What is Digital Marketing, and why is it so important?
Let’s take a step back and look at when Digital marketing started; around the 1990s.
The earliest form of the internet was referred to as Web 1.0. This became a global network representing the future of digital communications.
When Web 1.0 was first developed and introduced, this included websites such as Craigslist and Slashdot. These were predominantly classified local ad-boards for business. We’ve since moved into Web 2.0, where websites like Facebook and Twitter have evolved. Digital Marketing has since grown on a monumental scale.
Digital Marketing (in straightforward terms) is, connecting your products to potential customers using digital channels through:
- Search Engines
- Social Media
- Mobile Apps
- Websites
What are the most popular forms of Digital Marketing?
- Social media marketing – Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram & Tiktok are used for full-funnel marketing; to increase brand awareness, engagement and ultimately conversions.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) – These are paid advertisements that appear on search engines such as Google, or social media channels such as Facebook. These adverts can promote products, businesses or share important information.
- Search engine optimisation (SEO) – The process of making your website better for search engines. Having a website optimised to improve its visibility on search engines like Google, will help more people find your content (products or services etc). This will drive more traffic to your site and gain you increased exposure.
- Content marketing – Creating valuable content through blog posts, videos and other media will help you attract engage and retain an audience. This content can then be shared across social media and video streaming platforms like YouTube.
There are other forms of digital marketing which are offline. You will see these throughout your every day experiences, or whilst sitting at home:
- TV Marketing – Products promoted in the form of adverts and infomercials.
- Radio Marketing – Trailers and commercials promoting products to radio station listenership.
- Outside Marketing – These include electronic billboards and transit ads. You might see these in a shopping centre or the side of a bus or vehicle.
The evolution of digital marketing…
The World Wide Web Was Born
In 1991 the World Wide Web was launched. Although, this didn’t start digital marketing straight away, it revolutionised how we find information. Netscape was the first popular browser to launch, making its way in 1994. With this launch, more people started to use the web. After the development of Netscape, we saw the development of search engines such as Google.
Search engines are where digital marketing took off. Search engines would work by crawling web pages from around the globe, storing them in databases based on keywords.
This brought the rise to what is known as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). SEO at the start was relatively easy. You could just put tons of keywords in your ‘meta description’ and ‘meta keywords’. Text could be hidden in pages that were related to that keyword, increasing the website’s visibility. Thankfully (and for the better), this is no longer the case. Search engine optimisation is based on many algorithms which change daily.
Social Media Launched
As we say at Blue Cheese Digital: “It’s everywhere. It’s unavoidable. It’s powerful. It’s here to stay”. Social media platforms started to rise in the early 000’s, with MySpace. MySpace let you add your friends and create a personal profile. You were then able to share your profile with your friends on AOL Messenger or MSN. Who remembers those days?
In 2004 we saw the development of Facebook. A platform that changed the social media landscape to how we know it today.
Facebook made it possible to not only exchange information, but it also allowed you to connect with other people around the world. Facebook enabled businesses to reach global audiences; through paid advertising. Facebook also allows you to advertise to everyone or specific audiences of your choice. Paid advertising is a very successful digital marketing strategy used globally by many brands.
Mobile First
With more people accessing smartphone devices, it changed the way digital marketing works. People want to access information on the go. That has meant web developers/marketers have to create content that is accessible on all devices; without noticeable visual or performance-related issues. This is why mobile apps and websites are now ‘mobile-responsive’. People can now view websites without scrolling left to right or pinch-and-zooming; improving UX (user experience).
Interactive Content
Static content has been around from the start of digital marketing. This content is simple: the reader or audience consumes the content by watching or reading. Interactive content is when the audience is encouraged to engage with the content they are consuming. This could be through sharing questions on a live stream, using a tool on a web app, or taking part in a quiz.
Many audiences are using interactive content daily. Commonly you will see this in use on email; where consumers are asked to complete quizzes or feedback forms. They are often asked to give their data in exchange for incentives, such as coupon codes.
So why is Digital Marketing important?
Digital marketing can help brands reach their target audience and promote their products and services. Where it differs, or goes beyond, traditional marketing methods, is the ability to be more specific and reach niche audiences. New-age approaches can reach out to customers going beyond geographic boundaries with a digital medium. Traditional marketing is about gaining maximum reach.
Digital marketing allows businesses to connect with their customers digitally; allowing them to build more trust as they can see your content daily through social media and other digital platforms. Digital marketing also has great importance to small businesses; being a cheaper method compared to traditional marketing methods.
What do you think the next phase of Digital Marketing is going to be? Is there going to be more use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) or will there be new methods such as virtual reality when it continues to grow?
