Digital Marketing : The present & the future!
Being in the industry now for 3 years, i have seen it evolve & trust me when I say this. People say that digital marketing or online marketing or whatever you can call is not effective & may wave out. Its the present & is here to stay unless you switch off all your gadgets & start living in mountains. The touch points of a brand reaching a consumer has increased stupendously from online coming in picture. It is scary but worst is yet to come. Lets take an example here.
You visit a e-commerce website in morning which sells lingerie, didn’t buy > on the way to work, see the same website ad on a billboard > on the radio & you hear the ad “buy the lingerie” > get to work, open your email “buy the fucking lingerie” > get bored, go to cafeteria, the food is sponsored by the lingerie brand > come back open youtube, play a puppy video “buy the goddamn lingerie man” > get bored by the ad, open facebook, see at right side “bro, you saw the lingerie, it was beautiful right, why dont you buy it for your girlfriend” .
I hope you are getting a point here. What i was doing on a lingerie website is a separate discussion altogether.
How in this advertising menace will brands stand out from the clutter? Everything is in place, there are great channels to spearhead your growth but if not used right, you will end up spending money & pissing off people with your ads.
My two cents
Personalization
Don’t just throw your ads at the user. Communicate it really well of why he is the right guy to see the ad. He should feel like you have visited him personally to show the product. Like an ad which says “buy the best hoodies here” or “hey, we have lot of hoodies for you, go check the collection”. Decide which one is better.
Brand Story
If you are not conveying a story then why are you doing it. Brand story should be the top priority of the marketers out there. Every brand needs to have a legacy or a story which flows through everything. Their website, design, operations, employees, design, everything. Check google for instance, they not only build awesome products, they have an awesome workspace, best employees, awesome culture. Hence, the story flows in their veins.
Stop Throwing Money
Throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve the problem. As online marketing gives you chance to measure 100’s of metrics, make sure you use it wisely. See the ROI of the ad, Its like a business at the end of the day right? The end goal has to be earning more then spending in business & that’s how you survive, that’s how you make money.
Choose the right channel
There are 50+ different channels & tools online where you can advertise, doesn't mean we do it everywhere. Understand the audience, the intent of different social media channels, size of the audience, etc. Choose the best channels & try running an A/B experiment by putting small amounts money in all. This exercise will make you understand the best channels for your brand.
Don’t Copy, just don’t
Everything is out there on web. If you copy people notice it & that makes you one of them. Whatever strategy worked for other brand may not work for you. Learn from others, take references but have an unique strategy for your ads.
Talk to Customers
That’s the best way to get the feedback, not even the data will give you the exact picture. Consumers are the heart of your brand. If they say your product is shit, it probably is. Talk to them & learn from them.
Digital marketing done right can work wonders or else stick to traditional marketing — word of mouth. Its evolving & soon the brands need to be ready for the next big thing in digital marketing — Virtual Reality Ads. I hope everyone is excited for the ecosystem? Coz I am.
Cheers!
