Most people will have heard of digital marketing but how many of us really understand what it is and what it does or how it works. For some people they won’t want to be bogged down with technical stuff, they are busy running their business, and they pay an agency to make sure their digital marketing program is on track however, it does help to have a certain level of understanding;
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a type of marketing that promotes products and services through the use of internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms. Its evolution in the 1990s and 2000s altered how brands and businesses use technology for marketing.
You can learn more about Move Ahead Media’s SEO if you want, it will give you an insider’s view of what is on offer. As digital platforms have become more integrated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly use digital devices instead of visiting physical stores, digital marketing campaigns have become more common, employing a combination of;
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Social media marketing (SMM)
- Content marketing and influencer marketing
- Content automation
- Campaign marketing and data-driven marketing
- e-commerce marketing
- Social media marketing and social media optimization
In addition to the above services, digital marketing also consists of e–mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–books and games which are all now commonplace. Non-Internet channels that use less technical methods yet still provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones (SMS and MMS), call back and on-hold mobile ring tones, are also examples of digital marketing that often get overlooked these days. Digital marketing is different from online marketing by its expansion into non-Internet channels.
What benefits can I expect to receive?
Having a strong digital presence will benefit you in a variety of ways, it will make raising awareness and engagement easier both before and after the sale. Assistance with converting new buyers into rabid fans who purchase more (and more often) and it will spark word-of-mouth and social sharing, as well as all of the benefits that come with them. There are joint benefits to be had with you and your customers because, by presenting the right offers at the right time, it will shorten the buyer’s journey increasing customer satisfaction and in turn should increase your bottom line.
How does it work?
Digital marketing is similar to traditional marketing in many ways but, on a much larger scale and capable of reaching more people that fit the criteria of your business. In both cases, the idea is to promote, create trust, awareness and a need which should then produce sales and new relationships.
When you look into how many people use the Internet, social media and other online platforms and then look at how many of those users purchase goods online on the back of online campaigns, the numbers go into the billions. All of the data created by their initial search or activity online is recorded, it can then be used to determine people’s interests, which demographic group they sit within and, their browsing and purchasing habits.
With the use of this data your campaigns can then be super-efficient, targeting only the people you need to as such not wasting any time or money doing ‘blanket advertising’ to the wrong people and wondering why your hit rate is low.
Some people take more nudges than others so you will find some people will be interested straight away and make a purchase on the back of one of your ads or blogs, other take a little more convincing or, simply more reminders or exposure to your brand and its products before they make a purchase, some research suggests that the average person may need 7 ‘touches’ before they make a purchase so, consistency and variety of your adverts is really important. What attracts one person may not attract another.