and
likewise explore new terms to rank for.

The tool’s breakdown of keyword ideas, difficulty and variations are great for brainstorming
content ideas and identifying search intent, too.
Conversion optimization tools

The smallest changes can make the biggest difference when it comes to getting people to
convert on-site.

Just changing the color of your call-to-action button can spell the difference between scoring a
free trial sign-up and someone bouncing. Among the digital marketing tools in your toolbox,
conversion optimization software can clue you in on low-hanging opportunities to increase your
revenue.

10. Unbounce

Unbounce is an amazing tool for quickly building, tweaking and publishing new landing pages
to test. Built-in A/B testing and variant analytics can answer directly which creatives, calls-to-
action and additional page elements are working (and which aren’t).

Even if you’re not much of a designer, you can use Unbounce’s proven landing page templates
as a jumping-off point and then modify them to fit your style. The platform’s analytics spell out
clearly which landing page variants are your top performers.
11. Optimizely

Emphasizing landing page experiments, Optimizely combines tools for visual creation and
audience targeting to quickly run tests on different segments of your audience.

A no-code platform that allows you to test both major and minor edits to your pages, fine-
tuning your site for performance doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking.

12. Hotjar

Hotjar’s platform provides a real-time visual record of your visitors’ actions and behaviors on-
site.
Through heatmaps that clue you in on where people are (or aren’t) clicking. Synced to actual
video recordings of your visitor’s journey, you can quite literally see what needs to be tweaked
at a glance.

Lead enrichment tools

It’s well-documented that the majority of website visitors fail to provide enough data after
leaving your site.

Thankfully, there are business intelligence tools out there to help you better understand your
leads and highlight key information to reach out to them once they’ve shown interest.
Particularly powerful for B2B marketing, lead enrichment tools supercharge your prospecting
and outbound marketing pushes by giving you a more holistic view of your traffic.
13. Clearbit

Using 100+ sources, including Salesforce and additional marketing platform data, Clearbit
creates an up-to-date profile of your leads to make your outreach efforts go more smoothly.
The details gathered include company, role and company size, just to name a few.

Rather than dig for details or rely on outdated information, the platform regularly updates itself
every 30 days to ensure that your data stays fresh. This allows you to prospect with confidence
and save serious time in the process.
14. Datanyze

Similar to Clearbit, Datanyze also uncovers crucial contact information about your on-site leads
to fill out your digital rolodex. The platform also works brilliantly for prospecting on LinkedIn by
pulling social data on decision-makers, too.
Landing page and lead capture tools

As our attention spans shrink, making a conscious effort to reel in visitors once they land on-site
is crucial. Marketing platforms focused on lead capture ensure that your traffic doesn’t go to
waste and visitors are more likely to take action. When done right, the end result is more leads
and conversions.

15. OptiMonk

OptiMonk’s platform allows businesses to grab the attention of customers and prevent them
from bouncing through personalized pop-ups.

With an emphasis on lead capture and exit intent messages, the platform’s behavior-based
targeting means that your pop-ups don’t have to be disruptive.

For example, OptiMonk encourages users to segment their marketing messages and serve them
only when they make sense. From returning buyers to first-time window shoppers, the platform
empowers you to create campaigns that speak to all of your customers rather than treat them as
one-size-fits-all.

The upside of OptiMonk is that it’s known for its ease of use. Boasting a ton of templates with
established average click-through rates, brands can customize their messages based on pop-ups
that are proven to be effective.
16. Typeform

Typeform is a sleek tool for marketers looking to create attractive, minimalist forms.

Unlike more traditional pop-ups, Typeform’s intake forms are seriously stylish and don’t feel like
ads at all. The platform’s simple editor and easy embeds are a nice added bonus, as is the ability
to create quizzes and interactive forms.
17. MailMunch

A hybrid email marketing and landing page tool focused on list-building, MailMunch offers
several engaging form types and emails to send to leads once they’ve opted-in.

