What is digital marketing and why does it matter? That is exactly what I want to talk about today. I will cover everything you need to know to get started with digital marketing, but first let’s look at why it is so important for your business. Take a look at an even better article on digital marketing here.
The digital marketing landscape is growing and changing fast. The industry is expected to reach a value of 786 billion dollars by 2026. Traditional marketing strategies, led by television and billboards, therefore no longer carry as much weight as they used to. More people use the internet than ever before, which gives businesses huge opportunities to connect with their audience in the digital world. Digital marketing has become more than just a trend. It is now a requirement for 95% of companies of all sizes if they want to succeed in the competitive online market.
Imagine reaching a global audience with a single campaign, connecting with potential customers in real time and achieving conversions like never before. With a robust digital marketing strategy, you can do it!
What is digital marketing?
Put simply, it is a way of promoting your business online through digital channels. It is the execution of your marketing strategy with the help of digital channels. Most often this means SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, a website, mobile apps or online ads created to reach customers. Today, however, this umbrella term also covers marketing through digital devices such as television or radio.
Effective digital marketing puts your brand in front of an online audience and increases its visibility, which in turn boosts engagement, clicks and conversions.
Examples of online digital marketing include:
- Search engine optimisation (SEO): optimising websites to improve their visibility and ranking in search engines such as Google.
- Pay-per-click or pay-per-impression advertising (PA): paying for ads that appear on search results pages or on social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or LinkedIn.
- Social media marketing: creating and sharing content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to raise brand awareness and customer engagement.
- Content marketing: creating and sharing valuable content, such as blog posts, e-books or videos, to attract and keep a specific audience. This can include, for example, guerrilla marketing or viral marketing.
- Using traditional offline media for advertising: radio and television marketing, billboard advertising, print and in-person events.
Why digital marketing matters
Today, most companies have moved to online (digital) marketing or at least included it in their strategy. Some e-shops bet on SEO, while other brands create sophisticated content marketing. This is because Google and Meta generate more revenue than traditional media houses. Then there is the use of mobile devices, where more and more money is changing hands.
These days you can go almost anywhere. Whether you are in a grocery shop, on the metro, in a restaurant or even at the cinema, these places have one thing in common: you will see lots of people with their eyes practically glued to their phones. Phone ads are like mini billboards that show adverts whenever we look at something, and they are seriously effective.
Mobile phone use is massive and the numbers keep going up.
There are 6 billion mobile phone users, 5.3 billion internet users and 5 billion social media users in the world. Yes, even in Africa a great many people now have mobile phones. On top of that, the number of devices connected to the internet keeps growing, while print advertising is falling sharply.
Digital marketing is essential for getting your product or service to customers. Your customers are online, and you need to be there too. Even word of mouth spreads digitally these days.
And don’t think that digital marketing is only for big companies.
Even the smallest local shops can benefit from some form of online advertising. According to a survey by Digital.com, 43% of people carry out a local search on their smartphone before visiting a physical shop.
And I haven’t even got to the best things about digital marketing yet. It:
- Gives you access to more data: You get access to important analytics about your customers, how they move through the buying cycle and what they want. You can use this data to analyse what works and what doesn’t, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Helps you reach a wider audience: Digital marketing lets you reach a wider audience than traditional marketing methods. For example, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have billions of active users, and advertising can help you target specific demographic groups. By 2027, the number of social media users will reach almost six billion. So it is a platform you cannot ignore.
- Is cost-effective: Digital marketing is more affordable than traditional marketing methods such as television or print advertising. With digital marketing, you can create highly targeted campaigns with a better return on investment (ROI) for your business and reach your goals.
- Drives more engagement: You can use email, social media and content marketing tactics to engage your audience and get them interested in your products and services. For example, setting up a blog with valuable content on your website can attract visitors and make them more likely to buy. According to HubSpot, 56% of people who read a blog post go on to make a purchase.
- Offers measurable results: With tools such as Ubersuggest and Google Analytics, you can analyse website traffic, conversion rates and other metrics to see how your campaigns are performing.
- Helps your business stay competitive: Your competitors are probably using digital marketing to reach their target audience, so you don’t want to fall behind. For example, email marketing offers the highest return on investment compared with other digital marketing strategies.
