Digital marketing

Digital marketing

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Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the marketing of products or services using digital technologies, mainly on the internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium.

The way in which digital marketing has developed since the 1990s and 2000s has changed the way brands and businesses utilize technology and digital marketing for their marketing Digital marketing campaigns are becoming more prevalent, as digital platforms are increasingly incorporated into marketing plans, and as people use digital devices instead of going to physical shops.

Digital marketing activities are search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, and e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–books, optical disks and games, and any other form of digital media. It also extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback and on-hold mobile ring tones.

<Titre1>History</Titre1>

The term digital marketing was first used in the 1990s, but digital marketing has roots in the mid-1980s when the SoftAd Group, now ChannelNet, developed advertising campaigns for automobile companies, wherein people would send in reader reply cards found in magazines and receive in return floppy disks that contained multimedia content promoting various cars and offering free test drives.

Digital marketing became more sophisticated in the 2000s and the 2010s, and the proliferation of devices able to access digital media has led to great growth of digital advertising; statistics produced in 2012 and 2013 showed that digital marketing was still a growing field.

Digital marketing is often referred to as 'online marketing', 'internet marketing' or 'web marketing'. The term digital marketing has grown in popularity over time, particularly in certain countries. In the USA online marketing is still prevalent, in Italy is referred as web marketing but in the UK and worldwide, digital marketing has become the most common term, especially after the year 2013.

Digital media growth is estimated at 4.5 trillion online ads served annually with digital media spend at 48% growth in 2010. An increasing portion of advertising stems from businesses employing Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) to tailor advertising for internet users, but OBA raises concern of consumer privacy and data protection.

<Titre1>New non-linear marketing approach</Titre1>

In an ever more complex retail environment, customer engagement is essential but also challenging. Retailers must shift from a linear marketing approach of one-way communication to a value exchange model in which there is a two-way mutual dialogue and benefit-sharing between provider and consumer. Exchanges are more non-linear, free flowing and both one-to-many or one-on-one. The spread of information and awareness can occur across numerous channels such as the blogosphere, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and a wide variety of other platforms. Online communities and social networks allow individuals to easily become creators of their own content and publicly publish their opinions, experiences, thoughts and feelings about many topics and products, hyper-accelerating the diffusion of information.

The Nielsen Global Connected Commerce Survey conducted interviews in 26 countries to observe how consumers are using the Internet to make shopping decisions in stores and online. They reported that due to the internet and e-commerce, shoppers are increasingly looking to purchase internationally, with over 50% in the study who purchased online in the last six months stating they bought from an overseas retailer.

Using an omni-channel strategy is becoming increasingly important for enterprises to adapt to the changing expectations of consumers who are wanting ever-more sophisticated offerings throughout the purchasing journey, in which the internet is becoming an essential component. Retailers are increasingly focusing on their online presence, including online shops that operate alongside existing store-based outlets. Solely internet-based retailers are also entering the market, and some are establishing corresponding store-based outlets to provide personal services, professional help, and tangible experiences with their products.

An omni-channel approach not only benefits consumers but also benefits business bottom line as research suggests that customers spend more than double when purchasing through an omni-channel retailer as opposed to a single-channel retailer, and are often more loyal. This could be due to the ease of purchase and the wider availability of products in an omni-channel approach.

Customers are often researching online and then buying in stores and also browsing in stores and then searching for other options online. Online customer research into products is particularly popular for higher-priced items as well as consumable goods like groceries and make up. Consumers are increasingly using the internet to look up product information, compare prices and search for deals and promotions.

<Titre1>Use in the digital era</Titre1>

There are a number of ways brands can use digital marketing to benefit their marketing efforts.

The use of digital marketing in the digital era not only allows for brands to market their products and services but also allows for online customer support through 24/7 services to make customer feel supported and valued. The use of social media interaction allows brands to receive both positive and negative feedback from their customers as well as determining what media platforms work well for them and has become an increased advantage for brands and businesses. It is now common for consumers to post feedback online through social media sources, blogs and websites feedback on their experience with a product or brand. It has become increasingly popular for businesses to utilise and encourage these conversations through their social media channels to have direct contact with the customers and manage the feedback they receive appropriately.

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