The platform lets you segment your audience based on factors such as how often they buy and
customer demographics. Additionally, their goal-based form-builder is straightforward and lets
you work from a variety of templates.
Graphic creation tools

Infographics. Memes. Graphs and graphics. The list goes on and on.

Visuals are the cornerstone of social marketing and branding at-large. If you don’t have the
budget for a designer or are running a DIY business, digital marketing tools such as Canva have
become the go-to for producing eye-catching visuals.

That said, there are a few other graphic creation tools you should consider so your creatives
don’t grow stale.

18. Creatopy (formerly Bannersnack)

Creatopy is a graphic creation tool akin to Canva, but emphasizes quite a few features specific to
marketers.

For example, the platform’s design sets and brand kits allow you to seamlessly work with fellow
marketers and keep your brand creatives organized. This is particularly useful for agencies
managing multiple clients or social accounts.

Meanwhile, the ability to edit the same design within multiple formats (think: desktop banner
versus mobile) in a single click is a huge time-saver.

19. Visme
Visme’s platform is focused primarily on creating presentations and data visualization.

Because infographics and fresh data are among the most-shared types of content on social
media, Visme is ideal for anyone frequently publishing research to platforms like Twitter or
LinkedIn.

Beyond straight-up graphic creation, the platform lets you pull data from external sources (think:
spreadsheets) to make presentation creation a snap.

20. Venngage

Venngage is another graphic creator with an emphasis on infographics. With spreadsheet

imports and hundreds of chart configurations, you can customize your infographics however
you want. Customize any infographics based on your branding with tons of built-in graphics to
choose from.
Which digital marketing tools are part of your stack?

With the right tools at your disposal, you can streamline your marketing campaigns and
automate a ton of tasks in the process.

Any combination of the tools above can serve as the foundation for a solid digital marketing
stack. Don’t be shy about test-driving and going through trials to find what works for your
business and budget.

Once you’ve sorted out your digital marketing tools, you can move forward with your
campaigns with a sense of confidence and likewise keep a better pulse on your marketing
efforts.

And if you haven’t already, make sure you check out our variety of social media templates to
help organize and measure your social marketing campaigns so they align with your business’
goals.
● Establish “fads” versus “key trends”
https://www.colleendilen.com/2016/04/27/fads-vs-trends-
how-organizations-can-tell-the-difference-and-why-it-
matters/
Fads come and go quickly.

Any style of conduct that is intensively followed by a community for a brief period
of time is referred to as a fad. Once the novelty effect has worn off, the behavior
will rise and fall swiftly.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a great example of how fads can have a big impact
on businesses. Using fads in marketing and programs can help you stay top-of-
mind, demonstrate your organization's relevance, and open doors to new
audiences.

This is all fantastic and vital information, but keep in mind that fads come and go.

Trends help people solve difficulties and become more powerful over time.

A trend gets stronger over time and does stick around. Audience demands
generate trends, which have observable and explainable growth. They assist people
in resolving a problem. "A trend gathers power over time because it is more than
just a passing fad; it is a tool, a connector that will become more important as more
people join in."

The use of social media is becoming more prevalent (that connects us to one
another).

Organizations that ignore trends do so at their peril. Ignoring trends means they'll
either be forced to adjust later and fall behind, or the company will go out of
business.
https://avxdigital.com/industries/retail/

DIGITAL MARKETING FOR RETAIL

SUCCESS
Historically, the retail industry has been at the mercy of the consumer’s shopping behavior. The
integration of digital technology has been an asset for marketers to better understand the
complexities of the average consumer. A deliberate and well-thought-out digital presence is no
longer a necessity for only eCommerce retailers. Brick and mortar retailers have found an
increase in conversions, and overall profitability on and offline through digital marketing
campaigns, as well. AVX Digital has accomplished many successes within the retail industry,
generating positive ROI with tactics like social media marketing, customized web development,
dynamic advertising, and much more.

