Guest post by Sarah Atkinson. To gain exposure by partnering with us, read our write for us guideline.
Once upon a time, the only real way to reach people was via print, television or radio advertising – purely because the internet was yet to be developed into its present form. These marketing channels could be used strategically, targeting specific demographics such as those most likely to listen to a particular radio station or read a particular magazine or newspaper.
However, with the range of tools now available, digital marketing has swiftly overtaken these methods. These are the top 5 reasons why digital marketing has become so popular:
1. It’s instant
Marketing doesn’t have to end once we leave the office: it can continue to work 24 hours a day. A company which could only trade within the UK now has a global marketplace, and they can get their products and services in front of billions of people at the click of a mouse.
It’s so simple, but things like automated tweets allow instant communication with potentially millions of people, day or night. There is no waiting for direct mail to be posted, or for the newspaper to publish your advert.
2. It’s targeted
Whilst traditional marketing works to a degree, marketers now have a range of much more powerful tool at their disposal. Digital marketing allows precise targeting of specific audiences like never before, and showsresponse to digital marketing activity accurately.
3. It’s trackable
Almost all digital marketing activity can be tracked, too. Offline marketing was quantifiable to a point, but the range of tracking tools for digital marketers means that all online marketing can be tracked in some way.
Google Analytics is arguably the most valuable tool for any business with a website, and there are now tools which monitor engagement on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter that allow marketers to create campaigns using facts and figures rather than guesswork.
4. It’s cost-effective
Using things like Pay Per Click allow you to monitor the amount spent on advertising and marketing, and adjust your budgets accordingly. The fluid nature of digital marketing means you can be more flexible with your marketing budget; decreasing wasted spend in one area, and shifting focus to another, more profitable area.
You can reduce or pause a PPC campaign if you find another channel works better, such as email marketing. Versatility in modern marketing is very important.
5. It’s easy
Yes, digital marketing is easy – if you know what you’re doing. Building a house is easy if you’ve got the right tools and knowledge. There are lots of powerful tools which have been developed specifically to simplify the digital marketing process and make it easier for marketers to work effectively.
The arsenal of tools which can be used for digital marketing has grown rapidly over the past few years: social media marketing in particular is now in incredibly potent aspect of digital marketing, which means marketers can really make your budget stretch further.
But be careful – don’t just dive in, and be especially careful of cowboy marketers – it’s always best to do some research and select a reliable, professional company such as Silverbean, an SEO agency based in Newcastle.
So there are the top 5 reasons why digital marketing is so popular. There are plenty of other reasons why, but these reasons are the most relevant to the vast majority of businesses looking to harness the power of digital marketing simply and effectively. Any fresh ideas?
