Sometime back we wanted to visit a relative. So, called them to check whether they are at home; to our surprise we got an answer; we are out of town and have posted FB (Facebook) status, did not you check! I said okay and see you when your FB status says you are back!
I was to buy a new mobile; checked with friends and office colleagues for their opinions. “Don’t waste time,” said one colleague. “After a month and a half of online research, I have compared all the models and bought this brand of mobile, and it is the best from the lot.” Life got simpler. During Diwali, the beginning of the Hindu new year, my mom said put a new calendar on the wall to know the date. My son immediately said, Dadi why you need a wall calendar when you have a mobile with you. When you want to see the date or time, if you want to do calculations, if you want to see the calendar, turn on the mobile, download the inbuilt apps and get the information. It is that simple!
Hope we got the point. Today’s generation that we know as the Millennial Generation is the Digital Generation. It can be said that they are “born with a screen”. Whether it is a mobile, a laptop, a tab or a smart watch, it’s impossible for today’s generation to live without a screen. Why just today’s generation, we will see many old adults who are connected to the screen for their work or to pass the time.
This screen has become a part of people’s lives today which is a medium in itself and with the help of internet this medium is growing by leaps and bounds which is prevalent today and popularly known as a digital media.
Today, when this medium is so prevalent and there with consumer almost the whole day, no brand can afford to reject or underestimate this medium. Digital media is competing with traditional media on a large scale today and brands are allocating a good share of media planning to digital media.
Today, when digital media is seen as a trend, social media is the most prevalent aspect of this. But many brands cannot use it the way they should. According to them, putting one post on social media every day means that the work is done. But this is not an accurate strategy. Every brand should have its own strategy for exploring digital marketing. Digital marketing is not just about social media, there are many more aspects through which you can reach the audience.
The biggest advantage of digital marketing is that you can know your consumer’s lifestyle; his/her daily routine, his/her likes and dislikes, where he/she is, what he/she does at what time, etc. based on all these information, personalized messaging or campaign one can promote their brand accordingly. Digital media is faster than all other media, and hence its marketing and communication is fast and versatile with its own consumers in mind.
In addition to social media in digital marketing, your website, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Internet banner ads, online video content, PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising, email marketing, mobile marketing, Google analytics; brands can be promoted through such ways.
Another big advantage of digital marketing is that you can measure real-time ROI (Return on Investment) and change your strategy based on it instantly. Email marketing is the most successful channel based on a survey. Big brands send at least one emailer a week to their customer database through which various services, schemes, offers and other relevant information are communicated.
Customer acquisition, customer retention and brand awareness are important for any brand and marketing through digital media plays an important role in achieving this goal. Social media is an important channel in digital marketing in which we use popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram on a daily basis and gain new experiences. As mentioned above, often brands do not take full advantage of this or it is not used as it should be. For this, the brand has to provide powerful content.
Today is the age of content. When the screen is in-front of me 24 hours a day, I will want to see and know something new. Video content and blogs play an important role in such times. Interesting and relevant content for consumer engagement will increase the brand’s awareness and value towards it. The consumer will always chase the brand for such content and unknowingly the brand will become a part of the life of the consumer.
By providing organized content on social media, along with the brand awareness you can build consumer engagement, increase traffic to your website, generate business leads, increase Fan following towards your brand, increase search results and also can improve sales.
The benefits of digital media and marketing go to both the brand and the consumer. In the same way that a brand gets the information of the consumer, the consumer also gets enough information about the brand and this makes the task of choosing his/her brand easier.
Like some other aspects and reasons of digital marketing, it provides equal opportunity and platform to all brands. The one who can promote his/her brand well on this platform will be the winner whether it is a big brand or a small one. Size doesn’t matter on this platform. Digital media is much cheaper than traditional media which will give the brand more spending power and at the same time encourage smaller brands to promote their products. Digital marketing increases the conversion ratio, whether it is a business lead, a subscriber base, or sales. The benefits of real time marketing to the brand’s target audience, increase brand reputation and return on investment, and win consumer confidence are many of the benefits attributed to digital marketing.
Today there are more than 460 million internet users in our country and even in that most of them have mobiles, in such a case digital marketing makes it much easier to reach people.
Through digital marketing you can target the consumer and get the results that are essential for the survival and growth of your business.
At a time when the country is moving digitally, if a brand relies solely on traditional marketing and does not resort to digital marketing, it will not be just difficult but impossible for the brand to survive in the market in the long run.
Some parts of this article are excerpts from the book “BRAND BANSHE, BUSINESS VADHASHE”, written by Sameer Joshi, Founding Partner – Sam & Andy.