When the internet was new, "digital marketing" wasn't even a unified thing. Instead, webmasters cobbled together a variety of skills to make their sites and businesses successful. In most cases, only a few of these skills were considered to be marketing. Things like putting up a website were considered "technical," and often, those who specialized in them didn't know the first thing about how to sell things or enhance branding.
Over time, larger companies began to enter the online space, and with them, there came a change in how the relevant skills were seen. Now, the entire array of necessary skills are considered to be aspects of digital marketing. With this change, the digital marketing industry has exploded to the point that almost every major firm has a department or outside company dedicated to the task.
What is Digital Marketing?
Today's digital marketing includes web design, graphic design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, other advertising, content creation, video creation and editing, social media marketing, and more. All of these aspects work together to get a client noticed online, manage online brand image and reputation, and motivate sales. Most of these skillsets are involved enough to be considered fields in and of themselves, but they must be expertly combined in order to create a unified and impactful strategy.
Which aspects of digital marketing are in the forefront depends on the trends of the day. About five years ago, for instance, video was viewed with skepticism, and not much effort was put into making this content. Now, the rise of YouTube stars and other factors have contributed to massive growth in this area. Because of shifts like this, it's important to use a digital marketing agency that has a wide variety of professionals under its roof. This will allow it to nimbly shift from one trend to the next as the online space continues to evolve.
Notable Facts
- According to Inc. Magazine, video marketing has surged in just the last two years.
- The top three organic search results still command about 50 percentof the clicks on search engines. This shows that SEO is still an important part of digital marketing.
- Mobile search gets almost, but not quite, as many clicks as desktop search as of July 2018, according to Advanced Web Ranking. Because of this, it is imperative that your site looks and works well on desktops as well as phones.
- Artificial intelligence is set to make big inroads into digital marketing, according to Inc. The publication says that 80 percent of marketers who responded to a Demandbase survey expected that AI will "revolutionize the field" in the coming years. Just how it will do this remains to be seen.
Why it's Essential to Get on Board With Digital Marketing Now
As with any other form of marketing, one of the keys to success is speed. The longer you wait to start your digital marketing efforts, the longer you give your competition to catch up and surpass you. If you delay, you'll also lose ground to those who already have active digital marketing in progress.
How Digital Marketing Helps You Defeat Your Competition
It is essential for your prospective customers to be able to find you online. This is especially true in the service industry, where customers may need to line up services in a hurry. Rushed customers typically look online and choose from the first few companies they find. If you are online, and present a fully-professional appearance, you are likely to get those prospects to become your customers. Meanwhile, competition that has no online presence or is limited to an obsolete-looking website will lose out. In local markets, this can indeed mean the difference between failure and success.
For more information on the importance of digital marketing, and to find out how we can take care of all of your company's online marketing needs, just contact us. We'll be glad to help your business stand out.
ScottCanBrand
www.scottcanbrand.com
954.271.3132
