A BRIEF BACKGROUND TO DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing (DM) is no longer a passing trend, but an essential part of businesses and organizations around the world. With the ever-growing demand for digital marketing skills, it's important to stay informed on the latest facts and trends.
In this article, we look at basics of digital marketing to help you
understand the importance of this field and how it can benefit your business.
WHAT IS DIGITAL MARKETING?
Digital
marketing is the process of using technology to promote and sell products or
services. It includes a variety of online and offline marketing activities,
such as email marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization
(SEO), and more.
Digital
marketing is effective because it allows businesses to target a wide audience
with minimal effort. With so many people using the internet, businesses have a
large pool of potential customers to reach. And, with the right digital
marketing strategy, they can reach those customers with little to no
advertising costs.
HOW DOES DIGITAL MARKETING HELP BUSINESSES?
- Increased visibility
- Greater engagement.
Digital marketing
techniques allow you to achieve a high level of engagement with your target
audience. This means that you can build relationships with potential and
current customers, which can eventually lead to more sales.
- More cost-effective.
Digital
marketing is often more cost effective than traditional marketing techniques
like print or television advertising. With digital marketing, you can reach a
large audience without spending a lot of money on advertising.
- Better return on investment (ROI).
Because
digital marketing is so effective and efficient, it often has a better return
on investment (ROI) than other marketing strategies. This means that you'll see
a higher profit from your digital marketing campaigns than you would from other
types of advertising.
TOOLS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
Experts in digital marketing have categorized digital marketing types, tools, or approaches into the following broad categories.
-Social
media marketing
-Search
engine optimization (SEO)
-Email
marketing
-Video
marketing
-Mobile
marketing
-Pay per
click (PPC)
-Content
marketing
-Internet
marketing
-Search
engine marketing (SEM)
-Outbound
and inbound marketing
These categories are not all-encompassing in themselves. The terminologies used are interconnected, not mutually exclusive, and more often than not overlap due to the rapidly evolving nature of the niche. We will take a look at some of these sub-niches briefly.
- Social Media Marketing.
Social
media marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing tools available
today. It allows businesses to connect with their target audience directly, and
build relationships that can lead to increased sales and brand loyalty.
i) When
used correctly, social media marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool for
any business. Here are some essential facts about social media marketing:
ii) There
are over 2 billion active social media users worldwide. This represents a huge
potential market for businesses of all sizes.
iii) The
average person spends over two hours per day on social media sites. This gives
businesses a great opportunity to reach their target audience where they are
spending a significant amount of time.
iv)
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are incredibly
popular with users all over the world. This means that businesses have access
to a large number of potential customers through these platforms.
v) Over
80% of companies use social media for marketing purposes, and this number is
only increasing as time goes on.
vi)
Social media marketing can be extremely cost-effective, especially when
compared to traditional advertising methods like television or print ads.
vii) When
done correctly, social media marketing can lead to increased brand awareness,
higher levels of customer engagement, and ultimately more sales and revenue for
businesses
- Mobile Marketing
Mobile
marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing tools available today.
It allows businesses to reach out to their target audiences through mobile
devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile marketing campaigns can be
very effective in terms of reaching out to potential customers and increasing
brand awareness.
However,
it is important to note that mobile marketing should be used in a way that is
not intrusive or disruptive to users. Otherwise, it could have a negative
impact on the overall user experience.
- Outbound and Inbound Marketing
Inbound
marketing is a methodology that attracts customers to your brand and products,
rather than interrupting them with advertising. It's about creating valuable
content that pulls people toward your company and product, rather than pushing
your message out to them.
Some
inbound marketing tactics include SEO, blogging, gated content, and lead
nurturing.
Outbound
marketing is the opposite of inbound marketing. It's a more traditional form of
marketing that involves Interrupting potential customers with your message,
rather than attracting them to it. Outbound marketing tactics include things
like buying lists of leads, trade show attendance, and print or TV advertising.
- Email Marketing
Email
marketing involves using emails to enhance sales, conversion, customer
experience, and satisfaction.
The
purpose of email marketing could range from new brand awareness, promotional
offers, and customer feedback, to customer suggestions or expectations. These
can take the form of promotional emails, email newsletters, retention emails as
well as acquisition emails.
All small,
medium or large businesses make use of email marketing to drive sales and
ultimately growth.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search
engine optimization (SEO) is a set of technical planning, procedures and
operations focused on increasing the potential of a webpage, website, or blog
to rank higher on the search results pages or algorithm of a search engine e.g.
