Blogs

6294

‘Evolution’ has been and will always be a mammoth term to properly describe. This is especially true in the case of Digital evolution. So many things have happened in such a short span of time, that even Darwin would be confused! If you sit quietly and think about how digital evolution actually happened, you would be really confused about where to start! Let’s break up this evolution into spans of time to understand it. Just Google It! The Digital era, if to be considered in a proper way, has started with the advent of Google. Though there were early search engines such as Yahoo!, InfoSeek, AltaVista, Lycos, WebCrawler and others which had made significant strides in the digital evolution of search, the golden years didn’t start until Google launched in 1998. With the birth of today’s most popular search engine and development of tools like AdWords in 2000 and content targeting services in 2003, everything changed. After that, search engines started using advanced ranking algorithms and browsing online became more personal. The impact this had on business is immense. Businesses were able to target their buyers and develop strategies based on the search patterns, which led to a whole new way of selling and communicating. 3 Must-have SEO Tools to Explode your Ranks Social Media, The Colossal Giant Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard roommates didn’t even know in 2004 that their colossal giant called Facebook would dawn a new era in digital marketing! Social media stopped being a way to just stay connected with friends and started becoming a way for brands to connect with their customers, a place for consumers to lodge complaints, spread news, shop or even influence other shoppers! Businesses took notice of this and online reputation management became more important overnight. Today, with other social media handles such as Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, with billions of users, targeted advertising and a digital landscape that never sleeps, social media has become one of the most vital parts of any marketing strategy. SEO Grew By 2004, SEO had become an essential marketing tool used on a global scale. In the early days, techniques like keyword stuffing, article submissions and link spamming were recommended. But these days SEO is less of a loner and more of an essential cog in a greater machine powered by other strategies and channels Best Digital Marketing Courses Online Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To Explore all our courses, visit our page below. Digital Marketing Courses Digital PR! Since the digital evolution, PR has also broadened its focus. Today a digital PR specialist can find out everything they need to know about a contact before even making a pitch. By working with SEO research and trends, Digital PRs are able to back all of their decisions with data, leading to better targeting and more quantifiable results. How to Build your SEO Strategy And just like all good things, this is not where it stops, in fact, this is just a beginning. Digital Marketing is evolving at a rapid pace thanks to the ever-increasing competition and staying ahead means taking it head-on. So, what does the future look like to you? Learn digital marketing courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career. Timeline of the digital marketing evolution The 90s Archie was the first search engine that debuted in the early 1990s. The birth of SEOs quickly came into the picture. This has been the history and evolution of digital marketing. The generation of millennials Various new sites were launched in the 2000s when the economy was recovering from the boom. It was the time when LinkedIn (2002), MySpace (2003), WordPress (2003) and Facebook (2004) were born. Then in the early 2000s, came the text messaging era. This was a significant step in the evolution of digital marketing. The era of mobile  The latter part of the decade saw marketing and sales happening using digital media, and the culture of mobile phone apps expanded with the presence of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. This is how the evolution of digital marketing happened. Modern times In today’s times, most exchanges and activities happen via digital media. The digital marketing and advertising industry is valued at around 200 billion dollars. The rise of influencers and bloggers has amounted to a big industry, which is likely to grow at a rapid pace. This is how the evolution of digital marketing from the traditional to the modern era has come into place. Now that we have discussed the digital marketing evolution let’s discuss the 5Ds of digital marketing- Digital Devices Digital Content Platforms Digital Data Digital Media  Digital Technology  In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Courses SEO Courses Performance Marketing Courses SEM Courses Email Marketing Courses Content Marketing Courses Social Media Marketing Courses Marketing Analytics Courses Web Analytics Courses Display Advertising Courses Affiliate Marketing Courses upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – What’s new in Marketing? document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/rumi-ambastha.mp4 Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

