Digital marketing is an interactive marketing of products and services using digital technologies to reach customers on-time and retain them. This interactive channel of distribution can be of various media forms like mobile, internet and other digital outdoor tools. Digital marketing is the most accessible, easy to use and contemporary method of promotion which is also known as ‘online marketing’. It has a great potential to replace traditional and out-dated methods of marketing and may prove inappropriate to new and potential consumers. Digital marketing is not just confined to the methods using internet, rather it is beyond this. It involves other distribution channels to reach customers, which do not require internet for promotion of goods and services. Therefore, digital marketing uses different mediums such as text messages, multimedia messages, mobile phones, digital boards, banners, television, radio, etc., for communicating with the customers. These techniques help the marketer to directly reach their customers in a cost-effective manner. Earlier, internet marketing was viewed as a separate promotional service but now it is viewed as the main domain Of marketing which mostly covers all traditional methods. Presently, the method Of communicating With the customer is same, but now it is made more interactive by using digital technologies. Going digital enables the companies and marketers to serve and engage their customers effectively.
“Digital marketing is the promotion of brands using all forms of digital advertising. This now includes television, radio, internet, mobile and any other form of digital media.”
Digital marketing is growing steadily in the Indian market. Indian consumers need time to become familiar with the use of digital marketing technologies. However, there is a wide scope for web-based companies in India as consumers are constantly moving towards web-based marketing.
Tools of Digital Marketing: Types of Digital Marketing
Some of the important tools of digital marketing are as follows:
Blog Marketing: It is a webpage where few experts or users of a particular product or service share their opinions, experiences and reviews in a written form, which is termed as a ‘Blog’. Most of the blogs are public and can be accessible by everyone whereas, some are private blogs having restricted access. Sometimes, these blogs are used as a medium for expressing personal egos and experiences while, there are few blogs which are used for professional communication. A blog usually contains posts on diverse subjects and links Of different internet sites for reference which assists the reader to get a clear and honest review on a topic or a product he is going to use in future. These pages are organised in a reversed chronological order, where the most recent blog is viewed on the first page.
Advertising and Personal Interactive Television: The rapid growth of the satellite televisions with high frequency bands, the advent of broadcasting mobile services in mobile communication and the introduction of P2P (Peer-to-peer) technology to access and share audio-video files has led to the emergence of new trends in advertising which is highly opposing traditional video advertising. One such new trend of advertising is personal interactive television. In this, supplementary data services are added to the traditional television technology. For example, digital TV set-top box is a very common from of personal interactive television where on-demand delivery of content can be made such as movies on demand or cookery channels on demand. It is a personalised service which is provided to the for having fun, socialising and getting access to additional services.
Text Messaging Marketing: This type of marketing is an interactive and direct way of communicating with the target audience via sending texts. It is most widely used for promoting movies, live spons events and breaking news, business, etc. Text messaging campaigns are mainly sponsored by the marketing agencies. They provide all sort of information concerned with the target audience to the television channels which is vital for their marketing strategies. These campaigns prove to be very advantageous for mobile phone operators. Since, customers pay a nominal amount from their phones while the mobile phone operators receive a considerably high percentage Of that amount. This type of marketing has been expanded in form of multimedia messaging, which also includes messages having video content. The rapidly growing popularity Of such campaigns has made it an effective tool of digital marketing. It is also believed that it will increase the profit margins of the mobile phone operators.
Multimedia Messaging: Multimedia messaging is a tool of digital marketing which offers personalised services to its customers with immediate response. It also enables interactive communication with the customers and provides services like news, sports, entertainment, healthcare, social network, gaming, etc. These types of messages usually receive a positive response the users. However, it may inc tide severil issues like lack of knowledge, high cost, education level, etc. Here, one of the biggest issues is the technical problems which arise due to absence of a standard format for the multimedia messages which is applicable for all mobile phone users. This happens because there are only few users who possess text and multimedia facilities together. In addition, there are some users who possess phones with MMS facilities but cannot upgrade their phones for such messages While some users do not want to receive such multimedia messages. Hence, companies are always unsure about the number of customers actually receiving the message.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS): It is a digital format where live streaming of most recent political, economic, sports, social and entertainment news is done through Really Simple Syndication (RSS). A programme called ‘aggregator’ is used in this technology to notify the users about any update on their preferred websites. Under this technology, the users need not access the website to view the new changes related to it. Instead, the RSS applications available these days will automatically show a pop-up regarding any news or change on the pre-selected website at any point of time. One Of the conditions for availing this facility is that the desired websites must have the RSS option. However, most Of the websites are now considering it. Accessing information online has been revolutionised by the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology. Now, users can instantly access any information, latest news and updates through RSS technology. In future, RSS is expected to be the most effective method for fetching information.
E-Mail Marketing: E-mail marketing is a tool for building relationships with potential and existing customers through valuable content and promotional messages. It should maximise the retention and value of these customers, ultimately leading to greater profitability for the organisation as a whole.
SEO
Search Advertising
Online Advertising
Affiliate Marketing
Video Marketing
Social Media
Importance of Digital Marketing
Following points highlight the importance of digital marketing:
Recession-Proof: During recession, digital marketing was merely affected. In fact, it provided support to marketing companies at the time of economic slowdown when other traditional media tools were of no use. By adopting online marketing, the companies also recovered successfully from the bad times and gained their positions once again in the marketplace.
Economical: Unlike traditional tools Of marketing, the tools Of digital marketing are relatively cheaper to implement.
Can be Measured: The outcome of using digital marketing tools can be measured easily. On the basis of measurability, accurate digital media marketing programmes can be formulated.
Revolutionised the Marketing Industry: The advent Of digital marketing enabled the companies to establish a direct relationship with the customers by using mobile phones and internet technology. It is also a cost-effective method in comparison with other direct media tools.
Easily Accessible: The as well as customers can immediately respond to eachother as the access to digital marketing is much easier than other traditional marketing media.
Attracts potential Customers: Digital marketing techniques are more likely to draw the attention of potential customers and induce them to make the purchase.
Repetitively Contacts with Customers: Digital marketing is much cheaper and focused approach which facilitates the marketer to constantly interact with its customers. This helps the marketer to build a long-term relationship with its customers and to create its goodwill in the market.
Creates Positive Impact on Customers: Here, various digital technologies are used like mobile phones, internet, blogs, etc. This builds a positive image of the company in front of the customers that they are prone to latest technological developments in response to the market environment.
Quick and Easier Modifications: If any changes are required in the digital marketing strategy, then it can be easily and quickly implemented to the campaigns.