In this blog post, we will talk more about how to move away from the traditional marketing dead horse style, and embrace online and digital marketing…
At one point, online marketing was just the new flashy tech word of the week, no one thought it would go much further than that! I refer to digital marketing and online marketing below:
Digital marketing definition
Before we get started, I want to confirm in layman’s terms what Online Marketing is. Digital marketing is another word for online marketing and is fast becoming a trend among the most successful. Digital marketing is basically any form of selling or marketing which takes place online, hence the word “digital”. LOL!
It is important for you to know that the world of online marketing is changing at lightning speeds, and everyone is trying to catch a little bit of the lightning in a bottle and use it to their advantage.
You have to think fast!
And on your feet, to stay ahead, otherwise, today’s tactical news may be old tactics by tomorrow!
The focus is on staying ahead of the game here. And yes, the game is business!
And yeah, it really is happening THAT fast.
Why every business needs Digital Marketing
Online or digital marketing has become an absolute must for anyone who wants to not only thrive and have that marketing edge in their area of expertise, but it has now become a must for anyone who wants to simply survive in business!
It has become a bare necessity for anyone in business.
Digital Marketing V.S. Traditional Marketing
We often get clients asking us what the difference is between traditional marketing (telephone and other business directories etc.) and the new online digital media marketing. And they also say, why break what isn’t broken, the old ways got the job done right?
But I say…
If you can do it better, more effectively, and faster, then why not!?!
The best way to address this question would be to draw up a Pro and Con list so that one can fairly and objectively give fact-based answers…
Digital marketing case study
We used Yellow Pages and Google as examples for our case study.
Because it worked before? And maybe because this is the way you have always done things?
Let me tell you a quick story about a horse and denial…
Harnessing the traditional marketing “Dead Horse”
Earlier this year, I was at a business seminar in the UAE, where I learned about 20 special techniques that entrepreneurs and business owners use to deny the real reason behind them not using digital marketing. They went so far as to compare their digital marketing denial to harnessing dead horses.
The following list is a sad and accurate commentary on their digital marketing denial in its various forms and manifestations.
Remember to keep your old ways of doing marketing in mind when reading this, hope you enjoy the list as much as I did…
Harnessing Dead Horses
This means keeping doing old ways of marketing.
- Buying a stronger whip
- Changing riders
- Say things like, “This is the way we have always ridden this horse”
- Appointing a committee to study the horse
- Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses
- Increasing the standards to ride dead horses
- Appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse
- Creating a training session to increase our riding ability
- Comparing the state of dead horses in today’s environment
- Change the requirements declaring that “This horse is not dead”
- Hire contractors to ride the dead horse
- Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed
- Declaring that “No horse is too dead to beat”
- Providing additional funding to increase the horse’s performance
- Do a Cost Analysis study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper
- Purchase a product to make dead horses run faster
- Declare the horse is “better, faster and cheaper” dead
- Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses
- Revisit the performance requirements for horses
- Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable
I just couldn’t believe the insight and accuracy of these observations.
I did have a good laugh but it made me think about business marketing and where a lot of us get stuck in old ways and don’t want to make the change, I, myself am guilty too because let’s face it, change is hard and uncomfortable, but that’s where we at RAS Digital Marketing come in, we want to make your change/move to digital marketing as smooth and effortless for you as possible.
Conclusion of the digital marketing case study
So, after all, this has been said and done, the question now is, “Which of the two would be able to market to more people the fastest?”
I think it’s safe to say that would be Google, which just amplifies why you should use a digital marketing strategy to get more customers.
Things to take note of:
- It really is that simple
- Time to be honest with ourselves
- And if we have to be really honest with ourselves, then I think it’s safe to say that in a few years’ time, some kids won’t even have a cooking – clue about what business directories are. And that is sad
But it’s a reality, which should make you also realize, that the new way of marketing is here, it’s called digital marketing, and it is here to stay.
Digital Marketing and the 4th Industrial Revolution
In a country (RSA), where even the poorest of the poor have the latest cellphone, but no food money, do you really want to tell me that they do not have access to the internet or social media?
No, you don’t, because you know as well as I do, that everyone has, 1) a cell phone and 2) a Facebook account.
It has a way of reaching more people in a single Facebook ad than for example, any newspaper article or flyer ever would.
It creates real awareness for your brand across the globe.
I know that this is a lot to take in, but all that you have to remember is that digital marketing gets you to more potential customers in a much faster and more cost-effective way than the older ways of marketing.
There is a reason the whole world is looking at robots to do more and more work instead of humans, that’s because they are faster, can work longer, and don’t need time off, going digital with your marketing is pretty much the same thing.
We program the computer (which could be seen as a robot) to do what we want it to do on a global scale.
So, if I were you, that’s definitely a train I want to get on to. If I were you, I’d start running for the train so long, just in case…
You can never be too early LOL.
If you are not on the train already, then click on this link so that we can help get you on this train too.
Welcome to the digital marketing solution
Online marketing has become an integral part of what a business is to its customers. According to Internet Usage Stats, the global online population (Internet users) is around 7,716,223,209. In the developed world, the internet is practically used every day, everywhere, for pretty much everything.
Why?
It’s simple…
Because it’s easier that way!
From internet users to marketing channels
According to LYFE Marketing, in 2018, the average Internet user has at least 7 social media accounts, whereas it was 4, just five years ago. See the mind-blowing stats below:
- 97% of US adults under 65 are on social media at least once a month. The vast majority are on it every day. Social media is strongly preferred as a means of customer care
- 89% of customer messages are ignored by businesses
- 22% of the world population is on Facebook
- 62% of people in the US are there
- 76% of Facebook users and 51% of Instagram users are on it every day
- 30% of people on social media mention a specific brand when referring to milestones in their lives
- The trend right now is the average person spends over 2 hours a day on social media. Teenagers’ average of 9 hours
- Social media is integrated into everything they do, from school, to work, to entertainment, to hanging out with friends
Social media as a digital marketing strategy
So, if social media is where people are, then do people actually buy things there?
57% of millennials say that social media has made the ads they see more relevant to them. 48% of people say they made their last online purchase as the direct result of a Facebook ad.
Digital marketing is clearly changing the way that we choose and buy our products. People are now embracing new digital ways to communicate, which would have been either inconceivable or impossible before.
And what makes this online or digital revolution even more exciting is that it’s happening right now.
WE ARE PART OF IT!
We are living through it, and we have a unique opportunity to jump on board and be part of this historic transition.
So, here is your challenge…
It does not matter where you are in business, jump on board with us at RAS Digital Marketing, and let our team help you grow your business online, by making use of our RAS Hourglass model.
