DSMM Unit - 1 PDF
DSMM Unit - 1 PDF
DSMM Unit - 1 PDF
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing’s development since the 1990s and 2000s has changed the way
brands and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms are
increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people use
digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns are
becoming more prevalent and efficient.
Digital marketing methods such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine
marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation,
campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media
marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–
books, and optical disks and games are becoming more common in our advancing
technology. In fact, digital marketing now extends to non-Internet channels that
provide digital media, such as mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback, and on-hold
mobile ring tones. In essence, this extension to non-Internet channels helps to
differentiate digital marketing from online marketing, another catch-all term for the
marketing methods mentioned above, which strictly occur online.
Importance of Digital Marketing for Small and Large Businesses
Now that we have understood the scope of digital marketing in India, let us look into
why it is important for small and large-sized businesses. The focus for small
businesses is brand awareness and development.
1. Cost-Effective
Digital marketing efforts require barely any initial investment. This is great for small
businesses. Most digital marketing tools offer basic features free of cost. It is up to
the businesses to make the best use of them.
2. High Reach
With digital marketing, the reach is global. Hence, you can take orders for your
product or service from all over the world and it need not be limited to one area.
And when you go global, you can still niche your audience to selected individuals.
Thus, it’s a win-win.
3. Brand Awareness
If a customer has no awareness of your brand then he cannot make a conversion. To
tackle this, brand visibility is extremely important. With pay-per-click and other kinds
of paid promotions, you can really attract customers to your small business. We
recommend this Facebook and Instagram Ads online course to understand some
more.
5. Brand Image
An established company’s image is everything. The right campaign strategies can
make or break a company’s brand image. Through digital marketing, effective
campaigns can be designed and the scope fixing any glitches immediately is there.
6. Measurable Results
With digital marketing, big companies can have real-time measurable results. With
this, they can analyze the effectiveness of the campaign and accordingly formulate
strategies. Today, the significance of analyzing data is very important to evaluate the
effectiveness and success of your campaigns.
7. Increase in ROI
Companies can increase their revenue with digital media by investing in ads and
thus, increasing conversions. The investment in digital media is much lesser than
traditional media and the returns are also higher. Did you know? You can run ads on
certain digital platforms for as low as 1$.
The introduction of internet has caused rippled waves that have impacted every walk
of life. Looking at the massive scope of the internet, we can see changes happening
at a fast pace. How can the marketing needs for business remain unaffected by this
vast potential? Big businesses are ever increasing their digital marketing budget and
small businesses are now able to market their products effectively. Digital Marketing
allows the small business owners to take their businesses to the masses while earlier
this was a remote possibility. For whatever the reason, we all can see that the
traditional marketing is taking a backseat and digital marketing is zooming ahead.
Traditional marketing takes the product to the masses but converting that reach to
sales is another requirement altogether. But with digital marketing, a click on the ad
takes the customer to the website where he can buy the product at once. Online
stores like Amazon and eBay are still using traditional ads to complement their online
marketing strategy. This is because, the age-old marketing methods like Television
and Radio ads, still effectively take the product, in this case, the website to millions
of people.
Marketing your product online, facilitates the customers to interact with the
businesses. You can understand the customer and can have a hand on their pulse,
literally. You get an idea about your target audience and they can let you know what
they think about your product. This way you can better stay connected with your
audience and help make their experience better.
(III) Cost Friendly
While traditional methods of marketing like Television and Radio ads play a major
part in reaching the customers, they reach a broad audience. You cannot target
certain audience you think will benefit from your product. In such a case, you are
losing money and you cannot be certain if your product has reached the intended
audience.
The traditional methods of marketing have been a boon for big businesses who can
shell out the money for high profile and prime time ads. But with the digital
marketing on the rise, even small businesses get a chance to put together a solid
marketing strategy.
All they need is a website with a fast response time and quality content. A well
thought out marketing strategy can easily increase the site traffic by leaps and
bounds. You also don’t need to wait for the statistics to find out if your strategy
worked. With digital marketing, the ad reach is immediately converted to purchase.
So, the business owners would know what worked and what didn’t in almost no time
and they could change their marketing strategy.
● More informed
The digital consumer searches before buying. For that reason, companies must
provide information about the products/services clearly and in a transparent way.
Moreover, when searching a solution, the costumer usually looks for other people’s
opinions, who have bought the product/service.
● More connected
The digital consumer is connected at any time and any place, mainly because of the
growing use of mobile devices.
● Less impulsive
The digital consumer is sensitive to price and the consume practises are more
thoughtful and conscious.
