Who Needs Digital Marketing?

© March Oyinki 2017

You of course, and everyone else who have at one point or the other promoted their brand, either by printing a flyer, pamphlet, sent SMS, placed a newspaper advert, or used either radio or television to promote their products and services; digital marketing is for you, because it a more effective method of advertising and promoting your brand using Internet channels.

This question, who needs digital marketing, may appear simple, but quite complex, because each time you approach a potential customer and you try to market your brand or services, one of the very first questions often asked is, what is digital marketing, and how does it work?

As widely treated as digital marketing is, there is no clear universal definition, and this I have discussed in one of my previous articles, titled ‘what is digital marketing?’ This inadequacy leads to uncertainty when trying to explain what digital marketing  is about, and in an attempt to convince prospective customers, a digital marketer requires broad understanding of the subject, because the they must be able to provide adequate and convincing answers to all questions about cost, strategy, marketing mix, benefits and measurement.

In simple terms, digital marketing is about the promotion of your brand on the internet; but unlike traditional advertising, it focuses on digital media channels more. Digital marketing establishes a a direct connection between the customer and the storefront, thereby increasing the chances of conversion. It is for this same reason that digital marketing is known to be more effective than traditional methods of advertising.

Therefore, it is apt to say digital marketing is a medium of advertising, using the internet either on desktop computers, mobile devices and display boards. As a form of advertising, digital marketing is for every individual or business owner, whether in the field of  sports, socials, religion, film, education, retail, manufacturing or any other classification.

The question, who needs digital marketing, when viewed from the perspective of advertising, it is same as asking, who needs advertising? It does not matter which industry or business classification you belong, every business or enterprise requires some form of brand promotion, marketing campaign or advertising to help increase awareness and improve sales.

In that regard, digital marketing as an alternative marketing method, while complimenting traditional advertising, has taken over the lead from traditional advertising as the most effective and used method of advertising for several reasons, as enumerated below.

Benefits of digital marketing

1. Affordability
2. Measurability
3. Wider audience
4. Multiple accounts
5. Accessibility
6. Global reach
7. Analytics
8. Digital content
9. Animation/ video streaming
10. Convenience
11. Higher returns
12. E-commerce

All these and many other benefits are the reasons why digital marketing has continued to dominate the market. Mobile technology has contributed significantly to the dominance of digital marketing over traditional advertising. Online Advertising spending as predicted by PwC, will exceed $75 billion by the end of 2017 in the United States, while TV advertising spending is projected to reach $74.7 billion in the same period. 

Predictions for the year 2017 shows that video streaming, use of smart phones and other mobile devices will soar, thereby contributing to an increase in digital marketing revenue. This trend is expected to continue in 2018. The number of paid subscribers with Netflix currently, has exceeded those of all the top Cable TV channels put together, Marketingcharts.

The high success rate of digital marketing campaigns, as against traditional advertising methods, is about 60-40, as traditional advertising continue to experience a decline. A major reason why traditional advertising is conceding to digital marketing, is because advertising agencies globally are beginning to embrace digital marketing more, by using WiFi-enabled digital display boards in their campaigns.