5 Ways in Which Digital Marketing Provides Flexibility across Channels Digital marketing can be compared to surgery done using a scalpel while traditional marketing techniques can be compared to doing the same using a crude shove
By Ankit Gupta
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The internet has been transformed from it had been just a decade ago when most people got online using laptops and few understood what apps were. Most people today get online using Smartphones whose low cost has made them affordable. Further facilitating the growth of online users is the low cost of data coupled with high data transfer rates. All this has contributed to making the internet unrecognizable from what it had been just a decade or even 4 years ago prior to which the cost of data was relatively high.
As the internet continues its evolutionary journey, advertising using the internet or digital marketing continues to evolve as well. A few ways digital marketing provides flexibility across channels are described below.
Manage Costs Down to the Rupee
The phrase surgical strikes entered our lexicon with the US-led war on terror, however, the term also aptly describes how digital marketing works. Digital marketing allows brands to manage with surgical precision how much they spend on marketing campaigns, and the segment of consumers their campaign reaches. Reaching consumers in such a manner is vastly more efficient than using traditional media channels.
A Campaigns Progress is Tracked in Real Time
With awareness of digital media increasing, a glaring drawback of using traditional media to advertise has become obvious.
Digital marketing can be compared to surgery done using a scalpel while traditional marketing techniques can be compared to doing the same using a crude shovel. The progress of a digital campaign can be tracked in real time down to individual inquiries, while a traditional campaign blankets an entire region without providing adequate feedback.
Allow Consumers to Reach You
Digital marketing allows brands to pull consumers quickly. While using traditional channels, consumers have to be convinced to buy a product; digital marketing allows consumers looking for a product or service to quickly find the best seller.
Create a Brand Narrative
Today even small brands can become immensely successful if they create a narrative that resonates with consumers. The importance of a brand narrative has increased dramatically over just the past few years. Creating a narrative using traditional channels is certainly possible, but it is also significantly harder and more expensive than doing so using digital media. Digital media allows brands to create a narrative using captivating imagery, imaginative stories, honest testimonials, and entertaining videos.
A Multiplicity of Platforms
The current generation of consumers is more individualistic than any before them. Most consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 are comfortable using technology and their individuality is becoming more pronounced thanks to brands that allow them to express themselves in myriad ways. A culture of individuality means that a segment of consumers is more likely to be visible on a particular digital platform than another. This allows brands to devote more attention to creating a presence on a digital platform where their target audience is likely to be. There is a multiplicity of digital platforms which allows brands to reach a niche audience.
Digital marketing's flexibility as a marketing tool springs from its ability to attract the right audience at the right cost. Its flexibility is further enhanced because it allows a campaign's progress to be tracked in real time and allows the building of an interactive narrative in which consumers partake in a brands identity.
