With over 4 billion internet users worldwide, the term digital marketing seems familiar but we still end up searching online when a related question arises. Digital marketing is a method of marketing products or services with the use of digital technologies over the internet, mobile applications and other digital mediums. Its channels are systems based on the internet that can create, accelerate and transfer product value from producer to a consumer with the help of digital networks.
The term digital marketing was first coined in the 1990s with the first clickable banner ad going live in 1994; around 44% of the people who saw the ad clicked on it. The further development of digital marketing has completely changed the way businesses use technology for marketing. Eventually, when digital platforms started getting incorporated into everyday life, people ended up using digital devices rather than visiting shops physically. Digital marketing further extends to non-internet channels that provide digital media including SMS, MMS, callback and television.
Why digital marketing?
Traditional marketing exists in print ads, physical marketing and phone communication while digital marketing can occur electronically and online. This increases potential opportunities for various brands including social media, video, email and website-based marketing.
Moreover, digital marketing provides many options and strategies associated with it and enables the user to take a creative approach and experiment with a variety of marketing tactics on a budget. Marketing tools including analytics dashboards enables a business to monitor the reach of their campaigns.
Advantages and disadvantages of digital marketing –
Advantages-
Global reach:
Digital marketing enables a business to find new markets and expand their trade globally for a small investment. It further allows them to increase brand loyalty and effectively drive online sales.
Lower cost:
With the help of a properly planned and targeted campaign, the business is able to reach the right potential customers at a much lower cost compared to traditional marketing methods.
Trackable and measurable results:
The business is able to use web analytics and other metric tools to establish their campaign as well as track and measure the reach of their online campaign. Furthermore, they are able to obtain a detailed report on how customers use their website and respond to their campaign.
Personalization:
On linking customer database to their website, organizations are able to greet the customers with targeted offers whenever they visit the site. With an increase in sales, business is able to refine its customer profile and market effectively to them.
Social media presence:
By expanding and managing their presence in social media, businesses are not only able to build customer loyalty but also create and maintain a reputation for being easy to engage with. Moreover, digital marketing enables them to create engaging campaigns using content marketing tactics which increases the possibility of being shared and passed forward by potential customers.
Competitive advantage:
With the help of various internet platforms, businesses are able to reach the maximum potential of digital marketing and further pinpoint the behavioural patterns of their customers. The data from potential customers along with social media reach enables them to improve brand awareness and compete with similar businesses.
Disadvantages-
Skilled employees:
Businesses will have to ensure that their staff are skilled in the area of expertise in order to carry out digital marketing successfully. Moreover, it is also important that their staff are up to date with the latest trends and changes in the market.
Time consumption:
Tasks like creating and optimizing online advertising campaigns and marketing content consume a lot of time, so it is important for the businesses to measure their results to ensure a proper return-on-investment.
Highly competitive:
Along with reaching a global audience with digital marketing, the enterprise is also up against global competitors. It can be highly challenging to stand on par with the competitors and attract customers using tactics from outside the box.
Customer feedback:
Negative feedback and criticism related to a brand are visible throughout the internet including social media and review websites that might damage the brand reputation.
Security and privacy:
There are numerous legal considerations pertaining to collecting and utilizing customer data for digital marketing purposes. Every organization must ensure that customer data is handled with the utmost care.