It’s a fact that Internet marketing (also known as inbound marketing) has many moving parts. But here’s another fact: as a CEO, your focus is on understanding marketing costs, results, and data as it affects your company performance… and not so much on the minutia of inbound.

One thing many CEO’s don’t have is time. With that in mind, we’ve highlighted the main components of digital promotion in a brief executive guide. It’s an ideal resource for any busy decision maker.

Why Digital Promotion Matters

There are a few key performance indicators (KPIs) you should be concerned with when it comes to digital promotion within your company. From lead generation and quality to cost of customer acquisition.

Let your marketing team handle the keyword research and social media outreach. As a CEO, you need a broad understanding of inbound marketing to see how the major elements come together to drive growth in your business.

Business Blogging

Blogging for your business isn’t just a way for you to self-promote (if anything, self-promotion should be the last thing you use your blog for). Think of your blog as the Swiss Army Knife of company resources. The multi-purpose tool allows you to post compelling industry information and share business updates, all while garnering engagement from customers and prospects. Business blogs are a great way to develop thought leadership, improve SERP, and ultimately, drive leads.

Email Marketing

Think no one reads email anymore? Think again. 70 percent of consumers actually prefer commercial communication via email – as long as the messaging is relevant. When you send out information that your consumers want to read, persuasive email marketing can save you money AND generate leads. With right email service provider and email marketer, you’ll be set.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

If you search for specific keywords, the links displayed at the very top are sponsored content, or paid results. Each time a person clicks a paid link to visit your site, you pay a fee, hence the name “pay-per-click”. Because of the charge, having a skilled team of marketers that understand how to leverage PPC is important for company success. Believe it or not, when done correctly, PPC campaigns can help to reduce lead and customer acquisition costs!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of optimizing your website to drive ideal traffic from search engines like Google or Bing, and it has two main parts. The first is on-page optimization. This step makes it easier for search engines to find and index your site. The second part is all about building authority. Use link-building and work with other sites to grow the number of links that point back to your business’s website, which affects search engine rank.

Social Media Marketing

Social media isn’t just for sharing funny cat videos. You can connect with potential partners on LinkedIn and Google Plus, build company and customer engagement with Facebook and Twitter, and so much more. When properly executed, social media marketing can influence business growth and lead generation.

So, the next time you meet with your marketing team to discuss ROI and other data points, use this CEO’s executive guide as a reference point to help you navigate the world of digital promotion and clearly see how your marketing efforts are impacting your overall business performance.