What is Digital Marketing- Wiki Page

Digital Marketing                                                                    

Digital marketing, also referred to as online marketing, is the process of advertising products and services to online consumers using digital technologies via the Internet, mobile web, and in-app. Brands have embraced this technology to granularly market to their target audience. Digital marketing allows brands to help target the right people, on the right devices, and the right times.

Although TV remains the largest medium in ad spending, digital media is continuing to be the top driver of growth in global advertising. Digital spending will rise from 31% to 33% in the next year.[1] Total online spend is predicted to be $547 billion for 2017, up from 4.4% last year. These trends are just getting started. E-marketers 2016 predictions forecast digital spending will increase further by a whopping $23 billion by 2020. [2]

Digital marketing techniques can expand from Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, social media marketing, e-mail marketing, display advertising, video pre-roll, and native advertising,

Contents

·      History

·      Digital Era

·      New non-linear marketing approach

·      Target segmentation

·      Balancing search and display  

·      Social media

·      Shift to content marketing

·      Outbound marketing vs. Inbound marketing

·       Measuring campaign effectiveness

·      See also

·      References [i]

History

The term “digital marketing” was first used in the 1990’s. The digital age took off when the first search engine, Archie, was launched. The first clickable web-ad banners were created and purchased by HotWired in 1993. [3] New technologies arisen in 1994, including the launch of Yahoo!. Search engines and tools like HotBot, LookSmart, and Alexa entered the digital world soon after. Google was born in 1998. Microsoft launched their MSN search engine that year as well.

Digital marketing became sophisticated in 2000s when people’s access to Internet grew. As the Internet became a hot commodity, the smaller search engines suffered. Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft’s Live Search were the key players. By 2004, Internet marketing in the U.S. alone brought in around $2.9 billion. Social networking sites later emerged. MySpace was the first social site and then Facebook followed. Search engine traffic continued to grow in 2006 to 6.4 billion users in a single month. [3]

Another milestone in digital marketing history was the cookie. Cookies allow marketers to track browsing habits and usage patterns, which then brands can use to tailor messaging to segments of people based on their interests and previous online behaviors. The cookie has evolved over the years, broadening the types of information marketers can gather from a user’s online browsing behavior.

Digital Era

Our digital world allows brands to market their products and services on a massive scale. It also provides brands the opportunity to engage with their consumers and develop meaningful relationships.

Consumers are increasingly using the Internet to look up product information, compare prices, and searching for deals and promotions.

They aren’t just show rooming-browsing in store and then going online to search for the low-cost option. They’re also web-rooming and researching online and buying in-store. [7] A whopping 70% of smartphone users first turn to their device for more information, while in a store. (Google).  

 

Digital Media is resulting in better ROI than offline channels.  [2]

Non-Linear Marketing Approach

There’s an evolution of the user’s clickstream. It’s no longer a linear flow, but rather various touch points flowing from every direction through a variety of platforms, formats, and devices.

Digital marketers are seeing a multi-device purchase funnel. For example, a user conducts a search on their mobile device during lunch. They then go home and hop on their personal computer or tablet having multiple tabs open to easily compare prices from different brands. They then go and check out ratings and reviews to determine the quality of the brand. They may also check out, and like, a brand's Facebook page for more exclusive deals and offers.

Various touch points between the company and consumer occur across numerous devices and channels. Consumers have so many micro moments on their path to purchase and it is critical for digital marketers to be present during these micro moments. [4]   

Adopting an Omni-channel strategy is becoming increasingly important for brands that want to remain relevant. Including a marketing mix consisting of social campaigns, email marketing campaigns, search, display, and video ads helps marketers successfully reach their audiences.

Target Segmentation

Digital marketers utilize various audience segments to precisely reach their desired audience. Segmentation allows brands to target specific markets based on geographic, demographic, contextual, behavioral, interest-based targeting, and remarketing. Users who are retargeted are 70% more likely to convert. [5]

Digital marketers need to understand online user behavior, consumer patterns, and life events to tailor relevant and intriguing messages to their target audience. They need to know people’s intent, interests, and what they’re likely to share with others.

Balancing Search and Display

There are four types of search queries people make:

Navigational- Drives the user to a predetermined destination

Informational- Answers a user’s question

Commercial investigation- Focuses on research for a future transaction

Transactional- Aides the user in making a purchase or completing a task

According to Google, 87% of smartphone owners use search first. Additionally, 91% of smartphone owners bought or plan to buy something after seeing an ad that they described as relevant.