● More exigent
Digital consumers want the company to “talk” with them and clarify doubts as quick
as possible, even at the same time the doubts are presented.
● More participative
Digital consumer usually shares opinions and experiences: if the product is good or
not, if there was any problem related to customer service, etc. Companies may think
this habit is disruptive, but no; on the contrary! By knowing different opinions,
negative or positive, companies will know if they are providing a good service, if the
product matches what customers want or if it needs improvement.
By multiplying the available points of contact between brands and customers, digital
technology has considerably complicated the customer journey.
The recent pandemic has further reinforced this trend by converting “brick and
mortar” buyers into e-buyers in the space of a few short weeks.
In this guide, you’ll discover why analyzing the digital customer journey is
fundamental to business success, plus how to optimize it with illustrated examples of
inspiring customer journeys.
The digital customer journey is the path followed by an internet user – from the
awareness stage right through to the purchase stage.
Essentially, it covers every single interaction that takes place online between the
customer and the brand throughout the buying journey.
In some cases, the digital customer journey can extend beyond the act of purchase
or subscription; to customer loyalty. For example, the brand may offer personalized
post-sale offers or adapted content to improve the buyer’s knowledge and
experience of their newly purchased product.
Initially, it was mostly the banking and insurance sectors that studied the customer
journey in detail, due to the long and personal relationships they built with their
customers over time.
But today, the digital customer journey is a hot topic amongst any brand that
understands the breadth and importance of digital.
Over the last few years, the digital boom has impacted this journey by adding new
stages – such as websites and blogs – alongside traditional physical stores, TV and
radio advertisements, and catalogs. Closely followed by social media, voice
assistants, chatbots, and even display advertising, the emergence of these new
marketing channels has added layers of complexity to the digital customer journey.
And because no industry is the same, the customer journey often takes different
forms. For example, within a hospital environment, we call it a “patient journey”
instead. However, a patient’s journey – from making an appointment on the internet
to consulting the results online – has very little in common with the journey of a
customer looking to purchase a new kitchen.
The different stages of the digital customer journey :
There are three essential buying stages that cover every customer journey
– no matter the industry.
The discovery stage is when your customer realizes they don’t have something, and
they need something. For example, this could be replacing a broken refrigerator or
buying a second bike that’s more suitable for cycling to work.
And what does the user do? They turn to the internet to do some research. This
means, as a brand, you need to make sure you’re answering their questions. You’re
not selling to them just yet, but you’re answering their questions and they’re starting
to think you know what you’re talking about. The content you’ll create for the
awareness stage is tutorials, blog posts, and e-books.
Once the customer has consulted various sources to help answer their problem,
they’ll start to think about which solution is best for them.
This means as a brand, you’ll need to make sure you have this content on hand to
help your potential customers decide you’re their best option.
The decision phase is the final step. Customers know exactly which product meets
their needs and must now choose from the various options on offer. As a brand, it’s
time to ensure you have the right content to demonstrate your comparative
advantage over your competitors.
If you can, why not let the customer make up their own mind with a free test period?
This could dramatically help to remove any final obstacles.
● Detecting the points of friction encountered by the customer which lead them
to modify, postpone or cancel their project
● Better understanding customer needs and habits to offer them the most
suitable content at the best time
● Giving you insights to adjust your marketing efforts towards the most
profitable or high potential opportunities
What is a digital marketing strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how your business will achieve its
marketing goals via online channels like search and social media. Most strategy plans
will summarize which online channels and digital marketing tactics you will use, plus
how much you will invest in these channels and tactics.
1. Define your brand: Outline or use your brand guidelines to define your brand
and how it’ll come through in your online campaigns. Think about your unique
selling points (USPs), brand voice, and value proposition.
2. Build your buyer personas: Determine who your business wants to reach with
custom buyer personas. Think about user demographics, as well as the
motivations that drive people to choose your company, products, and
services.
8. Track your results: Monitor and measure the performance of your strategies
by tracking their performance. Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search
Console, and Google Ads to keep a pulse on your strategies and their return
on investment (ROI).
1. SEO
2. PPC
3. Content Marketing
4. E-Mail Marketing
6. Voice SEO
7. Video Marketing
What is SEO?
If you’re a Financial Advisor, for example, you may use SEO to increase
your ranking in search results for the keyword, “Financial Products” and,
“Understand Stock Market” while these keywords have different intents,
one transactional and another informational, they target your audience.
Due to that targeting, you encourage traffic to your website from users
that matter.
