Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Power of Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is promoting brands through social media, Internet, Television, Radio, search marketing optimization and more 

Following the phenomenal success of social, internet and mobile marketing in the last few years, the Digital industry has grown by leaps and bounds in India. Globally, it has witnessed a surge of around $40 billion and is spiraling here too. Big and small brands have not only understood the power of social media but in fact have reached nirvana in effectively putting their message across to consumers. If you happen to be reading this and only faintly know about this form of advertising, then welcome to the Digital party as we explain the power of this practical medium.

What is Digital Marketing?
Simply put, to use all forms of digital advertising channels to promote a brand is what digital marketingis all about. These channels include television, radio and internet among others. Advertising through mobile phones, SMS / MMS / digital outdoor and banners also comes under digital advertising. Promotion is done in the same method as that used in direct marketing but in a digital fashion.

However, digital marketing is viewed as ‘real-time’ marketing and therefore centers on the internet as its heart. The augment of the Internet has made it a communication vehicle & an extremely influential medium for advertisers. Digital marketing also involves a combination of push (messages being sent using email, IM, RSS, or voice broadcast) and pull (banner ads, Pay Per Click, etc) Internet technologies.
Digital Marketing has attracted a lot of attention owing largely to the fact that brands can track their campaign performance instantaneously. They can check what is being viewed, for how long, response rates and purchase numbers. Digital marketing is forever improving as new amendments and technologies are created all the time.

Digital Marketing in India
According to recent research, at least $100 million are being spent at present on digital marketing in India. Since digital marketing is on a growth curve, job prospects in this industry look very bright for skilled professionals. Job search portal ‘indeed.com’ in 2010 had stated that at least 5 out of top 10 job trends will focus on digital media. In the coming year too, there will be an incredible demand for Business Development Managers, Online Marketing Managers, Social & Digital Marketing Managers, Social Media Directors, Interactive Media Strategists, Web Marketing & PR Managers, Marketing Program Specialists and similar profiles.

Digital Marketing – Its Reach
The reach of digital marketing is unparalleled. It not only helps the brand to connect with its target audience but also empowers the user to have unregulated communications with his contacts (friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances) about a particular brand. The promoters too can interact with their users, customers or potential customers – inform them about new products, sales and launches or rectify their stand in case of bad service, etc. Interactive widgets and gadget ads are also a potent tool that holds immense promise for promoters.

Multi-Channel Communications
Digital Marketing works best when it is combined with multiple channels. For example, a new product release can be announced using both e-mail and SMS texts campaigns. Clubbing, if well executed, can lead to excellent results. Additionally, if the same message is stated in multiple ways, the reach and outcome could get even better (e.g. message + special offer)
 
Trends to watch out in 2012
Cloud Computing: will focus on improving the online experience of users. Whether it’s chatting live, streaming or online environments – they will only get better in 2012 and this is something promoters must bear in mind to device better virtual strategies.

Video marketing: people will never get bored with video-watching. This is and will continue to be a powerful digital marketing tool. In fact, research points out that many marketers will take the video route to promote themselves in 2012.

Gaming: will continue to explode like it is already. Thus, advertisers need to think out-of-the-box and offer digital users something unique in this space.

Mobile Marketing: will not lose its fizz, contrary to popular belief. Advertisers are still exploring this medium and QR codes marketing is likely to be reinforced in the coming year.

http://www.businessreviewindia.in/marketing/web/the-power-of-digital-marketing

Build micro-social network for social lead, branding, message broadcasting, customer relationship management and product promotion

Today, it seems that if your company is not using social media, you’re at risk of falling woefully behind the competition and missing out on significant opportunities to engage thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of consumers who are just waiting to hear what you have to say. Social-network tools are appealing, and certainly addictive to some of your consumers. Keeping in mind, the growing popularity of these sites and the effect it has and the benefits that it brings along, it can be easily predicted that its popularity is sure to grow much more.


However the problems that are commonly faced by companies or marketers, who are trying to leverage the social networking platform to market their products/services, are:
1. The targeting is low because people in those sites are diverse. Because of that, the ROI is also low.
2. Most people don’t bother about the advertisements on social networking sites because they are often after the people they could meet on those sites.
3. Because of the spam advertisements on the social networking sites, the advertisements are given few notices by real customers.
The best solution for the above mentioned problem is your own Micro Social Networking platform. Create a small yet targeted community; engage them with an informative, useful and innovative social networking application. As a thumb rule a marketer should always remember, that, 20% of your customers buys 80% of your products/services. Use a Micro Social Networking site to draw a circle around the 20%, connect to them with personalized communication, and give them a platform to interact and share their experiences, talk about their needs and expectations. It’s a very narrow niche, but it will surely help you to minimize expenditure and maximize ROI.

