Almost every business has some sort of digital marketing strategy. Even if you ignore the internet entirely, it's likely that your company is mentioned online in business directories and reviews, which means it has a digital presence whether you like it or not.
But there's a simple reason these companies are deepening their investments in digital media marketing: it works. Digital marketing's benefits are numerous and are reflected not just in performance metrics, but in how they can uplift other non-digital marketing. Here's a quick rundown of why every brand has something to gain from digital marketing.
Driving Sales and ROI
In the most basic scenarios, companies have found that digital marketing can help them increase their leads and sales opportunities. From inbound strategies like blog content creation to simple brand visibility and consumer engagement methods like building a presence on social media, many brands have found that a well-designed digital strategy generates sales and a positive ROI for their marketing efforts.
Are there ways for this strategy to fail? Yes. But it usually happens when inexperienced marketers launch a campaign without understanding its goals or lack a blueprint for how that marketing will be able to generate revenues and ROI. Marketing is an investment in a process, but when the investment goes to experienced practitioners, brands almost always win.
Effective Across the Entire Consumer Journey
Some types of marketing and advertising only serve certain aspects of the consumer journey. Television ads are high-level, awareness-based campaigns that aim to spark an interest in consumers. But those ads can't move consumers very far down the funnel, and they certainly can't close the deal on a conversion.
On the other hand, digital content can achieve this. Through a combination of campaigns and digital channels, digital media marketing can stick with consumers all the way through the process. Display ads and social content can generate interest and click-throughs, website content can aid in research and contact forms or online stores can complete the conversion or lead generation without the brand ever letting go of that prospect. This is invaluable when trying to use digital to acquire new clientele: Online campaigns give you a chance to remain in close contact.
Enhancing Non-Digital Channels
Digital marketing is obviously the top priority of any digital content, but it can improve the performance of traditional content, too. TV advertisements, radio, direct mailings and other traditional campaigns can benefit from increased brand lift, along with the deepened relationship cultivated through social engagement. Traditional channels can also refer to digital content to increase engagement and interaction with consumers. In some cases, according to CMO, content can even be repurposed across channels, with digital video being a viable option for TV-originating content and vice versa. Brands can use these cross-promotional opportunities to get more mileage out of content, saving on marketing while increasing ROI.
The case for digital media marketing is easy to make. If you aren't taking advantage of all its opportunities, it's time to start thinking about a different marketing strategy.