Oftentimes, even if consumers go in-store to complete a purchase, their shopping journey likely
began on the retailer’s website, or at least on a search engine. Regardless of commerce
capabilities or not (by now they should), a retailer with an engaging site can still gain positive
traction and drive customer acquisition. AVX Digital’s team of Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) specialists are fluent in understanding of search engine algorithms and specific qualities
throughout websites that can have a positive or negative impact on organic search. Many
technical optimizations can be implemented on the front and back end of a site, not only to
benefit the customer’s shopping experience but to maximize visibility on search engines. Taking
advantage of a fully functioning website can help retailers stand out from other competitors.

While SEO often aims to drive users to the website, brands often disregard the question “What
happens to users once they get to the site?”. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) aims to do just
that. CRO works to amplify results by implementing opportunities of change on a site to drive
higher conversion rates. AVX Digital leverages leading software that tracks users’ site
engagement and behavior, gathers comprehensive data, and identifies strong and weak points
throughout the site. The AVX Digital design teams can analyze this data to gain data-driven
insights and adapt the site, or mobile application with beneficial changes. CRO works to boost
the consumer-centric experience while producing profitable results. While small changes to a
website can seem minor and inconsequential, these improvements help users more easily
navigate throughout the site, seamlessly find the products they were searching for, and complete
their purchase cycle.
Paid search is a complementary addition to organic efforts to enhance positioning on search
engines and overall site traffic. This type of advertising utilizes advanced keyword targeting to
be visible to users who are actively searching for relevant retailers or specific products. These
paid promotions create an ad campaign for selected keywords or phrases that users use to search
for a brand, product, or service. By prioritizing the most valuable opportunities within paid
search campaigns, efforts can be directed to the most effective segments and lower cost-per-click
and cost-per-acquisition.

Additionally, social media can also be a great network for brands to engage with retail
customers, proactively drive customer retention, and enhance the overall digital presence. AVX
Digital’s social media team can enhance organic content as well as advertise paid campaigns on
any social platform utilized. Social media advertising can expand retailers’ reach to larger
audiences, increase brand awareness, and promote a positive brand reputation – developed
through uniquely cultivated content that is personalized by an established brand voice.

The digital era has brought marketers more intelligent advertising opportunities than ever before.
An advanced capability of advertising to users who have view products or items that are similar
is called dynamic feed-based advertising. These can be positioned on platforms such as social
media and SERPS, or ideally, wherever the right user is. Dynamic Ads can retarget to consumers
who were further into the sales funnel before leaving the site, while remarketing products that a
consumer was interested in. There are many types of Dynamic Ads that can be evaluated by the
experts at AVX Digital to identify the best fit for certain retailers and their specific audiences.

Many of the advertising initiatives that the teams at AVX Digital implement are supported by
advanced analytics and targeting mechanisms, including Machine Learning and Artificial
Intelligence (AI). This cutting-edge technology amplifies the effectiveness of campaign budgets
of any size by pinpointing opportunities to pivot allocated amounts of ad spend to the highest
performing segments. Machine Learning and AI ensures that campaigns are not stagnant and
changes for improvement are made around the clock for the best results. AVX Digital cares for
clients’ budgets as if it were their own – giving each client the utmost consideration for the most
successful campaigns possible.

AXV Digital values transparency with each and every client. This is why 24/7 dashboards are
developed and shared with clients to provide a live report of campaign performance and its
accrued ROI. Through this resource and additional communication with a dedicated account
manager, clients can have ease of mind throughout every step of the process.

To see how AVX Digital can enhance your retailing business, contact AVX Digital here for
additional information.

● Present growth opportunities and sector

https://startuptalky.com/digital-marketing-business-
ideas/
Must have tools for startups

 Payment Gateway - Razorpay

 Hosting - BlueHost
 Creating Buzzfeed style videos - Invideo
 SEO - Semrush
 Sales CRM - Reply.io
 Email Marketing - Getresponse

https://freshapple.biz/how-digital-marketing-is-changing-
the-retail-industry/
How Digital Marketing Is Changing The Retail Industry

The majority of what we know now is evolving and constantly improving digital
transformation processes in most corporate industries, such as retail. This suggests
that physical storefronts will become obsolete as online retailers take over the retail
business.