There is so much benefit of a micro social networking application and a Micro Networking platform on Mobile is evidently, a cherry on the cake. The world is moving on a fast pace. We cannot even afford to blink your eyes. The first one to score on the list of speed is, none other than, technology. From a prediction of just five computers to desktops, notebooks and the latest being smart phones such as iPhone and iPad.
The applications introduced through these latest inventions have revolutionized the way we work. Most important feature of these smart-phones is their presence. Businesses can connect to their allies, be it customers, stakeholders, agencies, just with a click anytime and anywhere. One can display the products, services, their USPs, new arrivals, easily on a Personal Micro Social Networking site, in a matter of few seconds. A new venture can easily create a small application for itself with the right offer along with the right use of this technology.

According to Mr. Satyen Jain, Founder & CEO of Leo Technosoft, an emerging Mobile Application development company, the mobile application industry has climbed the bandwagon along with the rising fan following of iPhone and iPads. He further adds that the year 2010 saw a major upheaval in the industry and expects that the popularity will only go northwards in the coming years.

It was not a surprise when research giant IDC predicted that smart-phones and tablets are expected to outsell computers in the next eighteen months. It is still believed that mobile is an under – exploited market. Just imagine the power of a Micro Social Networking site compatible with mobile, when mobile market is exploited to its maximum!

Why Marketing Companies Should Extend Their Services to Mobile Platform

One word that can describe every person at present time is “Speed.” Be it a multi-million dollar business or a small-scale provision store, every businessperson is in a hurry to make his mark by beating the competition. With me-too products/services on the rise, it is only a smart idea that can break the clutter. Technology has been playing a major role to enhance and improve the working methods. Businesspersons have joined the recent upheaval of tech-knowledge by keeping themselves updated with the new introductions and improvements. While retailers have the latest Customer Relationship Management software in the office notebooks, the video game developers continually update theirs. However, it becomes difficult to excel when every second person is using the same strategy, there is where businesses needs a marketing company who understand that today any business be it small or large must utilize a multitude of marketing mediums in order to be successful. Companies must reach beyond the traditional mediums, like television, newspaper, radio or, even online marketing and implement some of the newer mediums, like Mobile marketing. • By now we have more than 50 million mobile users with internet-capable “smart phones” – like iPhone’s, androids or blackberry’s. • More than half of devices connected to corporate networks will be mobile by 2015 • Mobile is already the preferred method to accomplish many tasks, especially social media engagement • Mobile search is now an $8 billion industry, accounting for 11 percent of total search The question that matters is how to beat the present competition? Yes, by thinking out of the box. When everyone is updating their desktops and laptops, and are not able to generate inquiries, a good marketing company should suggest a smart iPhone application for the client to ensure garneted result. It is evident that most of the time; it becomes difficult to operate a laptop while travelling due to inconvenience. Moreover, the most preferred gadget during this time is none other than a phone. If a businessperson utilises this medium to his advantage, he can certainly grab the eyeballs anytime and anywhere, literally. The recent upsurge of using social networking sites on mobile handsets, have proved that mobile internet will have the largest share of the pie in near future. There is so much to explore on the net, which is a unanimously accepted fact. And internet on mobile is obviously, a cherry on the cake. Wireless technologies are always a better option. Mobile offers greater reach as compared to desktops and ultimately boosts the business growth. Increasingly, businesses are customising the mobile applications based on their requirements; and soon this would replace the tedious desktop ones. The reason being that the former ones are always easy to use and turns out to be inexpensive in the long run. Businesspersons can certainly garner higher ROI and can easily customise them with the changing needs. It certainly is an opportunity in disguise. With a good mobile website and promotion strategy you know, that you have actually reached to your customer’s personal communication device and they are using your products and services, then your popularity is on the rise, without any doubt. Customers should be able to access your brand on their fingertips. Businesses can easily plan, promote, manage and deliver their product and services through mobile applications. For instance, practically all businesses with a geographic location need a store locator and hours of business that are accessible from mobile devices. The key benefit of migrating to mobile are increased productivity, minimised loopholes, improved ROI and most important one – Increase brand and product awareness. A brand can garner higher eyeballs on mobile internet rather than desktop version, because a person uses a mobile even while travelling. For instance, you own a food chain. You have advertised on a social networking site. People surfing internet on the go, can easily land on your outlet the moment they find that it is in proximity. Ultimately, you are attracting new customers by making the most of mobile applications. In present market scenario when everything depends on maximising the opportunity. The early-adopters who climb the bandwagon, are on the winning side, while those who do not think out of the box, ultimately lose the race. Companies like Leo TechnoSoft have made business-growth easier with customised mobile application development solutions. Leo TechnoSoft is working with quite a few worlds’ largest Design and Marketing companies, as an extended arm to add value to their existing services. The company builds distinctive iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android or mobile application. Such applications result in market penetration, higher productivity and helps significantly in the full process of Brand Funnelling i.e. Generating Awareness, Shaping user’s Attitude towards the brand, Increase Favourability, boost Intent to buy or avail the product/service offered and finally enforce brand Loyalty.