Technology helps us in solving problem and at the same time create new opportunity. This condition helps in evolving the business world with the opportunities and solutions that formed by digital marketing. For those reasons, experts considered digital marketing is considered as a necessity for business owner in the current digital era that relies on technologies.
How does digital marketing help business owner? And what strategies should be applied to use it as a profitable tool? This questions often arises in the in the of business owner who are still unfamiliar with digital marketing.
Getting to Know Digital Marketing from Experts Points of View
Digital marketing is the use of digital technology to fulfil the needs and practices of marketing. Experts have various definitions and interpretations which will generally narrows down to the conclusions above.
The following are opinions of several experts regarding the term digital marketing which has become popular and widely known since the turn of the millennium.
1. Coviello, Milley, and Marcolin (2001)
Digital Marketing is a tool that helps business owner to meet with their customer. The trio explains digital marketing as the practice of internet or interactive technology to advertise the product to the customer.
Digital marketing could help in creating dialogue between business owner, either producers or distributors, with identified potential customers.
This condition allows the creation of relationship between customers and business owners that help them to communicate or share information.
2. American Marketing Association
According to experts of American Marketing Association, digital marketing is the use of digital technology to facilitate relations between institutions, their activity, and process.
Digital marketing functions as a tool to communicate, create, provide value to customers and stakeholders that involves in the business scheme.
Most experts believe that digital marketing has an important role in creating profitable relationships between business owners and consumers or potential customers.
The success in relationship building and communicating would lead to business transactions activities, that would both profit business owners and satisfied the customer’s needs.
3. Urban (2004)
Digital Marketing is the use of the internet and technology in marketing. The internet and technology have the functions and roles that can’t be reached or is being abandoned by traditional marketing practices.
This happens because traditional marketing practices has become less or no longer efficient when applied in modern times. They become obsolete because of the development of tools and strategies that were provided by technological advances and the changes in human behaviour.
Urban noted that there are some basic differences between traditional marketing and digital marketing; One of them is the form or flow of communication that occurs.
Traditional marketing only conducts one-way communication with promotions or advertisements; while digital marketing conducts two-way communication because it allowed customers to give feedback, whether it’s criticism or appraisal in the form of testimonials about a product or service.
4. Kleindl and Burrow (2005)
The two refer digital marketing as a method of interactions between two parties, in this case, business owners and customers. Kleindl and Burrow specifically highlight the involvement of planning and implementation that manifests in concepts, offers or promotions, pricing to distribution activities that involve the interaction of several parties using the help of digital technology.
This concept allows business owner, be it brand owners, companies, or distributors to communicate and maintain good relations with consumers and potential customers with the aim of mutually benefit both parties.
5. Tarigan and Sanjaya (2009)
Both refers digital marketing as branding that uses media based on the web or the internet. It can be concluded that digital marketing is all activities of branding and promotion using various internet-based media such as email, blogs, social media, and ad words.
Various Digital Marketing Strategies
Based on expert’s explanation and opinion about digital marketing above, it can be concluded that there are many kinds of digital marketing strategies that can be applied, and one of them is based on the tools.
There are various digital marketing strategies that are commonly known and some of them may already be used by business owners.
1. Social Media
The most common tools to used are social media. This strategy is widely used because it cost nothing and is very simple to use.
Social media used to promote or introduce the products they sell, either products or services. This practice has variety of use, such as uploading catalogues, presenting products, and brandings.
There are many alternative tools that can be used to apply media social-based digital marketing. Such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter or Path.
2. Dropshipper and Reseller
Another popular strategy is to use reseller and dropshipper. These strategies allowed business owner to focus on selling the product without the need to think about production, distribution, and even product storage.
This strategy is basically in the form of promotional practices or product offerings belonging to other parties to potential customers. When a transaction occurs, there will be profit sharing between the selling party or reseller and dropshipper and the producer or owner of the product sold.
Resellers and dropshippers allow product circulation to be faster because there are many active sales outlets. Fast circulation means that there is a lot of movement of goods or services so that a lot of profits are created.
3. Email Marketing
The use of email as a marketing tool is one type of digital marketing that has been used for quite some time. The practice of using email to communicate with potential customers, but its has diminished due to the emerging spam policies.
A more polite and communicative approach is needed so that email marketing remains effective and does not violate spamming policies. These policies are the cause of email marketing efficiency to decline.
4. Influencer Marketing
Another strategy that is gaining popularity lately is influencer marketing. As the name implies, this marketing strategy involves an influencer who will play a role in influencing or inviting audiences to use a product or service.
The right choice of influencers related to market audiences is important in terms of the success of this strategy. In addition to having the potential to invite audiences to become customers, influencers can also have a big impact on the image of a product or brand.
