Digital marketing

Digital marketing is marketing that makes use of electronic devices (computers) such as personal computers, smartphones, cellphones, tablets and game consoles to engage with stakeholders. Digital marketing applies technologies or platforms such as websites, e-mail, apps (classic and mobile) and social networks. Social Media Marketing is a component of digital marketing. Many organisations use a combination of traditional and digital marketing channels.

History

The term 'digital marketing' was first used in the 1990s.^[1] In the 2000s and the 2010s, digital marketing became more sophisticated as an effective way to create a relationship with the consumer that has depth and relevance.

In 2012 and 2013 statistics showed digital marketing remained a growing field.

Digital marketing is often referred to as 'online marketing' or 'internet marketing'. The term 'digital marketing' has grown in popularity over time, particularly in certain countries. In the USA 'online marketing' is still prevalent but in the UK, 'digital marketing' has become the most common term.

Types of digital marketing

Two different forms of digital marketing exist:

In pull digital marketing, the consumer actively seeks the marketing content, often via web searches or opening an email, text messageor web feed Websites, blogs and streaming media (audio and video) are examples of pull digital marketing.In each of these, users have to navigate to the website to view the content. Only current web browser technology is required to maintain static content.Search engine optimization is one tactic used to increase activity. In 2003, Martin et al. found that consumers prefer special sales and new product information, whereas "interesting" content was not useful.

In push digital marketing the marketer sends a message without the recipient actively seeking the content, such as display advertising on websites and news blogs.Email, text messaging and web feeds can also be classed as push digital marketing when the recipient has not actively sought the marketing message.

Some of the latest developments include: 1. Segmentation: more focus has been placed on segmentation within digital marketing, in order to target specific markets in both business to business and business to consumer sectors. 2. Influencer marketing: Important nodes are identified within related communities, known as influencers. This is becoming an important concept in digital targeting. It is possible to reach influencers via paid advertising, such as Facebook or Google Adsense campaigns, or through sophisticated sCRM (social customer relationship management) software, such as Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce CRM. Many universities now focus, at Masters level, on engagement strategies for influencers. Digital marketing discussion at Wharton

To summarize, Pull digital marketing is characterized by consumers actively seeking marketing content while Push digital marketing occurs when marketers send messages without that content being actively sought by the recipients.