Digital Marketing – in my opinion – is one of the most damaging phrases being bandied around by marketing experts today.
By simply using the phrase you are segmenting the digital landscape from your overall marketing strategy, so it sits as a standalone silo, traditionally with a dedicated team with a disconnect from the higher marketing team. This is what is dangerous.
For me marketing hasn’t changed, when you get down to it is still just about the eyeballs and ears. Making sure a message is seen or heard by a relevant audience with an aim to evoke a response.
The skill set of a marketer has always been to ensure the message is right for the advertiser, that it is in the right place to be seen by the right audience, and that it evokes a feeling that is needed for the audience to respond.
Not so long ago there were fewer media channels, and these, in turn, commanded higher and more attentive audiences than now – but in essence, nothing has changed. Marketing is still marketing and is still reaching the right audience at the right time in the right place.
Using technology means we can get more personal with an audience, creating hyper-targeted campaigns. It has also allowed us to track ROI more efficiently.
Digital channels are important and continue to become more so as audiences continue to diversify and adapt to new technology.
We need to ensure clients reach their audiences across all of the relevant channels regardless of whether they are traditional or digital. We need to ensure the message is presented in a way that suits those specific channels, and we need to measure each of those channels collectively to ensure that any campaign achieves a strong ROI.
So, in summary, there is no such thing as digital marketing, it’s just marketing. The only thing that’s changed is the number of media channels have been increased.
Stop separating out your marketing efforts and look at the whole picture.
