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What is Digital Marketing (DM)?
Companies today are parting ways with the traditional methods of marketing. Not because they are ineffective or outdated but because they now know better ways to advertise and promote their products, services, or brand name. Gone are the days when companies would immensely fight for −
Slots in Radios
Slots in TV advertisements
Articles in magazines
Blogs in Newspapers
The best salesperson in the town
Booking for particular hoardings or billboards and others
They are switching to digital marketing.
In this article, we will be taking a deep dive into the concept of "digital marketing, exploring why companies today prefer digital marketing over traditional marketing methods and what the various ways are to do it in different industries.
The Concept of Digital Marketing
Any marketing initiative taken by the company on digital platforms or the internet to promote or advertise its product, service, or brand name is known as digital marketing or online marketing. Companies today are leveraging the fact that consumers have access to high-speed internet and smartphones. All four pillars of marketing have shifted online.
Reasons Why Companies Are Switching to Digital Marketing as Their Preferred Form of Marketing
Internet and smartphones are easily accessible to customers − India today has more than 659 million smartphone users, and China today has more than 974,69 million smartphone users. With the advent of Reliance Jio, the internet has also become easily accessible at a very low cost to the citizens of India. Earlier, Indian users used to get 1 or 2 GB of data per month for their usage, and today we are blessed with 2 GB of data on a daily basis. Along with this, the pandemic has given us the much-needed push to trust online transactions, which have a stigma for Indian users. Because of these factors, consumers have moved online, and so have businesses.
It is a more cost-effective form of marketing communications − Since companies can choose their customers from across the globe, can create special ads to ensure that the conversion ratios are high, and along with this, can indulge deeply in organic marketing, the marketing initiatives become cost-effective for the company.
Provides the company with a wider target audience − companies can now easily target consumers across the globe. There are no geographical or other boundaries to stop them from trading, and consumers can also take advantage of having quality products at a reasonable cost.
Helps companies perform data-driven marketing techniques − Companies can now fuel their marketing initiatives with data and technology. Today, it is possible to show two different kinds of ads on two different handsets that are in the same household at the same time and watching the same show. Everything is based on data and algorithms today, and digital marketing can make use of them.
Gives you a competitive advantage − If you have a strong online presence, it is possible for you to have an edge over the competitors, and you can also compete with well-established multinationals.
It is easy to improvise your marketing campaigns − In traditional marketing, once you have given the ad to print or once it is printed, it is out there in the world. No matter what the response is, companies cannot take it back. But this is not the case with digital marketing, where companies can improvise their content in real-time as per the customer's responsibility.
Improves conversion rate and quality of your leads − With data and digital presence, companies can get quality leads, and the conversion ratio is sure to shoot up. Companies can only show their ads to people who are looking for the product or service instead of cold calling and doing mass advertising.
Helps in building stronger customer relationships − companies now have a platform (their own digital channels) through which they can interact with consumers day and night. This helps them build a relationship with the consumer that goes beyond sales and purchases.
The Different Branches in the Digital Marketing Umbrella
Social media marketing − In this form of marketing, companies leverage social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Hike, Telegram, and others to target their audience. Companies sponsor posts or stories on social media channels regarding their product or service offerings. Consumers can easily connect with the company and watch the advertisements at their convenience. It is the most blossoming part of digital marketing, as we see companies ranging from insurance and healthcare to packaged food entering this platform. Consumers heavily rely on the data available on these platforms before making their purchase decisions, and their average screen time is also increasing day by day. It is the best platform to sell B2C and low-range consumer products.
Email marketing − it is a form of digital marketing in which companies send emails to their consumers. The emails can be of different types, like congratulating the consumers on their special occasions, giving them reminders to complete the purchase, informing them about their new arrival, and others. It is most effective for B2B and technology products or when the company has to target consumers in the corporate world. It also seems like a more genuine and trustworthy form of communication.
Content marketing − it is also a crucial form of digital marketing. The focus here is on creating quality content for the users and the viewers. Content is used in every form of the marketing campaign and is crucial for the survival of the business. Content quality determines the ranking of the website on the browsing engine, the engagement rate of the brand on social media platforms, the effectiveness of email marketing and affiliate marketing campaigns, and the genuineness of the SEM as well.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) −In this form of marketing, companies pay the browsing website or the social media platforms to broadcast their company name and products whenever certain keywords are entered into the search bar. There are various forms of SEM, like pay-per-click, click-through rate, cost per thousand impressions, Google ads, and others. It is very effective for the company in the short run because more than 75% of the users will not even move to the second page of the search engine results page while browsing for certain information. Companies just have to keep in mind that they should be using this technique to get sales for the company and not website traffic.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) − This is a form of marketing that helps the company build a strong presence over the internet. Google today has more than 200 updates working simultaneously to decide the ranking of pages on its website. This is the organic form of marketing; here, the company focuses on the quality of the content, keywords, backlinks, hyperlinks, and others. It helps the company generate website traffic and organic sales.
Affiliate marketing − it is a form of marketing in which content creators or influencers sign contracts with brands to promote their products or services. An affiliate marketer is someone who has a fan base and expertise regarding the product or service. He will be creating content regarding the product or service and influencing people into buying it. For every product that is sold through the efforts of the affiliate marketer in his promotion video, the affiliate marketer receives a commission. There is a special link generated by the company for every affiliate marketer that helps them keep track of the number of sales through each marketer. It is becoming very trendy because consumers tend to believe more in their local influencers or expertise. We have local influencers in every field, like nutrition, healthcare, skincare, food, and others. Companies can easily connect with people in the creator economy to market their services.
Digital marketing is a very effective form of marketing communication done by the company. It helps the company gain the consumer's trust and build a relationship with them. It is no longer an option for the company but a mandate for its survival in this fast-paced and dynamic world.
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