Ah advertising, long gone are the days of solely sticking a poster on a billboard and hoping for the locals to pass by and be drawn to it. Whilst that is indeed still an effective way of advertising, it definitely isn’t the primary source of promotion anymore. Today’s technological age has brought about a new wave of advertisement, the digital wave. Communication from a company to the general public has been through many phases. Firstly, it was the physical interaction like billboards and newspapers, then it developed into radio stations, television adverts and now most recently, the internet and social media.
It is a way to attract thousands, even millions of eyes to your product/service in a way that physical advertisements could never dream of. In fact, Statista states that there were 4.66 billion active internet users back in January of 2021 and in 2022, there are currently 3.96 billion social media users alone. Big numbers, and they’re only going to increase as the years roll by. Here, we’re going to break down the huge benefits of digital marketing and even give some pointers on how to use it effectively.
What is digital marketing?
In essence it is quite simple; it is the act of a company or brand communicating to the public to promote its brand, product or services by means of digital platforms. The digital platforms include web browsers, social media services, apps, blogs and more that we probably don’t even know exist yet! The rapid development of technology and its services means that opportunities for digital marketing are constantly expanding and really there are limitless possibilities. Essentially, anything communicated via a PC, laptop, mobile phone or tablet is digital marketing.
What are the best examples of digital marketing?
Social media advertising –
Social media advertising has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade that comes along with the unfathomable revolution. As more and more people started to flock to social media platforms, companies saw an opportunity and my word did they take it. You can’t go on social media for a second without seeing some form of advertisement, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or YouTube (don’t get us started with those 20 second adverts.) Backlinko claims that Facebook reports state it has 2.895 billion monthly active users, whilst Global Media Insight claims that YouTube has more than 2.6 billion users. This is why social media advertising is absolutely vital to reaching large demographics.
Email marketing –
Email marketing is a sleeper hit. It can be used to gather an audience and promote products, sales and services. Whilst it is an older form of digital marketing, it is actually growing year on year between 2% – 3% until 2023 according to Statista. The key to email marketing is to grow an organic user base instead of simply by an email list. Dedicated customers are much more likely to interact with your emails.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) –
Search engine marketing is something that has come into the forefront of digital marketing in recent years. It includes techniques such as SEO and PPC (essentially, organic marketing and paid marketing.) The goal of these two techniques is to rank a page or website as high as possible on a search engine like Google or Bing. This then means that when a user is looking for a product, that page is more likely to be clicked on. We have two separate blog posts delving deep into the world of SEM. Check out our SEO blog and our PPC blog here to get more info!
Display advertising –
Perhaps the most similar to the traditional methods of older advertising, display advertising takes the form of using images, banners and text to entice a customer whilst they’re on a web page etc. Display advertising can consist of static or motion images or a range of other forms of visuals. It is a fantastic way to grab a user’s attention with minimal effort; this is where design plays a vital role. If the banner/image/text stands out enough, it could be the difference between a user clicking the advert or scrolling straight past it.
Influencer marketing –
Influencer marketing can fall into the same category as social media marketing; however, it is such a relevant sub-section that it needs to be categorised on its own. Influencer marketing is when a company/brand affiliates itself with an influencer online and has them promote their product or service. There is a skill when it comes to choosing the correct influencer with the desired fan base that correlates with your target audience. An early example of influence marketing success was when YouTube phenomenon Pewdiepie underwent a series of challenges to promote a film named As Above, So Below. His fans flocked to the movie trailer and of course he benefited from it too, making this format a win-win for both parties when done correctly.
Why should I advertise digitally?
Cost Efficiency
Digital marketing compared to other methods has a relatively low cost. When you see the cost of television advertising and so on, you can instantly see tangible differences. According to Toast, adverts in the UK during daytime shows like Good Morning Britain and Lorraine can cost between £3,000 – £4,000. On top of that you would need to account for the cost of production, making digital advertising much more efficient.
Target Audience
In our opinion, the most important factor of digital marketing is how you can laser focus on your target audience. Unlike other forms of marketing, digital advertising can cater to pretty much exactly who you want it to whilst cutting out all the fluff (people you don’t want seeing your ad.) An advert in the newspaper or on television is going to hit a lot of wandering eyes that simply do not care about your product. How many times do you watch TV, enjoying a nice episode of your favourite show, then the adverts come on and it’s time to scroll on Twitter or pop to the toilet. With digital advertising, especially if done correctly, this is not the case as you know where your promotions are landing and (mostly) who they’re reaching.
Analytics
Digital marketing has a major advantage over other forms of marketing; analytics. The gathering of data, who is seeing your ad, how long they’re viewing it for, if they’re even clicking on it, is simply too good to pass up. With the right data collection, you can cater your adverts to the right people even more so than originally. Most digital marketing software has tracking software covering multiple facets of data collection, making it easy for you to know what’s working, and what isn’t.
Scope
As stated previously, as of January 2021, Statista claims there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide. That is a lot of people, you would probably agree. So, there simply is not a form of advertising or marketing out there right now that can compete with the scope and reach of digital marketing. People all over the globe can see your marketing campaign providing you don’t limit it geographically.
Not Convinced or need some support?
If you’re still not convinced about the benefits of digital marketing and how it can grow your brand, or if you need some support on an upcoming campaign, Gloss are here to help. Fill out the form to the right of the page here, and one of our digital marketing experts will get back in touch with you asap!