It’s important for brands to be present during relevant searches throughout the day. That’s why many digital marketers have implemented AdWords and Bing Ads within their strategies. These platforms allow marketers to pay for certain key phrases so when a user searches for a matched query, the brand appears within their search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Digital display helps marketers promote their products or services via aesthetically stimulating static banner ads or animated gifs. They appear within various publisher sites, in-app, and on social media. Additional ad formats include video pre-roll and mid-roll—forced viewing, native video and display, and sponsored content.

Social Media

93% of buying decisions are influenced by social media. [6]

A social media presence helps brands establish a personality and tone that their customers can interact with. Social media allows brands to receive positive and negative feedback enhancing the quality of their products or services and overall customer experience.

Social media marketing is a great way for brands to natively reach their customers and prospects on sites where they spend a lot of their time gathering information and conversing with their networks. Social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn have created easy-to-use advertising platforms that brands can market to users via granular targeting methods including demographic, geographic and interest-based options, like regular display ads.

Whether you’re B2B (Business-to-Business) or B2C (Business-to-Consumer) the convergence of marketing on search and social are inevitable. Recognizing the synergies between search and social, and the role they play when it comes to content marketing, will impact your business’s ability to connect, engage, and grow revenue.

Shift to Content Marketing

Content marketing is becoming increasingly important when it comes to remaining relevant to your audience. Delivering content where your audience is seeking it will drive brand awareness and traffic to your website.

According to Search Metrics, Google has shifted its focus on quality of content rather than keywords. Users want quality content that is both valuable and comprehensible. Marketers who focus on consistently producing high-quality content can boost overall brand awareness as well as their credibility.

Outbound Marketing vs. Inbound Marketing

Outbound marketing includes tactics like television, radio, print, telemarketing, direct mail, and outdoor advertising. This type of marketing utilizes mass media tools to blast out messaging and products to promote brand awareness. It thrives from the idea that if an ad is seen multiple times there’s a good chance it will resonate with consumers and lead them to take action.

However, we’re seeing a shift to inbound marketing. Inbound marketing focuses on pulling audiences in. The goal is to increase exposure and credibility through creating valuable content through e-books, white papers, webinars, blog posts, social media, and emails. Inbound marketing can be less expensive and result in a lower cost per lead or acquisition.

Measuring Campaign Effectiveness

Marketing must be driven by data. When we look at measuring success, we look at identifying the actionable metrics. Identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) help digital marketers measure the success, or lack of, for each campaign. KPIs range based on the campaign’s objectives. They can include metrics like cost per converted click, cost per acquisition, revenue and number of transactions.

A popular platform to use to measure KPIs is Google Analytics. It helps identify what types of traffic each online platform is driving and which channels are converting at a reasonable cost per acquisition (CPA).

Within a digital marketing strategy, set SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). These goals help marketers identify the metrics that matter and determine whether their digital campaigns are helping or hindering them achieve their business goals.

See also

Digital Marketing System- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing_system

Social Media Marketing- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_marketing

Online advertising- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising

Mobile Marketing- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_marketing

Content Marketing- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_marketing

References

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[i] Stein, Lindsay. "Digital Shareof New Ad Dollars to Reach 77% Next Year, GroupM Forecasts." Ad Age. Ad Age, 05 Dec. 2016. Web. 24 June 2017.

2 Allen, Robert. "2016 USDigital Marketing Budgets: Statistics and Trends - Smart Insights DigitalMarketing Advice." Smart Insights. Smart Insights, 25 Nov. 2016. Web. 24 June 2017.

3 Monnappa, Avantika. "TheHistory and Evolution of Digital Marketing | Simplilearn." Simplilearn.com. Simplilearn, 9 July. 2015. Web. 24 June 2017.

4 Adams, Laura, Elizabeth Burkholder, and Katie Hamilton. "Micro-Moments: Your Guide to Winning the Shift toMobile." Thinkwithgoogle.com. Google, 2017. Web. 24 June 2017.

5 Ahmad, Irfan. "17 IncredibleRetargeting Ad Stats - Infographic." Digital Information World. Digital Information World, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 June 2017.

6 Qualman, Eric. "Social MediaRevolution 2015 #Socialnomics." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 June 2017.

7 "What Are Connected ShoppersDoing and Not Doing Online?" Insights. Nielsen, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 June 2017.