For this reason, the practice of influencer marketing as a digital marketing strategy requires the suitable choice of influencers that are in line with the product image, because it is a key factor to get optimal benefits from this strategy.
5. AdWords or Google Ads
Another strategy that is also quite popular and can be an effective choice is the use of Google Ads or Google Adwords. This method is actually very simple, namely by placing ads on the Google search engine so that the advertiser’s product or business profile is seen by search engine users.
The appearance of these ads is of course associated with the searches that users make. The match of keywords with products or business profiles is the main goal to ensure that search engine users are really trying to get information about the advertised product.
This scheme can be very effective because Google has a comprehensive algorithm related to user’s data, ranging from age, location, language, time, use of search tools, and of course keyword match. It is for this reason that the appearance of these ads can be very effective in the context of targeting the right target consumers.
6. Search Engine Optimization
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a digital marketing strategy that can also be very effective. This strategy is similar to Google Adwords but appears in search results due to optimization which refers to the popularity and relevance of content to keywords.
The advantages of SEO are the detail and quality of the content as well as a more natural or natural impression. This means that search engine users are not looking at advertisements but are referred by search engines based on search results.
The result of this optimization is placing links to sites or products that are relevant to the search keywords. Being on the top or first page of Google search results will increase the potential for users to be exposed to information while creating a psychological boost to trust because the content is naturally referred to by search engines.
7. Search Engine Marketing
This strategy has a working principle similar to SEO, efforts to increase visibility are carried out by placing information or links to sites at the top of search results.
Content emergence occurs based on the suitability of keywords and the suitability of user demographics and targeted consumers. The difference is the increase in ranking is done by cooperating or paying search engines.
Maximizing Profits with Digital Marketing
The practice of digital marketing is something that is widely recommended and done at today’s era. The main reason why digital marketing is recommended and practiced is because it gives results in the form of profits.
Every business owner wants profit and one of the best ways to get it right now is to take advantage of technological advances in the form of digital marketing. Then how can these benefits be obtained by digital marketing actors?
1. Boosts Sales
The practice of digital marketing, according to experts, has the great benefit of boosting sales. Digital marketing allows an opportunity to form a market or outlet that are active 24 hours for 7 days a week.
The content and information in a platform act as a salesperson who operates every day without stopping.
Other than that, increase in market reach is also another reason why sales can be boosted because the target audiences are no longer limited by geographical condition.
Online business owner can even benefit without having to open a shop or having the products thanks to dropship or reseller schemes. This means that there are so many opportunities that can be obtained from digital marketing practices.
2. Costs Effective
One of the main advantages of digital marketing is that it is cost-effective. This is because most platforms that can be used for marketing practices in the digital era are free. In addition, there are many digital marketing skills or tricks that you can learn and do yourself, so you don’t have to pay extra to pay for consultants or use the services of other parties.
The cost required to practice digital marketing are generally become part of asset procurement and business operational costs in general.
A smartphone can be a reliable tool and asset to practice digital marketing.
This reduced cost of promotion and branding impacted on the amount of profit that can be obtained. In addition, there are more resources that can be used for other purposes.
3. Global Networking
One of the wonders of internet technology does is shrink the world. Of course, this does not happen literally, but the barriers that used to separate mankind such as distance or national borders are declining thanks to internet technology that connects users from all over the world in almost real-time.
Business owner in location A can get consumers in location B who are geographically far away. Technology enables an open global market and digital marketing allows businesses to utilize it effectively.
4. On Target
Another benefit of digital marketing is that it is right on target. How smartphone user information is collected to bring up specific profiles allows businesses to target consumers precisely.
Information about gender, age, product preferences, and even mobility can be collected using data obtained from a smartphone. Based on these criteria, digital marketing practices can accurately target specific target customers.
Smartphone users often find product advertisements appearing after searching for or visiting businesses that sell similar products. This can happen because smartphone user profiles have been mapped accurately using algorithms and adapted to the needs of advertisers who target consumers with suitable profile.
5. Increase Engagement with Customers
Another benefit that can be obtained from digital marketing practices is the two-way communication between business owner and target customers.
The two-way communication allows business owners to detect and describe market tastes, but also increases good relationships or positive engagement with consumers.
Good relation between business owner and target audience cannot be underestimated, it can be an important asset that becomes a differentiating factor when potential consumers choose products with similar specifications and prices.
The connection that exists can lead customers to choose products belonging to businesses who have been in a relationship or engagement even though only through cyberspace.
Those are some of the benefits of digital marketing according to experts that can be obtained those who are able to use it effectively and efficiently. Digital marketing is a result of the development of digital technology that changes the way of life and the way of interaction of modern humans.
Rahmat Al Kafi
Editor: Kevin Pradipta