Identifying which of your business models has an e-commerce solution allows your
customers to make smooth transitions when making online purchases. This will
allow you to expand your business's foreign trade.

Furthermore, the retail industry is a rapidly expanding industry that necessitates

plenty of digital advances to improve customer experiences.

An online store is similar to a real store, but it allows you to shop for your favorite
brands while browsing on your device.

We learn more about businesses and consumers in digital marketing by

determining what role they play in the market. This in and of itself provides an
opportunity for the everyday marketer to investigate areas of the market that they
previously would not have considered.

People are beginning to warm up to internet purchasing, making e-commerce one

of the fastest-growing industries in South Africa. With this new viewpoint on online
buying, digital marketers will be able to learn more about what customers are more
likely to be interested in once they have completed previous tasks.With this new
fresh perspective to online shopping, this creates an opportunity for digital
marketers to learn in-depth what users are more likely to be interested in as they
have completed previous purchases and their history is stored.
https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/6-digital-marketing-tricks-for-the-retail-
sector

The omnichannel strategy is largely focused with connecting online and in-store
shopping experiences for retailers. This necessitates uniformity at all levels, from
marketing materials to customer service.

Retailers have steadily accepted and embraced artificial intelligence technology.

Customer care chatbots have been one of the most often used applications.

Customers are becoming increasingly interested in chatbots as they become more

intelligent – and more useful. According to research, the top three benefits include
24-hour service, receiving an immediate response, and receiving solutions to easy
concerns.

Despite the fact that voice technology has made significant progress in the home
market, thanks to Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, and Apple's Siri, shops have yet to
fully embrace it. Only 6% of respondents said voice interfaces were the most
interesting opportunity in their industry. This number is predicted to rise to 48% by
2022, so there's still time for retailers to get ahead of the game by developing and
fine-tuning voice technologies for retail now.

The Internet of Things will play a role in this as well. Customers can refill on a range
of household items with just one press thanks to Amazon's Dash buttons, which
debuted in 2015.For example, if you've been looking at watches online, you might
get a ping with special prices or coupons to use while you're in the jewelry section.
This delivers a personalized and relevant experience for customers, giving them a
compelling reason to part with their money!

https://rvdmediagroup.com/en/importance-of-digital-marketing/

A good digital marketing strategy is key for having a healthy retail market.

Companies that have improved their e-commerce have proven how quickly you can
create cash owing to a variety of conditioning variables that digital marketing
provides in the retail business (lower costs, innovation, strategies dedicated to a
more specific target or tools that help manage the relationship with the customer).

Although some customers still prefer to visit a physical store to examine and try
products, technical advancements and the features provided by E-commerce
(online testers, augmented reality, virtual mirrors, etc.) are helping online shopping
gain popularity.

The main goal of digital marketing is to take techniques from the offline world and
apply them to the online world through various marketing strategies. As far as the
digital section is concerned, it is critical to have an optimized web and or e-
commerce in which it is possible to capture customers by providing value through
various actions that capture the user's interest in what you are offering through its
digital content.

It's all about the content. Interesting, relevant, and useful material that adds value
to the user aids in the positioning of your business on the internet and is the
foundation for building an audience.

All communication methods in social networks, email marketing, the web, and
various communication efforts rely on content.The importance of visual material in
your e-commerce to provide appealing and eye-catching information will be critical
in attracting users to your website. In a brand marketing strategy, the visual
element is crucial. Visual information, such as photographs, infographics, gifs,
drawings, graphics, illustrations, maps, or videos, is commonly employed by
marketers to contact users more readily and develop fast relationships, rncreasing
engagement and traffic to The web up by 12%.In brief, visual content is the most
shared material, which is an important consideration when developing an inbound
marketing plan. Inbound marketing is now the foundation of all digital marketing
strategy. A Clear Example of Optimized E-Commerce: Jules &
Jenn
A detailed analysis is presented.