29 Mar 2023

Blogs

10019

It’s effortless. All you need to have is a little flair for writing and a little knowledge of Photoshop and your status has to be ‘online’ always. Simply put, on paper, this is what it takes to be a social media marketer. The popular perception is social media marketers spend their days just ‘playing’ on various social media marketing channels; quite in the same way, an individual scrolls through the endless newsfeeds of interesting information and engaging updates from their ‘friends’. If you are a beginner in digital marketing, and want to gain expertise, check out our digital marketing online courses from top universities.  With the advent of social media and organisations aiming to build a robust online presence, the industry of digital marketing has seen a huge spike. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 17.6% from 2021 to 2026, reaching an estimated value of USD 807 billion (Source). There are various reasons why marketing is a good career. One of the important reasons is how marketing allows brands to leverage their business by doing good marketing. Marketing aids the business in reaching its customers and give a personalised touch.  Another reason that makes marketing a good career is its highly rewarding nature. On average, a marketing manager earns 7.4 lakhs per annum (Source). This figure could vary, guided by various factors like location, skill sets, experience, type of company, etc. There are various job roles in the marketing field that the professional can choose to pursue. Some of those job roles are mentioned below- Marketing Coordinator Marketing Manager Marketing Consultant PR Manager Social Media Marketer Brand Manager Marketing Specialist Marketing Analyst Chief Marketing Officer These are some of the broader spectra of jobs mentioned above. There are various types of job roles available in marketing; for example, there are diverse types of social media marketing jobs available in the market, such as social media manager, social media marketing intern, PR Manager, SEO marketing, etc. Professionals apprehensive about how to get into social media marketing must be clear of various skill sets which they should be well versed in. Some of those skills are mentioned below- Communication Creativity Social media technical skills Content creation Flexibility Project Management Marketing Networking Best Digital Marketing Courses Online Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To Explore all our courses, visit our page below. Digital Marketing Courses Best Digital Marketing Courses Online However, what if you are serious about it? What if you want to mint money out of social media marketing? The truth is, it is as complicated as any other career and is pretty demanding as well. No doubt, social media marketing is a growing field and offers endless opportunities, and the demand for social media marketers is also high. Nowadays almost anybody and everyone terming themselves as social media experts and competing for open spots. If you are thinking about building a career in social media marketing, you have to adhere to some rules. Let’s start with some common myths about social media marketing as a career: Myth #1: Social media marketing is easy. No, it’s not. It requires creativity, attention to the detail, data analysis, proper research and above all patience. Myth #2: Social media marketing is treated as an experiment. No, it should not. It requires long-term strategic planning and focus. Myth #3: Social media marketing is objective rather than subjective. No, successful and engaging campaigns can’t be built on instincts or sheer guesswork. Social media campaigns have to be data-driven and made on objective results. upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – Consumer Segmentation from Demographics to Psychographics document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/webinar-on-digital-audience-segmentation-from-demographics-to-psychographics.mp4 Myth #4: Social media marketing doesn’t require institutional knowledge. Wrong. Every discipline has some basic rules, basic guidelines, which need to be learned. Social media marketing is no exception. In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Courses SEO Courses Performance Marketing Courses SEM Courses Email Marketing Courses Content Marketing Courses Social Media Marketing Courses Marketing Analytics Courses Web Analytics Courses Display Advertising Courses Affiliate Marketing Courses In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Now let’s put the focus on the six steps to building a successful career in social media marketing: 1. Be A Voracious Learner Social media marketing as an industry is incredibly fast-growing and extremely competitive. Every day you have to learn a new trick and unfold a new chapter. A social media marketer needs passion and desire to succeed. Some tricks of learning social media marketing are strategy building, consistently posting, relatable content creation, etc. These types of marketing tricks would allow the marketer to create content that is engaging and can connect a bond with the user.  