There have been 5 breakthroughs of technologies that changed the way we advertise and market our business. The printing press gave way to books, newspapers and magazines. Radio tickles our hearing with songs and jingles. Television, which most Philippine Businesses are still fixated on, mixed colors and sounds with pleasing personalities and acting to bring brands across. Computers and the Internet allowed consumers to get information whenever they wanted. Finally, mobile made information available anywhere. All of these changed the way we advertise, market and do our business.
And yet, marketing is not about the technology. Marketing is still about people and the messages they convey. Technology just makes communication cheaper, easier and more effectively. Marketing Technology is just about people communicating through technology. The Internet allows us to be connected. People buy the latest mobile devices because they want to be connected always. Businesses are now presented an opportunity to get connected.
Email is still the most preferred mode of communication online
The Internet was created essentially to retrieve and send information, and Email is the god app of the Internet. Almost, if not all, people actively online has at least one email address. You won’t be able to transact online without an active email address.
Hence, email remains the marketing technology medium to focus on. And with mobile, people can now receive and read emails on the go. In fact, majority of the email opens now are from mobile devices. Other than being able to send that message, email marketing now demands that the message is easily readable, that’s why email templates should be mobile-responsive.
Your Website is your digital marketing hub
Gone are the days that you just copy your business’ brochure and put it online and call it a website. Nowadays, your website should do what you do in your business: greet customers, provide information, sell stuff, give a great customer experience. Don’t just have your website done by your IT nephew still in college the same way you wouldn’t leave your actual store construction to some bloke who just knows how to drive a nail using a hammer.
Invest on your website, especially on functionality and design. Your website should have a goal and purpose, and not just serve as an online brochure.
Social Media starts conversations
Facebook, Twitter and other social media allows us to listen to what consumers are talking: about us, our products, our competitors. Social media is not just about talking where our customers are; it allows us businesses to listen to our customers in real time. Businesses aren’t used to listening, but good digital marketers need to participate what is everybody talking about.
Social media marketing is good, but don’t rely on that too much. We’ve discussed the issues with Facebook Marketing and how it could just be a waste of money, and yet we still continue to build our Facebook page. We have the same sentiments about this guy (Derek Muller of Veritasium):
The point is, Social Media is good, but don’t rely just on that to bring in your customers. At the end of the day, you wouldn’t know when Facebook will change (again) their filtering algorithms or if Twitter will start filtering of their own. This is why building an email list is still much more important than building your Facebook Page
Start conversations on social media. Sell on your website and on email.
Mobile: marketing on the move
Mobile marketing isn’t the next big thing – it is THE BIG THING. It used to be that mobile apps are for big businesses with cash to pay developers, but now even small businesses, like you, can benefit from mobile apps.
Mobile apps extend the functionality of your website. Imagine running your own coupons or stamp cards, inviting people to your events, know if your customer is nearby, or even directly sending them messages using push notifications. Mobile apps bring your business directly where your customers’ money is – directly into their pockets.
Marketing Technology – no longer for big corporations
Digital marketing and marketing technologies that automates marketing activities is no longer exclusive to big corporations with deep pockets. The notion that digital marketing is only applicable to the big corporations is the same notion that mobile phones decades ago is exclusive for the rich. Now, as technology becomes cheaper, so does access to the same tools and softwares that these companies use to build their businesses. Digital marketing levels the field for small businesses to compete with the big boys.
So, are you still thinking of putting up a billboard on EDSA? Spend 1/10th of that on digital marketing and you would get the same or even better results. Act now and reap the digital marketing rewards.