Digital marketing has far surpassed television and other media categories in spending in the last several years. In addition to the fact that the marketplace is digitally connected, there are several other key reasons that companies continue to invest heavily in digital media.
The following are some of the primary contributors to growth in digital spending:
Tight Marketing Budgets
In highly competitive industries, companies go lean and operate with ever-tightening budgets. The relatively low cost and cost-efficiency of digital are attractive to marketers trying to optimise return on investment.
Interaction and Engagement
Marketing promotion has traditionally been passive, one-way communication. Companies deliver advertisements and hope that the target audience reacts and behaves in the way they intend. Digital marketing is much more interactive. It is two-way, and often three-way (consumer-to-consumer) exchanges. Brand representatives engage the market directly through social media, email, mobile messaging, and other popular digital platforms.
Analytics and Adaptability
To achieve a high return on your advertising investment, you have to eliminate waste. The challenge with traditional media is that you normally can't identify non-performing or low-performing ads until the post-campaign research. In contrast, online advertising, social media, email marketing, mobile messaging, and other digital platforms allow for data tracking in real time. Through analytics, companies can much more quickly figure out what ads and media are working, and make on-the-fly adjustments to prioritise effective communication.
Timeliness
Some media allow for much more timely message delivery. As a traditional medium, newspapers offer this advantage. However, most traditional media do not. Timeliness means that you can quickly produce and distribute your ads after making the decision to do so.
The full spectrum of digital media has this advantage. You can purchase ads through programmatic bidding processes on Google, Facebook, Linkedin and a host of other ad servers. You can also buy ad space directly from digital publishers and work together for rapid deployment. These opportunities allow you to present messages that are timely because they fit your current strategy and priorities.
High Audience Awareness
The marketplace is aware of branding carried out through digital media. Consumers even proactively seek to engage brands through social media and in other venues. In contrast, promotional messages on traditional media are often avoided, ignored, or given little attention.
Conclusions and Recommendations
There are too many advantages of digital media to ignore. If your company isn't already leveraging the power of digital marketing, it is time to take that step. If you have made some modest attempts, dig deeper and look for ways to carve out your digital footprint!
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