Unless and until the user cannot relate with the content you are producing, the traffic will remain slow. Moreover, no matter how good the content is, if there is no consistency in posting, it will not result in any good for the brand.  How Mobile Marketing Is Quickly Eclipsing Desktop Marketing? 2. Educate Yourself The formal qualification is something which will build the sub-structure on which the superstructure of a successful social media marketing career can be formed. There are several short courses offered by universities and other institutes. You can educate yourself through online classes. Attending conferences, seminars and lectures dedicated to social media marketing can also be a great learning experience. A strong social media reputation is not a fluke rather, there are always well-thought strategies behind it. Those technical skills would come in handy at the time of actual work as they are the foundation of any critically thought out ability. Some of these technical skills are mentioned below- SEO SEM Data Analysis Content Creation Strategic Thinking Paid Search Email Marketing UX Designing Video Marketing What’s the Best Type of Content to Drive Conversions? 3. Always Stay Updated Be a regular visitor to major digital marketing sites and social media influencers. Remember, major players such as Google, Facebook and Twitter regularly tweak their paid advertising platforms and algorithms. So you have to be a thorough vigilante. Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course 4. Learn the Industry Jargons A social media marketer should know the digital terminology such as SEO, PPC and SEM to analyse different digital media campaigns and understand what strategies worked and what didn’t. For example, SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It is used to increase the inbound traffic to the website. Increasing traffic is not the only purpose; rather, improving both the quality and quantity of the traffic is the primary purpose.  SEM stands for search engine marketing. This digital marketing strategy is used to enhance the website’s visibility on search. This visibility enhancement also has a technical name known as search engine result pages (SERPs). PPC stands for pay-per-click. As the name suggests, advertisers must pay a fee each time their ads are clicked upon. They are buying the visitors to the website. 5. Be A Nerd A career in social media marketing is often perceived to be quite glamorous, but the truth is, it should be more data-driven and technical. Basic knowledge of HTML and graphic design would help you stand out. HTML is known to be the foundation of various marketing tools. It helps in integrating codes into marketing campaigns. It also aids in the customization of web pages, web layouts, tracking of user behavior, etc. Having technical expertise is also a robust way of how to get a job in social media marketing. 6. Build Your Brand If you want to be successful in social media marketing, your online presence should be robust. If you’re going to show your client that you are the right person to build their company’s social media visibility, then you need to show that you have already built your brand. Must-have Ingredients of Every Link Building Campaign Engagement on different social media channels is now a top priority for most companies. They want to know how best to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites to build their brand and gain market share. Social media, as a business tool, is a relatively recent development. So, the employers may struggle to find new employees with a proven track record. Also, that, in turn, will help professionals in this field with an edge. If you are serious enough to build a career in social media marketing, keep the pointers mentioned above in mind and utilise the opportunity that lies in front of you. If you are curious to get into the world of digital marketing, check out MICA & upGrad’s Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing & Communication. Become an expert in email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, branding, marketing analysis, and PR. Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

