Going Digital – The Evolution of Marketing
Innovative Strategies for Digital Domination –
Stay Ahead of the Curve
The world of digital media is changing at a phenomenal pace. Its constantly evolving technologies, and the way people are using them, are transforming not just how we access our information, but how we interact and communicate with one another on a global scale. It’s also changing the way we choose and buy our products and services.
People are embracing digital technology to communicate in ways that would have been inconceivable just a few short years ago. Digital technologies are no longer the preserve of tech-savvy early adopters, and today ordinary people are integrating them seamlessly into their everyday lives. From SMS updates on their favorite sports teams, to a free video call with relatives on the other side of the globe, to collaborative online gaming and much, much more: ordinary people – your customers are starting to use digital media without giving it a second thought. The estimated global online population of 2022 worldwide was 5.3 billion, up from 4.9 billion in the previous year. In the developed world internet access is becoming practically abundant, and the widespread availability of always-on broadband connections means that people are now going online daily to do everything from checking their bank statement, to shopping for their groceries, to playing games. What makes this digital revolution so exciting is that it’s happening right now. We’re living through it, and we have a unique opportunity to jump in and be part of this historical transition.
Whether you are looking to start up your own home-based internet business, work for a large multinational or are anywhere in between, if you want to connect with your customers today and into the future, you’re going to need digital channels as part of your marketing mix. The internet has become the medium of choice for a generation of consumers: the first generation to have grown up taking instant access to digital information for granted. This generation integrates digital media into every facet of its daily lives, in ways we could never have conceived of in even the recent past. Today this generation of digital natives is entering the workplace and is spending like never before. This is the mass market of tomorrow, and for businesspeople and marketers the challenge is to become fluent in this new digital language so that we can talk effectively to our target audience.
The Changing Face of Advertising:
Advertising can be intoxicating. The spin, the story, the message, the call to action, the image, the placement, the measurement, the refinement: it all adds up to a powerful cocktail that can ultimately change the world. At its core, advertising is all about influencing people – persuading them to take the actions we want, whether that’s choosing a particular brand of toothpaste, picking up the phone, filling in a mailing coupon or visiting a website. Done well, advertising has a power that can achieve amazing things, and if you’re in business you’re already doing it and will continue to do so.
The Technology behind Digital Marketing:
. Technology has underpinned major milestones in the history of marketing since its inception. The process tends to go something like this:
- New technology emerges and is initially the preserve of technologists and early adopters.
- The technology gains a firmer foothold in the market and starts to become more popular, putting it on the marketing radar.
- Innovative marketers jump in to explore ways they can harness the power of this emerging technology to connect with their target audience.
- The technology migrates to the mainstream and is adopted into standard marketing practice.
The printing press, radio, television and now the internet are all examples of major breakthroughs in technology that ultimately altered the relationships between marketers and consumers forever, and did so on a global scale. But, of course, marketing isn’t about technology; it’s about people: technology is only interesting, from a marketing perspective, when it connects people with other people more effectively.
STRATEGIC THINKING
Why do you need a digital marketing strategy? The simple answer: because without one you’ll miss opportunities and lose business. Formulating a digital marketing strategy will help you to make informed decisions about your venture into the digital marketing arena and ensure that your efforts are focused on the elements of digital marketing that are most relevant to your business. It’s a crucial first step towards understanding how the constantly evolving digital marketplace relates to you and how it affects the relationship between your business or brand and your customers and prospects.
It doesn’t matter what business you’re in; it’s a fairly safe bet that an increasing number of your target market rely on digital technology every day to research, evaluate and purchase the products and services they consume. Without a coherent strategy of engagement and retention through digital channels your business is at best missing a golden opportunity and at worst could be left behind, watching your competitors pull away across an ever-widening digital divide. As digital channels continue to broaden the scope available to us as marketers, so they add to the potential complexity of any digital marketing campaign. Having a clearly defined strategy will help to keep you focused, ensure that your marketing activities are always aligned with your business goals and, crucially, ensure that you’re targeting the right people.
These are the few components that will form the foundation of your digital marketing strategy:
- Know your business: Is your business ready to embrace digital marketing? Are your products or services suited to online promotion? Do you have the right technology, skills and infrastructure in place? How will digital marketing fit into your existing business processes, do those processes need to change, and are you and your staff ready to accommodate those changes?
- Know the competition: Who are your main competitors in the digital marketplace? Are they the same as your offline competitors? What are they doing right, what are they doing wrong, and what aren’t they doing at all and how can you differentiate your online offering from theirs? Remember, competition in the digital world can come from just around the corner or from right around the globe.
- Know your customers: Who are your customers and what do they want from you? How do the customers you’re targeting use digital technology, and how can you harness that knowledge to engage in a productive and ongoing relationship with them?
- Know what you want to achieve: If you don’t know where you’re going, there’s a pretty fair chance you’ll never get there. What do you want to get out of digital marketing? Setting clear, measurable and achievable goals is a key part of your digital marketing strategy. Are you looking to generate online sales, create a source of targeted sales leads, and improve your brand awareness among online communities, all of the above or perhaps something completely different? Your goals are the yardsticks against which you can measure the progress of your digital marketing campaigns.
- Know how you’re doing: The beauty of digital marketing is that, compared to many forms of advertising, results are so much more measurable. You can track everything that happens online and compare your progress against predefined goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). How is your digital campaign progressing? Are certain digital channels delivering more traffic than others? Why is that? What about conversion rates? How much of that increased traffic results in tangible value to your business? Measure, tweak, refine, and re-measure. Digital marketing is an ongoing and iterative process.
By implementing a well-crafted digital marketing strategy, companies can gain a competitive edge over their industry rivals. It allows them to stay ahead of market trends, adapt to changing consumer behaviors, and respond to competitors’ activities effectively.
It’s important to note that the specific results achieved through digital marketing can vary depending on the company’s goals, industry, target audience, and the effectiveness of the strategy implementation. Regular monitoring, analysis, and optimization are crucial to maximizing the potential outcomes and continuously improving results.
