If you have noticed, there is a lot of talk about digital marketing. What is Digital Marketing?
Definition
Digital marketing is marketing that makes use of electronic devices (computers) such as personal computers, smartphones, cellphones, tablets and game consoles to engage with stakeholders. Digital marketing applies technologies or platforms such as websites, e-mail, apps (classic and mobile) and social networks. Social Media Marketing is a component of digital marketing.
So..what’s the big deal and why is there this big fuss about the need for digital marketing?
The big deal and the fuss has to do with how businesses go about using digital marketing and how consumers accept digital marketing.
Let’s take a look at how businesses are using Digital Marketing…or should be.
Convenience
Posting information about your product or services on your web-site is appropriate. However, there is nothing wrong with posting in the social spaces information about what it is you do professionally. Actually, it is best to mention it frequently..like once a week so when people new to your stream stop by they know your intentions.
Validation
The internet is a source for validation. Businesses (or brands if you prefer) should use digital marketing as a form of validation. Posting information on a product or service serves as proof it is real.
Consumer Acceptance
Let’s take a look at consumer acceptance.
Trustworthy
If you are not out here to gain consumer acceptance then the question becomes..why you are out here? Even if you are out here for the socializing there is a need for you to be trustworthy. Just remember, the internet is a validation source, so businesses can check out the consumer just like the consumer can check out the business.
Trust is what consumers are after. Can they trust what they read on a business to be true? Is the business’ product as awesome as their friends on Google+ tell them it is?
If a consumer senses something is not right about what the business is posting they are off to see others who may have a clearer message.
It is very important that businesses focus on building trust through the use of digital marketing.
Value
Is the deal really a deal? That is the question consumers are searching the internet for an answer. If the business has done it’s job the answer on if the deal is real should be clear. If not, then the consumers are again off to find other things of value.
Speed
How fast information about your business hits the internet also plays a huge part in consumer acceptance of your product or service.
If there are a dozen blogs written about your business’s product ..good or bad…and the business has not posting anything to say anything about their product, the consumer will go on to find the product or service elsewhere.
How fast a business responds to consumer’s needs and how quickly they post information about their product is very important.
Do not underestimate consumer’s interest in your digital marketing. Responding quickly to supplying information to the consumers is a MUST!
What Forms of Digital Marketing Works Best?
We have found from the many studies we have going, that Videos are clearly the most accepted form of marketing by consumers. However, there is a clear qualifier involved in what videos consumers will watch. Videos sit squarely in the middle of digital marketing. The need for businesses to use videos in their marketing cannot be ignored. But..the video has to be of quality.
No Nose Hair
We received a comment from our surveys of clients on what kind of videos turn them off. The one that is most memorable describes one of the biggest mistakes small businesses make when producing their video. The commentator mentioned how they would not view a video produced by someone using their webcam on their laptop that is pointed so it looks right up their nose.
“We are not interested in sitting through a video focused on some dude’s nose hair!”
Consumers are very picky on the quality of video they will watch. It use to be that ‘Nose Hair’ videos were the norm and did provide for a unique production. Fortunately those days are over and video studio production has become very affordable.
LIVE Productions
Interesting enough, we have found more and more consumers are signing up for Live Streaming of a product demonstration or a Question and Answer session on a product.
This goes along with consumer’s need to get the answer to the question they have for a product or service they want or need.
Again, quality video production is the qualifier for what video the consumer will watch.
If someone produces a Google+ Hangout and does not have the right audio and lighting they have wasted a lot of time..and money in some cases.
Digital Marketing is centered around the use of the internet. Since social networking plays a huge part of why people use the internet it goes along with saying that every business needs to be using digital marketing.
What’s the ROI?
Businesses have to come to the reality that using Digital Marketing has become as fundamental as getting up and going to work each day. What is the ROI on waking up? What ever that is is what the ROI is for Digital Marketing.
Believe me, I am an operations manager, I live by how much return the business is going to get on the money it spends to make something. It took me all of ten minutes to figure out from the data I obtained from talking to hundreds real people on their use of the internet that digital marketing was a part of doing business and not to be considered a frilly discretionary budgetary expense.
So, Get Over thinking of obtaining a traditional ROI for the cost of digital marketing and ask yourself this question… if you don’t use digital marketing how much business are you losing?
Let me know how I can help!!