21 Sep 2022

Blogs

5052

In the last one year, we have seen a sea of changes in Digital and Online Marketing trends. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for marketers to keep pace with new technological changes. A lot has happened in the year 2021, with ‘selfie’ becoming the word of the year to robots operating on artificial intelligence and inventing their own language. As the year draws to a close, in this article, I have tried to list some of my top observations regarding upcoming online marketing trends. Each and every marketer should watch out for these! A macro view of a few online marketing trends that could dominate the year 2024: Artificial intelligence to be replaced by smarter intelligence The year 2021 was dominated, in a big way, by AI. From banks using robots to serve its customer to bots which predict stock market movements basis past and public data, the progress has been a remarkable one. In 2024, we will probably see this evolving further and Artificial Intelligence could be replaced with Smarter Intelligence technologies. If you remember, Google Assistant or Siri had a hard time recognising Indian accents earlier, but now they do a pretty neat job at it. These technologies are becoming smarter to such an extent that they are being used right from home automation to writing articles in minutes, without any spelling errors. In the future, we will have more and more AI based services through which a user can make videos, images, apps or websites in minutes without any prior coding or technical knowledge. All they need to do is instruct these smarter intelligence apps and they will do the job for you in minutes. The web will become more personalised for every user The web has been continuously evolving since its inception. The entire web is divided into three generations. The first was Web 1.0 – known as the read-only web, where users could only read content but weren’t able to give any suggestion or feedback. The second was Web 2.0 – read-write web, where users can give feedback on any written piece of information, which is what is happening today. The future of the web is Web 3.0 – which is also known as the personalised web, where tailored and specific results will be shown to an individual as per his/her interest and behaviour. This is already happening today in a small way. I feel, 2018 will be the year of the personalised web. Every user will consume content that matters to them the most, search results of every user will vary based on their interest and behaviour. As a marketer, you should compare email verification and validations services before choosing a method to reach out your audience. Google will start reading images, it won’t need ALT tags anymore Google today has the ability to read through images. The company has evolved to be the ultimate search giant where they don’t need to rely on user data to understand what’s inside an image. Google now has the technology where they read through each and every pixel and make sense by themselves about what the image is saying. You can watch the below video to understand this better. In 2018 web developers don’t need to put ALT tags to images anymore. Google will read through and do this task itself. Learn digital marketing courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career. Virtual and augmented reality will become a household affair There was a time where VR and AR seemed to be very expensive investments for any brand. With the growing popularity and application of VR and AR, businesses are provided with endless opportunities. Brands will be able to leverage and create a value proposition for their audiences. In 2018, I feel that there will be a rise in adoption of these technologies by small-medium enterprises and startups. They will further become cost-effective. Anyone will be able to jump in and make products and service which will help to acquire new customers. We will also see, social networks adopting VR and AR extensively. Targeting accuracy will improve Platforms like Facebook and Google have mastered the art of targeting customers. Through various parameters such as location, age, gender, interest, behaviour, etc., a lot of data is available. For consumers flocking to online platforms, the available amount of data is priceless. In 2018, don’t be surprised if these platforms can precisely target when you are just about 200 meters away from the nearest Walmart store and a notification pops-up on your device suggesting to visit the nearby Walmart and get 10% off on your purchase. We will continue to see a lot of improvement in the way social networks target users on the basis of data shared by them. Data analytics will decide the fate of marketers Data is the new oil by which companies can understand user behaviour and accordingly offer them a personalised service. In 2018, data will have the ability to predict which goods or service you will need before you actually buy them. Let’s take for instance a user usually purchases books frequently from Amazon. With the help of past data, Amazon understands that this user completes reading a book in approximately 40 days from the time of his last purchase. By analysing such data, Amazon can send an automated email on the 38th day saying, “Hope you have enjoyed your last book, here are some suggestions basis your past reads, if you order any of these books in the next one week we will be happy to offer you a special 10% discount.” Best Digital Marketing Courses Online Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To Explore all our courses, visit our page below. Digital Marketing Courses Marketing automation will take over Though marketing automation is being used by many brands, it still has scope to grow. Marketing automation tools are becoming smarter day by day. Many of them have revised their pricing model to suit the needs of SMEs and startups. In 2018, we will see many brands using Marketing automation tools to serve their customers. Many players will come up with specific solutions for specific sectors as well. upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – What’s new in Marketing? document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/rumi-ambastha.mp4 In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Courses SEO Courses Performance Marketing Courses SEM Courses Email Marketing Courses Content Marketing Courses Social Media Marketing Courses Marketing Analytics Courses Web Analytics Courses Display Advertising Courses Affiliate Marketing Courses   There won’t be B2B or B2C it will all converge into P2P Towards the end, I would like to state that many people feel that online marketing is similar to traditional mediums in terms of messaging being divided into B2B and B2C. But, what we fail to realise is that Digital is not for the masses, it is for a specific niche of the audience. Be it B2B or B2C, the decision to purchase or use any product or service is ultimately taken by a human being and not any mechanical person. Hence, digital is no longer about B2B or B2C but about P2P (people to people). To summarise, 2018 will be the year where data and the personal web will rule online marketing trends along with widespread adoption of VR, AR, and marketing automation tools. At the end, whatever we do, one must remember that to be successful in your online marketing efforts you shouldn’t just think like a marketer but like a human being. Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