For example, did you know that 80 percent of consumers do their product
research online? Or, that after searching for something, more than half of
users discover a new company or product. With SEO as one of your online
marketing strategies, that could be your business.
To emphasize the usefulness of SEO as an Internet marketing strategy,
consider the following:
Most of the time, when a user performs a search on Google, they don’t
click past the first page of results. Why? They often find what they’re
looking for, which means it’s critical that your business earns a spot on the
first page of search results.
With so many users finding their answers in the first listing of search
results, it’s clear that you can’t rank on the second page of results. Even if
you have what people are looking for, you’re hidden from their view — out
of sight, out of mind.
What is PPC?
With PPC, you bid on keywords that you want your ads to show up for —
your ad triggers when a user’s search includes your keyword. These ads
then appear at the top of search results, above organic listings. If a user
decides to click on your advertisement, you then pay for that click.
In other words, you don’t pay for ad space — only for the results.
For example, if you sell shoes for children, you could bid to advertise in the
search results when a user searches, “children’s shoes.” This keyword is
more transactional, which is what you want for a PPC campaign — it’s paid
advertising, so you want a fast return on investment (ROI).
PPC can include advertising on search engines, as well as social media and
other platforms. You can even advertise in apps like ‘WhatsApp’.
For many businesses just getting started with digital marketing or looking
for a quick boost, PPC is a useful online marketing strategy. It propels your
website to the top of search results, which can help if your company’s
organic search result ranking is several pages back.
3. Content marketing
For example, if you run a business that sells Gym Equipment supplies, you
could write an article about what a beginner needs to Build an attractive
Body. You could also write articles on how to take care of Health, and what
equipment are required to shape a perfect body.
4. Email marketing
The idea is that, while these users may not need your services or products
now, they’ll remember your brand when it’s time to make a purchase. That
brand awareness encourages them to choose your company when they’re
ready to buy.
A few of the most popular platforms for this Internet marketing strategy
include:
The core goal of social media marketing is to increase brand awareness and
conversions, as well as build and maintain your company’s reputation. That is
why social media marketing focuses on creating informational and
promotional content, plus interacting with users on the various platforms.
With voice search optimization, your company optimizes existing and new
website content for voice search. The intention is to earn your website the
featured snippet or position zero spot in Google search results.
Why?
The various voice assistants, from Siri to Amazon Echo, use the featured
snippet to respond to voice searches. So, if a user asks, “how do I clean a
stinky dishwasher?” Amazon Echo or Siri would reply with the featured
snippet, which you can see below.
As search queries differ when using voice, versus text, voice search
optimization is important. If you’re a local business, this strategy is even more
critical, as many users rely on their mobile devices — and voice search — to
find a restaurant, salon, or hardware store near them.
Via video marketing, your company increases its reach, grows its revenue, and
expands its operations. Like content marketing, as well as email marketing,
your business focuses on creating informational and valuable videos for its
target audience.
Instructional
Announcement
Event
And more
No matter which types of videos you create, you’re working to build brand
awareness among your target audience. Like social media, email, and content
marketing, this brand awareness can lead to valuable conversions later.
For example, adults spend up to five hours a day watching videos. Not to
mention, brand awareness increases by almost 140 percent after a user
watches a video, whether it’s a product announcement, in-depth how-to, or
laidback behind-the-scenes video.
With all digital marketing strategies, one of the main goals is to increase traffic
to a company’s website.
When people visit a website, they’re there for a reason. Whether they’re
looking for information on your products, searching for how to contact your
team, or reading a recent post on your blog, they aren’t staying on your
website by accident.
The more visitors you attract to your company’s site, whether through content
marketing, SEO, or email marketing, the more opportunities you have to
inform potential customers about what you have to offer. The result? More
leads, conversions, and sales.
If your business operates a physical storefront, one of your main goals is likely
to bring customers into your location. Online marketing strategies, like local
SEO, can help you achieve this goal and attract more foot traffic — even some
strategies not featured on this list, like geofencing advertising, may help.
While you may feel that digital marketing isn’t ideal for a local brick-and-
mortar store, it’s a powerful strategy for promoting and growing your
company. Users rely on search to find businesses near them, which is why 80
percent of local searches convert.
3. Boosting brand awareness
When you use digital marketing, you get your brand in front of more potential
customers, whether through search results, email inboxes, social media
platforms, or another outlet. As a result, more people become aware of your
brand.
They’ll get to know your branding, your products, and what sets you apart
from your competitors. Then, when they need the products or services you
offer, they’re more likely to remember your brand and make a purchase.