With virtually everyone using some sort of device, it should be no surprise that digital marketing is becoming more important than television and radio. However, marketers need to be a lot more circumspect about which sites they use to market their goods and services, as well as which kind of campaigns they use. However, with a little bit of strategy, it is possible to combine techniques for a decidedly effective campaign, especially if one puts in the time and effort to cross t’s and dot i’s. Interestingly, the most effective campaigns have a lot in common with old school campaigns as networking continues to be surprisingly effective even as it takes a cybernetic twist.
In older eras, the most effective campaigns relied on word of mouth, where a satisfied customer would relate his experience to others and would even recommend the business to any of his friends looking for the products or service that the business sold. While the parallels to Facebook and other social media outlets is obvious, the twist is that businesses are looking for influencers, those with some pull over their friends, and using them to shill their goods for them. Given that some of these people have pull beyond their social media personas this means that they can take the campaign into other areas, such as rock concerts and other appearances. These influencers have become the favorites of advertisers everywhere.
Crowdsourcing is becoming more important, especially for smaller businesses. Using sites such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter, crowdsourcing allows a business to gauge how popular its brand is. Through a coordinated marketing campaign, this allows a small to medium business to market its goods as well as a little added profit, especially if the campaign works. By using tiered rewards to entice customers to spend ever-increasing amounts as well as special surprises should extended goals be met, crowdsourcing has become a major source of income for some businesses, as well as a great form of marketing.
Networking sites are also still big, with some networking sites taking off. The advantage for marketers is that they can target networking sites, especially those that apply best for the company or product in question. For example, an outdoor sporting company can target an extreme sports network as part of its marketing campaign. These campaigns are even better than using mailers because the networking campaign is even more targeted than the mailer campaign, making it far more effective than any postal campaign.
The best thing about these campaigns is that they not only work well together, but they require little budget. They can be set up and go with little maintenance as well as little money, but they can have a major effect on the bottom line of the sponsoring company. This relatively limited budget alongside potentially huge reward is why digital marketing will remain a major force for the foreseeable future. Better yet, it works well for a company that may not rely on traditional marketing ensuring that digital marketing will be a force to deal with for a long time.