05 Aug 2022

Blogs

7437

Through the last two decades, the digital revolution has reached its peak. However, experts believe that its full potential is yet to be utilised. Actually, the whole concept is still very naive and we are exploring newer sides of the concept almost every day. But what can we expect in the nearby future? While some marketers believe the internet space is going to expand further with more companies entering the digital world, others say there will be a complete makeover of how users and search engine giants give preference to the huge amount of data available on the internet. Keeping in mind all these possibilities, let’s focus on the next 10 things you can expect in this space. Learn digital marketing courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career. Video Ads will dominate Video advertisements are already a popular medium for digital marketers. Facebook and YouTube are the oldest players in this field. But now Google is also entering the arena with in-SERP video advertising. Experts believe that this signifies the acceptance of video ads among users and will change the whole spectrum of online advertisement. Mobile over desktop Digital marketers are actually preaching for websites which are optimized for mobile. This handheld device is the new sensation which is outsmarting the good old desktop and the fading away of desktop traffic clearly indicates that the smart money rests on mobile-focused internet marketing. Going forward, mobile search and optimization should be a top priority for digital marketers. A Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Analytics Delivering the message Messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Snapchat will continue to add users at a quick pace. These will actually become the central communication hubs, decked up with an array of services for the users. The importance of messaging environments will grow, as marketers focus more intently on creating organic mobile engagements for younger consumers. Dedicated apps Although we’re still years away from apps completely replacing websites, business owners are realizing their potential and 2018 will be a pivotal year in mobile app development. Google has offered app indexing which will certainly be advantageous when it comes to having a dedicated app for your business in the future. Social conversion is inevitable Till date, social media handles have worked as lead generation mediums and online dedicated communities. But now these will work as new conversion channels and offer tools to convert prospects directly into buyers. In the near future, the online communities will not be bound to only company-consumer conversations or attracting new prospects; instead, they will provide opportunities to improve conversion rates. upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – Watch our webinar on “What’s new in Marketing” document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/rumi-ambastha.mp4 Google AdSense: How it Works and How to Work Around Issues Ever-changing search algorithms With the enormous amount of information being added to the internet every second, search engine giants will keep on updating their algorithm to decide which content should get priority and rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs) and which should not. So, like it or not, the search engine algorithms will change continuously. Best Digital Marketing Courses Online Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To Explore all our courses, visit our page below. Digital Marketing Courses Online advertising will become more expensive Digital marketing practices have grown exponentially over the last few years. The competition for online space and dominance over the internet is going to expand further. As the demand for top advertising spots rises, naturally the prices for online advertising will also increase. In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Courses SEO Courses Performance Marketing Courses SEM Courses Email Marketing Courses Content Marketing Courses Social Media Marketing Courses Marketing Analytics Courses Web Analytics Courses Display Advertising Courses Affiliate Marketing Courses Post-broadcast, post-digital future The digital media bubble will pop in the forthcoming future. Media will bifurcate into massive networks that roll up many properties for scale and synergy or niche publications charging premium prices based on the strength of their brand. In this environment, savvy marketers will focus on developing omnichannel experiences, something that will require transforming their organizations for greater internal cooperation. Growth hacking will continue to evolve Growth hacking is the scientific approach to marketing. Growth hacking is the use of unconventional alternatives to traditional marketing such as social media, viral marketing, innovation, scalability and user-connectivity. This is here to stay and it will evolve further in future. The need for digital marketers to quickly grab their audiences’ attention through social media channels, viral marketing, and organic ads in 2018 will take growth hacking to an even bigger level. Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course Quality content will be the key Content is the ‘king’ in digital marketing and it will remain an essential part of any online marketing campaign in the years to come. The influx of professional writers and video producers will make content marketing more competitive. The key will be to write unique, high-quality, and interactive content that readers can connect with. 3 Must-have SEO Tools to Explode your Ranks Digital Marketing is such a concept which always welcomes the idea of ‘thinking out of the box’. From the way this concept has evolved in the past, we can say that predicting the future for it will be too risky as it will always try to unfold the unexpected! Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

