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What are Digital Marketing Channels – 10 Facts
Digital marketing channels are simply digital platforms that a marketer can manipulate to forge a connection with his audience; but that is the short answer. The long answer is what this article is about. If you have been seeking to comprehensively understand the nuances as well as the big picture regarding digital marketing channels, these 10 facts are just for you.
How did digital marketing develop?
Where people congregate, marketing always follows and this is why soccer arenas, the Olympics and other major events that attract multitudes are full of banners, and other advertising apparatus.
With the advent of the internet, it was only natural for marketing to follow and hence, digital marketing was born and the enabling platforms by default were christened digital marketing channels. Currently, any digital platform that can be used for marketing purposes qualifies as a digital marketing channel.
Why did they develop?
Digital channels developed because they met a human need and they later became digital marketing channels because they provided a more flexible and user-convenient information delivery system that could be utilized by marketers.
For instance, with technology advancement and the search for success becoming ever more ingrained and pervasive, people needed a way to stay in touch, and share precious life moments with loved ones and social media took off.
Search engines, on the other hand, provided knowledge at the fingertips hence offering a functionality everyone could appreciate. Summarily, digital marketing channels are an embodiment of the rapid technological advancement of communication, interaction, and information access structures in recent years.
Common misconceptions about digital marketing channels
Many people think that digital marketing channels are only those that require the internet but this is not true. All channels that are digital in nature and can support marketing undertakings in some capacity qualify: from search engines, digital publications and SMS to social media advertising and display advertising.
Others think that digital marketing channels are advantageous only to small businesses trying to rise through the ranks, but this again, is incorrect as all commerce establishments can leverage the power of digital channels to further their marketing agendas.
Who developed them?
The development of digital channels has been a long journey with many excellent minds such as Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, among many others playing a part. It also includes oldies such as Alexander Graham Bell who laid the foundations for the cellphone network that has morphed into what we enjoy today.
Are they effective?
In 2017, digital marketing budgets are projected to surpass T.V marketing which speaks a lot concerning the efficacy of marketing on digital channels. The precise projections are an astounding 77 billion dollars for digital marketing with T.V spending at 72 billion. It is not a wonder, then, that corporations owning digital marketing channels are among the biggest in the globe.
Which is the most used digital marketing channel?
There are many ways to evaluate this, but in terms of traffic, search engine marketing takes the day. Billions of queries are processed each second across Google, Bing, Baidu, and Yahoo. Of course, Google stands out as both the biggest earner, and the biggest market influencer closely followed by Facebook. Google controls around 60% of the search market, with Facebook taking the lead in social media.
Which is the most used device to access digital marketing channels?
Two years ago, most people accessed digital channels through desktop PCs but that has changed now with mobile gadgets (tablets and smartphones) taking over. They surpassed desktop traffic in 2016 and they continue to grow rapidly as more people tap into the immense ability of today’s handsets and portable devices.
The ever-changing nature of digital marketing channels
No discussion of digital channels would be complete without mentioning their intrinsic fluidity. The pace at which digital marketing channels develop is frenetic. AdWords, Facebook, Instagram, Bing Ads and the rest are continually implementing changes to offer a better platform for both advertisers and their target audiences.
Receptivity
Another fact about digital marketing channels regards the receptivity of users to ads. People are more receptive on some platforms as compared to others. SEO stands out, for instance, since users get something of interest first which makes them more receptive to offers. Social media ads are also largely well received. Banner ads on sites and blogs, on the other hand, do not get a comparably good reception.
Consequences of mistakes on digital marketing channels
The internet never forgets and blunders on internet driven digital marketing channels are harder to mitigate compared to errors on traditional media due to the viral element. Moreover, proof and reminders hang around for longer as deleting something off the internet is easier said than done.
In conclusion, security is another critical aspect of digital marketing channels. All platforms live with paranoia that their systems might be hacked. However, for all the benefits – both commercial and societal – that digital marketing channels bring to the table, the increased security risk is a small price to pay.