Marketing efforts have evolved to a digital platform. Businesses cannot afford to ignore these novel opportunities to advertize their products or services as digital marketing is the face of the future!
As the world is moving to the online platform, it is triggering staggering shifts in the way businesses market their products and services!
Think about it – till a decade or two ago, marketing was all about television and radio spots, newspaper and magazine ads, billboards, flyers, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. These traditional channels have slowly given way to new technology, as the media used to transmit the marketing messages have changed in the digital era. The digital medium encompasses online activities like social media ads, websites, email marketing, SEO, content marketing, affiliate marketing, PPC, blogging, vlogs and more.
This shift is in tune with the changing times as more and more people are turning to the internet for everything from news and entertainment to searching for information, connecting with friends, playing games, shopping and even passing the time. It follows that this societal shift will reflect in the marketing efforts as well.
Digital is the new name
Digital marketing leverages the popular online channels – it revolves around the internet, digital platforms and devices as they are the touch points of daily use of most of the people. These present huge marketing opportunities to connect with both current and prospective customers. Think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, Gmail and you will get the picture.
The prime benefit of digital marketing is that it opens up the prospect of directly interacting with and engaging the target audience. Messages, pictures and videos posted on social networking sites speak directly to the readers and also offer them a unique opportunity to like, comment and even share the content. This is bound to drive customer interest and action, something that is sorely missing in traditional marketing channels.
Moreover, digital channels make it possible to clearly define the target audience based on specific demographics like age, gender, geographic location, interests and more. Segmenting the audience to suit the product or service will ensure that the marketing is customized to the audience. People appreciate that the advertizing is cleverly tailored to suit what they need and are looking for.
To top this, businesses can cast a much wider net as the digital platform allows them to reach a much wider audience and tap into the global markets as well.
The digital marketing campaigns also bring the potential of measuring the results in real-time, like how many people clicked through to the website, bounce rate, conversion rate, etc. This way companies can track the effectiveness of the marketing and revise it accordingly.
Last but not the least; digital marketing is much more cost-effective. It does not require the big budgets as demanded by traditional marketing. It is an extremely economical option for small and medium-sized businesses to market their products and services even without the fat marketing budgets. Especially startups prefer to go the digital route for promotions as it is more effective even as it reduces manpower and cost outlays.
Glimpse into the future
Digital marketing has emerged as a gamechanger in the modern world. It’s all about attracting the customers through blogs, social media and other online activities in a non-intrusive manner rather than brazenly pushing ads at them. This has become the new face of creating brand awareness as it presents scores of benefits for businesses looking to promote their products and services.
All types of companies – from tech giants and real estate to hoteliers, fashion and healthcare are jumping on to the digital bandwagon and many more are prepping to create an online presence. On the other hand, web users are growing exponentially by the day with more and more people going online. The scope and reach of the digital world is bound to multiply manifold, making it a more effective means of marketing.
The scale of digital marketing itself is also set to get brighter and is expected to drive maximum customer experiences in the near future. Relevant and helpful content is what will draw customers and generate leads of qualified prospects for the business. That too, without having to fight for the customers’ attention! This kind of engaging and real-time marketing on digital platforms is what will establish the business as credible and trustworthy.
Not only this, the digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving with emerging technologies and other new developments surfacing by the day. More powerful mechanisms and mediums of marketing will be in the offing on a regular basis. These manifest as new opportunities filled with dizzying possibilities and digital marketing also has to change and grow accordingly. Regularly adjusting the tactics is essential to stay ahead of the curve.
Then again, it is not as if traditional marketing has died out completely. However, it is a fact that television and newspapers are becoming passé with the new tech-savvy and internet-addicted generations. They are spending more and more time online on their smartphones, tablets and computers and are used to having everything at their fingertips. The future of marketing lies in these online platforms and businesses will do well to move with the times and incorporate digital marketing into their strategies!
In sum, this is the right time to go digital as it can work for any kind of business, regardless of the industry. The focus has to shift from outdated advertizing strategies to using the right online channels in innovative ways like telling stories and leveraging reviews to generate a strong buzz about the business. For this, the businesses need support in the form of agile, alert and smart digital marketing partners that can not only attract and convert the highest number of leads, but also anticipate the changes on the horizon and adapt to them with ease. This kind of a dynamic approach is what will entrench the company in the hearts and minds of the audience and keep the business booming!