06 Jul 2019

Blogs

7863

When Donald J Trump won the US Presidential election in 2016, one of his first statements was, ‘social media helped me win!’ Even Google said Trump “won the election in the search.” Although Trump was always ‘a darling’ of social media due to his controversial lifestyle, quotes and his popular TV show ‘The Apprentice’,  nobody even thought that his digital marketing media presence could be so compelling that it can win him the presidency Now that’s the power of digital marketing. Nowadays, a simple post on Facebook, a beautiful picture on Instagram, some quirky Twitter post can do wonders for the candidates who are going to compete in an election. However, how can digital marketing influence voters in such a big way? Let’s dig a little deeper and find out the reasons behind that. 1. Micro-Targeting: According to Marian Garcia, professor, Kent Business School, digital marketing can help the political parties to reach fragmented audiences and elusive voters. This tool can also provide relevant messaging built around their ever-changing content consumption and sharing habits. By creating engaging, highly personalized policy announcements across multiple digital marketing platforms, political candidates can engage with crucial demographic groups, such as the millennial to boost conversion. To put this in a simple way, social media enables the candidates to build their brand in their own way and engage in direct communication with the voters. These conversations can be used to pass on tailored and relevant messages. Slowly and steadily, these relevant messages become resonant and later on, these actually turn into the opinions and views of the targeted voters! 2. Engaging The Youth: The most volatile section of the population, which is supposedly apolitical, are always glued to the digital marketing channels and perhaps the most ‘active’ and ‘opinionated’ section on social media. Political parties can target the youth in their preferable domain and mold them according to their agenda. 3. Analysing Data: This is the age of big data. We almost regularly create a huge amount of information online which can help the analyzers predict our behavior. Analysis of this data can be used to give insights about the demographics. Politicians can use these insights to sway constituents in their way.   If you want to learn digital marketing in-depth, check out our digital marketing programs from top universities. Brand Equity: The Measure of Your Value to the Customer 4. The Power of Polls: One of the many interesting features that digital marketing platforms offer is you can conduct polls on various platforms time-to-time. The results will be unbiased, not at all manipulated and will indicate the flaws of the policies put forward by the parties and the agenda with which they are going to the election. Unlike physical polls and exit polls conducted by market research organizations, polls on social media can really put forward almost accurate insights. upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – Does B2B Company needs Brand Focus? document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/does-a-b2b-company-needs-brand-focus-by-wilson-lobo.mp4   5. Authenticate Your Brand: In the present time of yellow journalism, fake news, misleading campaigns can really make or break the future of a political party facing the election. There may be many fake accounts circulating on the Internet, which may harm your political campaign. Therefore, a political party has to reach its audience before others. A well-documented website, a verified Facebook page/Instagram account/Twitter handle, in-depth blogs, etc can really put forward the ‘brand’. Best Digital Marketing Courses Online Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To Explore all our courses, visit our page below. Digital Marketing Courses 6. Digital Advertising: This low-cost advertisement option can be utilized to engage the TG in a meaningful way. Though the word ‘sponsored’ is generally mentioned on these adverts, but in the world of scrolling, people generally overlook that. A party’s reach to its audience increases tremendously through these ads as the inbuilt algorithms of digital media help them to reach the exact target audience. Social media was once a way to contact friends far and wide. Now, however, it’s used as a form of advertising, connecting us with brands, celebrities and, of course, politicians. In-demand Digital Marketing Skills Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Courses SEO Courses Performance Marketing Courses SEM Courses Email Marketing Courses Content Marketing Courses Social Media Marketing Courses Marketing Analytics Courses Web Analytics Courses Display Advertising Courses Affiliate Marketing Courses Political parties launching digital marketing campaigns are not a new phenomenon, but the use of social media in their campaigns has undoubtedly increased. During the 2015 general election at Great Britain, the Conservatives spent £1.2 million on their digital marketing campaign. In comparison, the Labour Party spent less than £200,000. Some Labour party members believe that Facebook was the reason for their loss in that election. On the other hand, US president Donald Trump’s presidential campaign spent most of its digital advertising budget on Facebook, testing more than 50,000 ad variations each day in an attempt to micro-target voters. All these indicate that for political organizations looking to reach potential voters digital targeting can’t be ignored! Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course If you wish to explore and become an expert in Digital Marketing, check out MICA and upGrad’s Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing & Communication. Become an expert in social media marketing, content marketing, branding, marketing analysis, and PR. Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

