Unless you have been “off the grid” for the past twenty years, you have heard something about digital marketing. Since the late 1990’s the buzz about “digital marketing” has only increased. If you’re a business owner, you may have dabbled in it. Perhaps you email your customers. You most likely have a website. Maybe you have a Facebook page, and some Instagram followers. You might even tweet now and then. But do you have a plan? Does it all come together? Is it a cohesive? If you don’t have a clear vision of the path you should take, the people you want to attract and where you want to end up, you could easily be swallowed up by the digital jungle.
Dave Chaffey says that it’s “achieving marketing objectives through applying digital technologies and media” but I say it’s “attempting to achieve marketing objectives through applying digital technologies and media.”
If you’ve done your due diligence, then yes, it is “achieving marketing objectives… blah, blah, blah.” If you haven’t done the research and haven’t been a digital explorer, you could be throwing your time and money into a digital hole.
If it’s so complicated, why do it? First of all, it doesn’t have to be complicated, but it can get that way – FAST! But that’s a topic for another time. As far as why do it? Well, humans are becoming more and more “digitally attached.” Statista projects that the number of smartphone owners will be at 2.87 billion by 2020. That’s next year! (The number of mobile phone users is expected to pass the 5 billion mark by 2019! That’s THIS year!)
According to Walker Sands’ 2017 Future of Retail survey, which polled over 1,600 consumers, 78% of Americans now own smartphones. And smartphone owners do practically everything on their phones – shop, watch videos and TV and movies, take pictures, play games, listen to music, exercise, research, bills, banking, navigate, and that’s just the beginning. With the “Internet of Things,” we’re even more attached to our devices in order to program appliances and see who’s at the door.
So, depending on who you are and what you’re selling or providing, chances are you’re going to want to connect with at least SOME of the 78%. Their smartphone or other electronic device is a great way to do that, considering the amount of time they spend on those devices! It’s likely one of the ONLY ways to reach them. Print advertising, TV, radio, billboards – none of these are what they once were. Yes, they may have their place but digital is where the people are, or at least 78% of them! According to some studies, over 90% of adults in the US always have their electronic device within reach. Always. Best to figure out how to reach them.
DNA digital marketing knows how to market, digitally! We can help you navigate the digital jungle.
