Digital marketing is the single most important component of online marketing, which uses various online and web based technologies including desktop computers, cell phones and various other electronic media and networking platforms to advertise goods and services in an inexpensive manner. Digital marketing involves creating and developing campaigns that promote products using various digital channels and marketing tools. These tools may include websites, blogs, emails, instant messaging systems, intranet systems, text and image files and the list goes on. This type of marketing is also known as eMarketing or webvertising.
The conventional forms of advertising like print and television advertisements are being replaced by a plethora of digital marketing tools in order to drive more sales and generate more revenue for companies. Most of the advertising campaigns are carried out through social media. The increasing trend of social media has resulted in the marketing campaigns becoming a lot interactive and personalized, as people tend to spend more time on such sites compared to other conventional sources. This in turn allows marketers to reach more customers through a wider range. The companies need to understand the benefits of digital marketing in order to increase sales and generate revenue.
Increasing Sales: Digital Marketing is being used to market services and products to the target customers who are not yet reached by any other conventional or traditional methods. In this case, it becomes essential to carry out a comprehensive marketing campaign that encompasses both on and offline marketing campaigns and activities. Apart from brand promotion, Digital Marketing helps in creating customer loyalty and generating demand for products. Inbound marketing campaigns which help in creating brand awareness also utilize digital tools. Thus a proper combination of off-line and online activities can help in driving more business and generating increased revenue.
Branding: Digital Marketing helps in building a strong, consistent and memorable brand image. It helps in creating a distinct image of the company which is established through innovative strategies and creative advertisements which are delivered to the right audience at the right time. By virtue of this, the brand image is projected in front of an entire audience through search engine results. Search engine optimization helps in better placement of the company’s name in the search engines. By employing creative digital advertising platforms like Flash, JAVA, Silverlight, Ajax, and graphic design; the brand image is projected to a larger audience and thereby, generating increased revenue.
Tracking and measuring success: Most of the traditional marketing campaigns often fail to measure the results in the short-term. The measurement of success often varies with different campaigns. For example, some advertisers measure the number of visitors who come to the site and make orders through shopping carts. However, with the advent of digital marketing campaigns analytics, digital marketers are able to measure campaign success metrics such as click through rate (CTR), lead duration, call to action, number of sales, and many more.
Use of social media: Social media has provided a platform for potential customers to voice out their opinions and experiences. This has also increased interaction between customers and companies, which has opened doors for greater digital marketing. Through social media, digital marketers are able to gather valuable information from potential customers thereby, improving customer loyalty.