Traditional advertising is starting to take a backseat with the rise digital marketing in a world of ever-evolving technology. Digital marketing has become go-to for any advertising needs and has proven to be much more effective than traditional and somewhat outdated methods of advertising and marketing.
Providing digital content allows consumers to find brands easily and quickly in one place: online.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a new form of marketing techniques that allow marketers to easily reach their audiences online. Digital marketing also allows marketers to not only analyze the results of their marketing efforts but to do so in real-time.
Something that is simply not possible with traditional marketing methods. Having the ability to monitor marketing activities at any given moment means that marketers can test which content works and which does not while campaigns are running.
If the particular content is not performing as well as anticipated, marketers can quickly and easily make changes and improve on the campaign. Digital marketing is comprised of a variety of activities.
These include the internet, text messaging, mobile instant messaging, radio channels, digital television, electronic billboards, mobile apps, and podcasts. Digital marketing allows marketing teams to monitor what their audience is looking at and for how long on these digital platforms.
Sales conversions are much easier monitored with digital activities compared to traditional marketing activities. In addition, they can also monitor what types of content works with which audience and which content does not work so well.
Why is Digital Marketing Important?
Digital resources provide consumers with instant gratification when looking for information about particular products. Consumers can search for information at any time and place, making their experience much simpler and quicker.
Since the digital takeover, consumers can now gather information from a variety of sources, such as the brand themselves, the media as well as family, friends and other digital users.
Allowing consumers access to information on this level allows them to build a relationship of trust with brands, communicate on a more personalized level than before and consumers feel as though brands understand them better and what they need and want.
Digital marketing is an important method to consider since it is more cost-effective than traditional methods, especially for smaller businesses with small budgets.
Marketers claim that they are saving substantial amounts on their marketing efforts after turning to digital, and receive more leads for the same budgets used previously for traditional marketing activities.
Digital marketing strategies produce 2.8 times more revenue than their traditional marketing counterparts. This is particularly important for small and medium businesses are up to 3.3 times more likely to be able to grow in the near future as a result of digital marketing resources.
Another point of importance of digital marketing is that you can target your audience. This means your efforts are more streamlined to find the people who are more likely to need or want your product or service.
Knowing your audience and seeking them out will in turn help with customer retention, better customer experience, and satisfaction and ultimately lead to more sales.
Who are Digital Marketers and What Do They Do?
Digital marketers are the members of the marketing team that deals with identifying the brand or company’s target audience online, creating and managing the brand’s image and generate brand awareness.
They maintain the brand’s marketing campaigns for online platforms, such as social media, digital advertisements and SEO (search engine optimization). Their top priorities include conversion optimization, social media, content marketing and brand image.
The position of a digital marketer or digital marketing manager is a relatively new position in the field, having emerged in the last 20 years or so. As new technologies and strategies for digital marketing emerge, new areas and fields from within the overarching discipline of digital marketing.
Thus, digital marketers have the opportunity to specialize in various areas of digital marketing or can be all-rounders, covering one or all of the following areas:
- Social media,
- Search engine optimization (SEO),
- Paid media (PPC),
- Display media, and/or
- Shopping feeds
Within each of these areas, a digital marketer will have a set list of responsibilities to ensure smooth and effective execution of digital strategies.
Responsibilities of a Digital Marketer
Management
A digital marketer is responsible for managing all advertising elements that occur in the digital space. This includes pay-per-click adverting like Google AdWords, social media promotions on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
In some instances, digital marketers will also need to plan the campaigns to be run on these advertising platforms. Digital marketers are also responsible for managing the brand image online in the form of responding to consumer queries and reviews that are open to all internet users.
Integration
It is imperative that any digital campaigns executed by a brand correlate and integrate well with any offline elements in their overall marketing strategy. Any print and PR activities need to align with what the brand is doing in the digital sphere to ensure a cohesive brand image across all platforms.
Strategizing
Digital marketers are responsible for creating a comprehensive plan or strategy that will detail what activities will take place and when the budget to be used and the creative content required.
It is important that during this process the digital marketer also considers the previous point of integration to ensure that the digital strategy coincides with the overall marketing strategy for the brand or company.
Liaising
The digital marketer will need to liaise with other departments, such as customer service, HR, and sales, in order to implement and coordinate the marketing strategy that he or she has put together.
Conclusion
A digital marketer is an integral part of any marketing department’s daily functioning. Digital marketers take responsibility for all advertising and marketing activities that take place on digital platforms.
Digital marketers ensure that the brand’s reputation remains positive online as well as building up brand awareness too. Digital marketing has become an indispensable marketing activity in our current digital environment.