How to Start a Digital Marketing Campaign:
A strong social media presence combined with a high quality, responsive website is a must for any company or organisation to compete for market share in the digital age. Access to the internet, through smart phones, laptops and tablets has ensured that no promotional campaign is complete without using the web as a marketing medium. Effective digital marketing campaigns use e-tools such as – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter –combined with a quality, responsive, website to engage consumers with online advertising.
Websites:
A simple and streamlined website with a clear message is the starting point for any web based marketing strategy. One of the key characteristics of the web as a marketing medium is the ever changing and fast pace of growth that has occurred over the last 10 to 15 years. Certainly, an effective website is the backbone of any digital marketing campaign, “the central location for all of your digital marketing efforts” (http://tech.co).
The concept of ‘less is more’ for websites is becoming more and more important, as consumers have little time for flashy graphics and irrelevant content. A quality website, with interesting and engaging content will boost google rankings (SEO) and, more importantly, will not disengage potential customers.
With the emergence of new technologies, websites must be accessible across all devices, from the computer, to the smart phone, laptop and tablet. The success of a website as a marketing tool will be determined by its responsiveness across all devices and screen sizes. According to resources on tech.co, 47% of internet users expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, while 40% will abandon the site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
Social Media Channels:
Websites can no longer be considered in isolation. Building strong profiles across different social media channels and integrating all of these together in a meaningful way, is a must. And there are many social media options to consider when compiling an effective digital marketing campaign. This wide range of media, including not only Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and twitter -, but also the likes of LinkedIn, Periscope and Pinterest ensures there is a range of choice to help companies and organisations reach their target audience.
Access is free, making it part of a budget friendly marketing strategy, as expensive google adwords and often out of reach of most enterprises. However, it is worth mentioning that big budget brands have invested millions in order to develop a strong social media following. Gap invested $25 million on a US wide Groupon deal to generate an additional $11 million in revenue (Jan Willis; searchenginepeople.com).
By far the most powerful e-tool is Facebook, which had 1.4 billion daily active users on average for December 2017 (newsroom.fb.com) and 2.13 billion monthly active users. The global reach of this social media channel, established in 2004, ensures that no web based marketing campaign is complete without a Facebook presence.
TOP SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES 2018 source www.dreamgrow.com
Social network Monthly Active Users
Facebook 2,130,000,000
YouTube 1,500,000,000
Instagram 800,000,000
Twitter 330,000,000
Reddit 250,000,000
Pinterest 200,000,000
Vine (In January 2017, The Vine became the Vine Camera) 200,000,000
Ask.fm 160,000,000
Tumblr 115,000,000
Flickr 112,000,000
Google+ 111,000,000
LinkedIn 106,000,000
VK 97,000,000
ClassMates 57,000,000
Meetup 32,300,000
Analysis and Accountability:
Social media channels allow real time traceability and accountability, allowing you to change the direction of a marketing campaign mid way through if it is not successful. Facebook, for example, has immediate analytics to show the reach and engagement of an audience to specific posts. It is also possible to target a specific age range, gender or location through low cost advertising options. This segmentation by generation is a unique characteristic of the web as a marketing medium, putting market research at your fingertips, allowing you to not only target your specific audience, but to view the effectiveness of your campaign in a timely fashion.
Engaging Content:
As timely and engaging content comes to the fore as a result of the emergence of social media, many web marketing campaigns are looking for a more personal interaction with their audience. The use of photos and videos have become a staple part of content creation, while a quick witted remark on twitter by a major organisation can go viral in minutes. For author Jan Willis, you can “make your campaign memorable by telling stories that have an emotional resonance for your audience that they can immediately identify with.” For example, a Christmas marketing campaign by Canadian airline West Jet, which tugged at the seasonal heart strings, reached 46 million people on YouTube.
According to Jason DeMers at Forbes.com, more than 50 million small businesses are using social media pages to interact with customers. This is leading to brand fatigue whereby consumers are growing tired of sponsored and branded content. In turn, there is an increasing demand for local and personal experiences, as businesses continue to reach out to their customers to create personal interactions. The aim is to engage with their audience through social media communities.
For more see: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/12/27/7-social-media-trends-that-will-dominate-2018/2
Message Integration:
The web as a marketing medium has allowed for a greater conversation between the marketer and their audience. It is important to establish the key message of any campaign before embarking on the use of e-tools to promote any business. While a website provides the backbone for brand awareness, integrating this message across all of the relevant social media channels will enhance any campaign. According to Seth Godin, author and founder of Yoyodyne, we “no longer market ‘to’ the customer; instead we need to market ‘with’ the customer (www.strategy-business.com).
Access to the internet has changed marketing strategies for the long term. Companies can operate a wide ranging social media campaign on a shoe string budget, while larger organisations can test their new campaigns, through the likes of You Tube, before pumping more expense into the strategy. Real time traceability and accountability ensures that the risk of consumer rejection is minimised, as consumer reactions are immediate. It is a key way to establish a relationship between a brand and their audience.
