From ‘Traditional’ to ‘Digital’
From ‘Traditional’ to ‘Digital’
The digital space has enlarged so much in today’s times that it is not just limited to posting, commenting, tagging, chatting, or playing videos. The Internet has so much to offer in its basket now, which wasn’t possible earlier.
Now the horizon and scope have broadened 10 times more effectively by providing a greater dimension to us in the form of Marketing. Yes, marketing is now possible through the internet referred to by a common term- ‘Digital Marketing.
It is the concept of advertising being delivered through various digital channels like search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps to endorse goods and services by companies.
This concept is popularized by the fact that consumers these days are highly tech-savvy and they research about each & everything before purchasing it. They use either online websites or newspaper ads for their research. Hence, turning this opportunity into a market was a great idea for the developers. Therefore, digital marketing set foot into the online platforms to create a bridge between consumers and sellers.
A plethora of online channels has emerged which allow users to advertise and promote their brands. For achieving high-end digital marketing, the marketers must know how to tackle cross-channel services and enter into the game of digital marketing through engagement. It is necessary for a digital marketer to generate leads & build brand awareness across online platforms through various means, like social media, emails, text messages, etc.
This takes us to the next part where digital marketing is classified:
- Website marketing- Websites are the center/core creation of advertising. The marketers build the website for selling their products digitally. They do so with the help of developers. A website/app should be smooth and user-friendly in its usage; compatible on mobile platforms.
- Pay-per-click Advertising- It requires continuous monitoring of the demography/interest or location of users as it is used by marketers to show their paid ads to people searching for terms related to their products or services. Examples are Google Ads or Facebook Ads. These paid ads could be seen everywhere while using internet platforms and when you click on them, you would be redirected to their website.
- Content Marketing- Blogs/advertisements are posted on the marketer’s website and promoted through social media, PPC, or mails. It requires precise and to-the-point creation of content to appeal to the target consumers.
- E-mail Marketing- It is one of the oldest and most popular ways to connect brands with consumers. The marketers use all other digital marketing channels to add leads to their email lists and then, through email marketing, they create customer acquisition funnels to turn those leads into customers.
- Social media Marketing- Social media is used as a wide platform to create trusted leads and entail consumers. Everyone is on social media these days, therefore, paid ads are under easy reach of consumers. Setting up a brand page can help you interact directly with customers. For B2B Business LinkedIn is the appropriate platform. Similarly for visually appealing products, Instagram could be used.
- Affiliate Marketing- Marketers collaborate with influencers, celebrities and other people to sell their products to a wide range of consumers, this process is termed as Affiliate Marketing. These influencers or affiliates are offered a percentage of or commission on sales and leads.
- Viral Marketing- When a product goes online due to some person consuming it and posting about it, it becomes viral content. This content can be in any form, including videos, blog posts, etc. and revolve around a variety of genres or topics, like travel and food, beauty, online journalism, etc.
Few companies offering Digital marketing services are: WebFx, Ignite Visibility, MindStick, etc.
Advantages of Digital Marketing in Business:
- From meeting the local buyers to fulfill the buying needs of consumers, to accessing wide range of products online, Digital Marketing comes in handy.
- Digital marketing offers businesses one major benefit over traditional marketing methods like print that are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
- The marketers can gauge customer reaction, evaluate campaign reach and effectiveness, collect and analyze customer feedback.
- They can control everything, right from the audience/customer demographic campaign targets to the exact timeframe for which an ad is displayed
How to get success through Digital Marketing:
- Define goals of what you want to sell.
- Define your target audience, i.e. the range of demography where your product would be sold.
- Visualize in the correct direction
- Plan strategically and understand the flexibility of market
"Marketing takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master". Therefore, there is no shortcut to succeeding in this field. You have to follow everything step by step, and strategically. Over time, as your audience will grow you will strengthen your reach in digital marketing.