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It seems that nobody talks about plain marketing anymore… I keep hearing “digital marketing” “mobile marketing” or “online marketing”, but mainly digital.
Running a simple Google search terms analysis (using the Google keywords tool) I immediately saw that needed, digital marketing has become a buzzword.
But, do people really know what on earth is digital marketing? Or if they do, do they deeply understand why they want to develop a digital marketing strategy in their business? I am not sure,..
Let’s Start with Some Misconceptions About Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a lot of things, but it is definitely not everything…
Social media marketing does not equal digital marketing!
79% of marketers agreed that social media is the most effective tactic of marketing for B2B. (A study in the year 2014)
I agree so myself.
Well, a lot has happened since 2014, and this statement has only gotten stronger.
Maybe the fact that social media has become so important, dominant and global has caused some people to mistakenly think that digital marketing is all about social media.
But no. Social media marketing is not digital marketing in itself. In fact, no single activity can describe digital marketing. It’s just like growth hacking can’t be replacing marketing in itself
The Digital Marketing Operation Shouldn’t be Under One Person in the Company
A truly digital approach needs to be a cross-organization atmosphere. From HR to marketing.
Since digital marketing can include multiple areas, like content, PR, performance, and so forth, it doesn’t have to be aligned with a single person in the organization.
Think of digital marketing as an approach, a dogma if you’d like. Don’t think of it as a single tactic.
There are many things you can’t measure when running digital marketing
While some digital marketing activities can be well tracked, like when marketers track and measure performance campaigns results,
Some other activities are harder to track.
But, in fact, most activities that are operated under the digital marketing approach can be accurately tracked and measured, as long as the right tracking foundations were implemented correctly.
Since the rise of digital marketing a few years ago, endless analytics tools and solutions were developed, some free and some premium, to help marketers track everything that can be somehow tracked.
So right, you can’t measure everything, but usually, in the digital marketing land, you can track most of it.
So, What is Digital Marketing?
Quoting the ‘Business Dictionary’s’ basic definition of digital marketing: It is “The promotion of products or brands via forms of online media.” What’s included? smartphones, tablets, PCs, game consoles, electronic billboards, TV, and even radio.
Digital marketing is many times confused with online marketing, a subset of digital marketing.
But, what digital marketing is so popular in the hood?
Here’s What You Can Achieve with Digital Marketing
One of the main purposes of digital marketing is to create a delightful user experience that moves the target audience to the action via a well-predefined flow that marketers can perfectly control.
Some call it the buyer’s journey. Of course, this does not exist only in the digital world, but in the area of marketing, digitalization has opened advanced options to align potential customers in the right direction, accurately.
In a world of endless buying options, the digital marketing discipline is mitigating between buyers and sellers in a way that increases the control of both parties. That’s what we all call WIN-WIN.
How to Implement a Successful B2B Digital Marketing Strategy?
Ok, let’s assume you better understand now that digital marketing is a whole approach, rather than a single or a couple of activities.
Now, I just want to equip you with a few tips for your way.
It all starts with your buyers. Yes, your target audience.
Get in their minds. Run observations. Think about what they would expect from a digitally oriented company. Digital and digital marketing in specific are about making things more fun, easy, and delightful.
When companies aren’t fully committed to their digital marketing efforts, nor do they fully understand the purpose, it all goes wrong.
We mentioned earlier that you will want to get in the minds of your customers. Find out who they are, what they want, what they expect, and so on. Your digital marketing materials and campaigns must fit or exceed their expectations, but must not be too complicated for them…
Your website is your main impression. In the digital world, your website can be the place where all the relevant info is. Help prospects easily explore your company, and don’t keep important data for later, as ‘a later’ may not come if you haven’t made a great first impression.
Image credit: HTSABO
Finally – Develop a data-driven marketing approach. Learn how to follow insights, rather than gut feeling, whenever possible. It’s one of the biggest powers that digital marketing enables.
Tsipi Joseph is a co-founder of G2M. She has been in the global tech marketing industry for 'oh so many years', dealing with technical products and services in almost any industry you can think of, including mobile apps, augmented reality, telecommunications, finance, medical, cyber and more.