29 Jun 2019

Blogs

6093

It’s really simple. We all know it. Good branding creates customer loyalty. Loyal customers will continue to support you in thick and thin. They will also pass on a positive message to other people they know. Their influence, in turn, will introduce new customers for your company… but, the million dollar question is, when should a company start promoting the brand? Should they put stress on this process right from the beginning? Or should they concentrate on branding after they have successfully curved some milestones in their journey? WHEN? Let’s take an example. We all love Starbucks. Their coffee is simply to die for. Do you know that this Coffee Giant had started as a small, independently owned coffee joint in Seattle? And the shop was just selling coffees at that point of time. Yes, people did love the taste at that time too, but the brand ‘Starbucks’ was not present. It was just a quaint little coffee shop, which was serving good coffee. But the minute Starbucks decided to change the perception of itself and developed as space which provides the feeling of community over a cup of coffee, the business story of the brand changed completely. Yes, the business story of the ‘brand’. Starbucks became a ‘brand’ and narrated a brand story, projected a brand statement and the story completely changed. So, branding is important. Management gurus always state, ‘first build a brand. Then you’re in business’. Think of any business that has a huge impact and you will actually end up thinking about the brand! Any business that sells things can do well, but those that create feelings and emotions become imprinted in people’s minds. They also gain more visibility and sales that way than through traditional means of growing a business. Brand Positioning – A Focal Point of All Marketing Efforts Branding is often one of the first large investments a company makes. Simply put, branding is what the customers/clients can expect from the business. A successful brand identity sets any business apart from the competition and gives it an edge. It establishes the particular business as an expert in that very field and builds trust in its audience. But when should a company invest in a new brand identity? Here are some pointers which will make you understand what might be the right time to get serious about your branding: Start from the beginning: The best time to start the branding process is when you just established a business. It seems a bit paradoxical, but a quality brand identity not only establishes your business as professional, it also attracts your ideal customers/clients. If you don’t want to waste time, then you should start conveying your message + vision in its best light right from the very beginning. New name, new identity: If you recently changed the name of your business, then it’s the perfect time to start branding/rebranding exercise. Typically, when a business changes the name, it goes through other transitions as well. This could include new services, a different approach to their existing services/products, or a revitalised outlook on their brand. With all of these changes, it is nice to also give your brand identity a fresh face. This new brand identity will also indicate the transition to your audience. It also provides an opportunity to build hype around the transition, and to explain the new direction of your business. Answer These 4 Questions to Build a Brand and Not Just a StartUp! Introducing a new portfolio: If you already have an existing business, but recently decided to create new products/services, and then it could be wise to reposition your brand. You may brand these separately than your current branding, or completely restructure your current branding strategies and start a new one. Merging businesses: You didn’t have a branding strategy at all. But recently have merged ways with a company to expand the business. Then it would be really helpful if you start a combined branding strategy. Once two companies merge, it is a great time to communicate the exciting transition to your audience. There are many ways to communicate the merge, one of which being a fresh brand identity. This can get a bit tricky as well, depending on the brand loyalty of the two businesses. Future Marketing: The Ultimate Collaboration of Branding with AI Best Online Digital Marketing Courses Advanced Certificate in Brand Communication Management - MICA Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communication - MICA Performance Marketing Bootcamp - Google Ads from upGrad To explore all our certification courses on Digital Marketing, kindly visit our page below. Digital Marketing Certification Ready to up the level: You might not have invested in a brand identity when you initially started your business. But in the course of time, as you have progressed, you will most likely reach a point where you will be ready to take your business to the next level. Once you are more serious about the longevity of your business, one of your first investments should be on branding. Quality branding builds trust, and will definitely allow your business to establish itself as professional. If you don’t, your competitors will: In today’s world of continuous competition, branding is no longer considered to be a ‘luxury’ investment, which businesses should think of when they are at least some million worth and a couple of years old. Companies should start projecting their products/services the moment they are up for production as you never know that the time you are investing only in creating a good product, your competitor may have created both a product and have started bragging about it too! Top Digital Marketing Skills Online Advertising Courses Influencer Marketing Programs SEO Optimisation Courses Performance Marketing Certification Search Engine Marketing Course Email Marketing Strategy Content Marketing Strategy Social Media Advertising Digital Marketing Analytics Website Analytics Online Display Advertising Best Affiliate Programs Branding is actually a way of identifying a business. It is how the customers recognise and experience a business. A strong brand is way more than just a logo; it’s reflected in everything from the customer service style, staff uniforms, business cards and premises to the marketing materials and advertising. A brand should reflect what the business stands for and what sets it apart from the competitors – it expresses the qualities, strengths and ‘personality’ of a business. Therefore, branding should be considered in the early stages of starting a business – launching a business with a strong brand will provide a greater chance of success. Why Brands Need To Do More: Lessons from Google, Airbnb & Uber Building a company and a great product that customers love is one of the hardest things one can do. Hence, don’t let this be the testament of all your work: ‘They had a great product that nobody ever heard of!’. Learn Digital Marketing Courses online from the World’s top Universities. Learn Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career. Digital Marketing Free courses to Learn Influencer marketing free course Introduction to advertising free course Influencer marketing right free course SEO basics free course SEM basics free course Email marketing free course Social media marketing introduction free course How to leverage user generated content free course Content marketing free course Fundamentals of marketing free course Brand marketing masterclass free course upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you – What’s new in Marketing? document.createElement('video'); https://cdn.upgrad.com/blog/rumi-ambastha.mp4 Popular Digital Marketing Blogs Beginners Guide to YouTube Marketing : Complete List How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel? Top 5 Actionable Steps The Complete Guide on setting up a LinkedIn Company Page Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Strategy: What it is and How to create it? Digital Marketing Tutorial: A Step-by-Step Guide To Become an Expert Future of Digital Marketing: How It Goes From Here Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs it Digital Marketing Challenges: How to Win Amidst the Challenges in Digital Marketing

by Hitesh Motwani

14 May 2018