The one thing that COVID-19 has clarified way beyond any doubt is that the future is digital. Further, the shift of marketing towards the digital form has been happening for some while. Even though there are companies that still prefer TV advertising or the traditional form of advertising, many have shifted due to the ever-increasing internet users.
Digital marketing allows businesses to grow at a rate that could not have been possible before the rise of online marketing. This is because the reach it provides is tremendous and as the field is still expanding, there are endless opportunities to explore as well.
Why Digital Marketing?
Besides its brisk pace, digital marketing provides constantly challenging work because every day, new trends and technologies are entering the market and one always has to be aware and informed about the latest developments.
For further clarity, we have explained the significance of digital marketing for two important sections of society:
Advantages of Digital Marketing for Businesses:
Advantages of Digital Marketing for Students:
The power of social media especially is a gamechanger and according to reports, companies can reach out to over one million consumers using Instagram alone and more than nine million consumers using Facebook.
Companies that are making the most use of social media marketing are B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer). The former makes use of platforms such as LinkedIn and t/witter to network and reach their target audience using PPC campaigns without spending too much.
Meanwhile, the latter works on improving brand awareness and increasing visibility and attracts customers to their websites using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. Now besides social media, several other techniques have also proven to work well for businesses.
Paid search is where marketers pay search engines such as Google a fee to display their ads on the top has proven to be very effective.
Using organic search with the help of search engine optimization (SEO) as well as keyword analysis to get natural traffic when it ranks higher on search results.
Content marketing which includes publishing blogs, guides, tutorials, etc. that actively engages the audience has helped businesses as well.
Webinars and podcasts are two great formats through which companies have been able to engage with their target audience and spread awareness.
What More will Digital Marketing Offer in 2021?
The competition is only getting tougher but this year, it is going to be accompanied by many new trends and technologies which will continue to contribute to its ever-changing landscape.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
While this is not exactly a new concept, its usage in digital marketing has been steadily increasing in digital marketing over the years. It helps marketers to better analyze their data so that they can understand the customers better and then deliver accordingly.
AI helps a great deal in providing a personalized experience to the customers as well as providing them customized assistance every step of their buying process. Further, with the help of programmatic advertising, businesses are being able to provide optimal customer experience by automating ads so that they reach their target audience.
It is being reckoned that in this year, programmatic advertising will account for more than 72% of the total amount spent on online marketing.
AR and VR
The inclusion of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the marketing strategies of companies will continue to rise since it enhances the overall experience of the audience and also helps in satisfying their queries.
Established brands such as Starbucks and Volkswagen have been extremely successful in the campaigns they launched using AR and VR as it helped them connect with their audience better and advertise their products more effectively.
Omni-Channel Marketing
Since we are living in a digital world where all customers expect some sort of an online presence from all companies out there who are advertising their products, using multiple forms of media to provide a seamless experience to the audience is only ideal.
This is referred to as omni-channel marketing as it does away with any sort of barriers that may get in the way when different media work together. For example, for every product shown on television, there should be an online tie-in that will work for both desktops and mobile users.
The thing to focus on here is making the experience of customers as smooth as possible. If this isn’t the case, you may end up losing valuable conversions that will affect sales.
Interactive Content
This is nothing unusual. However, its effectiveness is being grasped more seriously now because it leads to a drastic increase in the time customers engage with the brand which in turn helps you in convincing them to make a purchase.
Further, you get to procedure more data and can then use it to better your digital marketing strategy. This interactive content could be anything, from polls to surveys to even games. Essentially anything which gives you more opportunities to interact with your customers and subsequently, improve personalization.
As the field is still developing and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, the scope it presents is endless. For all those who have never felt home at a regular 9 to 5 job and are always looking for something which will challenge them every day, this might be your calling.
Digital marketing is always listed among the top five skills whenever anyone creates anything related to what exactly companies are looking for in candidates these days, and this speaks volumes about its importance in our times.
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