George, a 55-year-old poet and novelist, is struggling to get his new book noticed in the Internet. He maintains several blogs and a personal Facebook account. For someone with no technical knowledge on digital marketing, regularly posting on his blog and social media account seem a logical way of creating online visibility.
Is an active blog or social media account enough to market a brand, or a book for this matter? The Internet is a massive arena of brands and consumers from various corners of the world. If there are a million book titles hitting the bookstores next month, what are the odds that a collection of poems by an unknown poet will get recognition?
Digital marketing is the generic term used to describe the promotion of brands or products in different forms of electronic media. The Financial Times extends the definition beyond Internet marketing to include mobile phones, social media marketing, display advertising, search engine marketing, and other forms of digital media.
To sell the idea of digital marketing to a novice like George, it can help to explain how a digital marketer’s mind works.
Table of Contents
A Master Of His Brand Or Product:
Efficient digital marketers, similar with traditional briefcase-trotting marketers, know their brand or product like the back of their hands. They recognize the benefits and the drawbacks, enabling them to devise an effective marketing campaign. In the case of George the Book Author, a competent digital marketer knows George’s biography, influences, and works. He has read George’s major publications and less known works. His knowledge is the compass that will lead the way to a target audience, digital channel, and appropriate materials to market George’s new book.
An Expert On Data:
George regularly advertises his new book to his 4,000+ Facebook friends. However, every post only receives an average of 10 feedbacks, mostly casual likes. Digital marketing is more than creativity. It uses data in each stage of the process from choosing a channel to developing content. A skilled digital marketer will use analytics to identify the demographics of visitors in George’s blogs. He will identify the location of site visitors, as well as the frequency of their visits, the pages they read, and other pertinent information. He will then research on George’s readership—whether they buy online or from physical bookstores, and if online advertising affected their decision to buy. These data are the key in ascertaining the target audience, the right digital media, the suitable content, and the timing of exposure.
A Genuine Content Boss:
According to the latest Nielsen Global Connected Commerce survey, a majority of consumers search for brands or products online before making purchases. “Webrooming”, or researching online and buying in physical stores, is a popular practice in Asian countries such as China, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. This underscores the role of content in shaping the reputation of brands and products. If George the Book Author plans to reach new readers in the Philippines, he’d need a content marketing or social media management campaign that focuses on the interests and reading habits of Filipino consumers. A content must be original, relevant, and interesting for the target audience. It can be an informative article, an engaging video clip or an awesome photo. Creative digital marketers are ready to take risks in producing original content that not only captures an audience but can influence action.
A Tech-Savvy Hybrid Marketer:
Do you know that more than 50% of online traffic is organic search? An experienced digital marketer knows how to use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to boost traffic to George the Book Author’s blogs and public Facebook posts. He is updated on Google algorithms and unique signals essential in Page Rankings. He is also well-versed on various digital media platforms, enabling him to focus on those relevant to George’s existing readership and potential market.
Ben Shields, a lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, highlights the importance of effectively communicating how social media tool can help brands and organizations accomplish their business goals. “Having the awareness and understanding of the role digital and social plays within the context of the larger organization is critical,” he says.
A Partner Of Influencers:
The crafting and execution of ideas don’t need to be a one-man task. A successful digital marketer has a wide network of contacts with valuable content and loyal followers. Social media influencers are important allies in digital marketing. They are centers of influence who are considered as authorities in their fields. An influencer need not be a celebrity. A smart marketer will prefer partnering with one who has a smaller yet dedicated following compared to an influencer with millions of followers with whom he has but casual relations.
A Results-Focused Player:
The digital marketing landscape is a living organism. It undergoes changes. A keen digital marketer is abreast of updates, trends, and market shifts. He measures the performance of his campaigns to identify areas of improvement and opportunities. He is well aware that his job doesn’t end with a few viral content. In fact, that is just the beginning of strengthening a brand or product.
A Socially-Apt Human Being:
From stimulating ideas to measuring results, an effective digital market is ALWAYS in touch with the real world. Digital marketing may be a technical concept, but its foundations are human. A digital marketer knows how to effectively communicate with consumers, enabling him to create an excellent user experience. He understands the right emotions to trigger, the proper amount of information to produce, and perfect time to launch a campaign. He is sensitive to the human aspect of marketing.
The digital world can be a land of opportunities or a field of landmines. A content can make or break a brand. It’s essential to understand how the brains of digital marketing work. If you’re planning to engage the services of a digital marketer, remember to choose one who is willing to understand your brand and business model Pick the marketer who, has an expertise on data, a knack for producing creative content, has developed a hybrid of tech skills, and operates within a network of influencers. He or she should also know how to measure performance and is an effective communicator.
About the Author:Anna Rodriguez is a manager for a real estate company in the Philippines. She has an experience in training and operations where she developed a keen eye for identifying reasons for inefficiency and ineffectiveness of training programs and other initiative. She also have varied background in real estate brokerage, investing, online marketing, social media management, and digital marketing.
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Welcome here and thanks for reading our article and sharing your view.