Google.
SEO is
the most popular indirect digital marketing tool. It helps improve a page’s
visibility by increasing the position of a search engine-optimized page within
the order of non-paid results. This allows the webpage or website to be easily
seen with little effort on a similar topic, thereby driving its traffic
exponentially. It is useful for content creators, mobile app developers, as
well as other digital businesses.
- You may also be interested on how to boost your website's ranking as a Nigerian blogger.
- Pay per click (PPC)
Pay per click is a type of digital marketing whereby an advertiser pays per click on the ads of their product or service. In digital marketing, PPC allows the ad publisher to charge an agreed fee whenever a product or service advertised is clicked by a user.
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
This is a strategy developed to rank a webpage high in the search engine result. ? It is used essentially to boost the visibility of a website within the search engine results algorithm.
HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL MARKETER
Digital
marketing is one of the most in-demand skills today. While there is no one-size-fits-all
in the training required to become a digital marketer in today’s rapidly
evolving industry trends, it is highly imperative to be aware that businesses
are looking for digital marketers who can help them reach their target
audiences online and convert them into customers. If you’re wondering how to
become a digital marketer, here are some essential facts you should know.
- A digital marketing career requires a combination of skills.
To be successful
in digital marketing, you need to have a mix of skills including strategic
thinking, creativity, analytical ability, and project management. You also need
to be comfortable with technology and have good written and oral communication
skills.
- There are many different paths to becoming a digital marketer.
There’s
no one-size-fits-all path to becoming a digital marketer. You can get started
in this field by working in an agency, as an in-house marketer for a company,
or as a freelance consultant. Many online courses and boot camps can teach you
the basics of digital marketing.
- A solid understanding of analytics is critical for success in this field.
Digital
marketers need to be able to measure and analyze data to determine which
marketing strategies are working and which ones need to be improved. If you
want to succeed in this field, make sure you have strong analytical skills.
- You need to be constantly learning new things in this rapidly changing field.
The landscape
of digital marketing is always changing thanks to the ever-growing information
technology opportunities. Carving a niche within the digital marketing sphere
requires creative thinking which can accommodate and utilize these technologies
to optimize user experiences and improve innovative techniques in how we do
business.
HISTORICAL TRENDS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
Contrary to what most people might picture, digital marketing is not a 21st-century idea. Rather, digital marketing has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the early 1990s albeit with a traditional approach. In those days, marketers used simple techniques like email blasts and banner ads to reach their audiences. Today, digital marketing is a complex and multi-faceted discipline that uses a variety of tools and strategies to reach customers online.
Some of
the most popular digital marketing tools include search engine optimization
(SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, content
marketing, and email marketing. Each of these tools has its strengths and
weaknesses, and businesses must carefully choose the right mix of strategies to
achieve their desired results.
Digital
marketing is constantly evolving, and new technologies are emerging all the
time. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to play a role in
digital marketing, helping businesses to automate some of their tasks and make
better decisions about targeting their audiences.
As
digital marketing evolves, so too does our understanding of it. The following
facts provide a snapshot of where we are today and where we might be going in
the future.
THE FUTURE TRENDS AND PROSPECTS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital
marketing is not a new concept, but it has come a long way in recent years.
With the advances in technology, digital marketing has become more
sophisticated and data-driven.
The
future of digital marketing looks very promising. Marketers are now able to
target specific audiences with laser precision and measure the results of their
campaigns with detailed analytics.
This
data-driven marketing approach is here to stay and will only become more
refined as time goes on. So what does the future hold for digital marketing?
Here are three predictions:
- Personalization will be key.
As
digital marketing becomes more sophisticated, personalization will become
increasingly important. Marketers will need to find ways to tailor their
messages and content to individual consumers.
- Content will continue to be king.
In the
age of information overload, quality content is more important than ever.
Consumers are looking for brands that can provide them with valuable and
interesting information.
- Social media will evolve.
Social
media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have already had a major impact on
digital marketing. In the future, social media will become even more integrated
into digital marketing campaigns.
The influence of information technology, social media proliferation, as well as business analytics on how we improve products, services, and feedback mechanisms between users and creators cannot be overemphasized.
Whether you are a search engine optimization manager or web developer, business analyst, or just an investor, the integration of digital marketing in products and service delivery has come to stay and will be around for a long time.
Therefore, digital marketing may be the game changer to your career or business growth and future.
Happy studying!
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