Our third lesson in #Marketing101bySMG is Digital Marketing.
At the beginning of 2019, the average amount of time people spend online every day was 6 hours and 42 minutes which amounts to over 27% of every year. That time spent constantly connected to the internet is shaping how people are making decisions: 81% of B2B purchase cycles begin with a web search and 35% of product searches start on Google. For a company to meet their customers where they’re at, they have to have an online presence, and utilizing digital marketing can help them ensure their company’s content is getting in front of the right people. Digital Marketing allows business to be more targeted, more contextualized, and more personalized with our messaging when we’re using digital marketing compared to traditional forms of marketing.
The term “digital marketing” is used so ubiquitously that it’s almost become meaningless, nothing more than a synonym of marketing. But there is a difference between “digital marketing” and “marketing” even though the two have become so entwined.
Digital marketing is any form of communication aiming to persuade people to purchase a product or service that occurs through some form of digital device. But, that definition still begs the question “what kind of devices are considered digital? The telegraph? Radio? Television? I would argue that none of those are channels for digital marketing — though they can be used for traditional marketing. Instead, we classify marketing efforts as “digital marketing” when they occur through an internet-connected device. By our definition, standard TV commercials are not digital marketing, but YouTube ads are because audience targeting and segmentation are a key differentiator between traditional and digital marketing. With a commercial on TV, a billboard and a radio broadcast, you can only target and segment down to location. With internet devices, you can get down to behavior and way more granular pieces of information than just where they might live.
A lot of our customers are Machine Shops, manufacturers and other similar job shops. Often we see them buy new equipment, whether it be new digital measuring instruments, new material prep equipment or new mills and lathes. However, their marketing strategy is stuck in 2000 with mailers, flyers and line cards. There might be a time and place to use your old bridgeport mill, but you wouldn’t prioritize it over your new 5 axis, would you? Same with digital marketing, and traditional marketing. Line cards, and flyers are absolutely needed for trade shows and customer visits. But not using digital marketing is like not using your new 5-axis mill.
The Benefits of Digital Marketing are abundant. Here are a few reasons why you need to implement a digital marketing strategy in your business.
- The best place to hide a body is on the 2nd page of google. Most clicks on google occur on the first page.
- You can easily set a budget and control your costs.
- You can measure the success of your campaigns with powerful analytics.
- You can target your campaigns to specific locations and demographics.
- Digital marketing pairs well with traditional marketing- allowing you to thoroughly saturate your target audience. If you remember from our last lesson- this will help build brand awareness.
Here are some considerations for you this week:
Is digital marketing part of your business strategy? Why or why not?
Today’s marketing platforms are evolving at an unprecedented rate, are You?