The Evolution of Digital Marketing
The marketing landscape changed significantly over the last three decades. In the 1980s, the telephone, TV, and print media were the go-to advertising media. So, customers had limited sources of information. However, the 2020s customer is bombarded with information and advertising campaigns that, while helpful for informed decision-making, make the purchase decision hard. At the forefront of the evolution of marketing techniques is digital marketing.
Digital marketing promotes products and services over the internet or electronic media. The digital age took off in the 1990s following the birth of the World Wide Web (internet). In 1993 the first-ever clickable advertisement went live. Then came Netscape, a web browser that allowed users to find product information on command. However, they could not share the information.
The entry of Yahoo revolutionized the way advertising is done, with companies optimizing their websites to allow potential customers to find them. In just 10 short years, digital marketing took on a different path. Customers went from passive recipients of campaign ads to active participants, interacting with other customers and businesses. Yahoo was also one of the first publicly available communication platforms, enabling users to communicate and build networks. It also inspired email marketing, a multi-billion dollar marketing medium.
As customers and businesses settled into the digital age, another disruptive web-based technology emerged — social media. MySpace was the first social network site, but it was Facebook that won the hearts of the world’s users over, pushing MySpace out of business. Social media altered customer dynamics, forcing companies to rethink their approach to digital marketing.
Meanwhile, Google had overtaken Yahoo to become the most popular search engine. Search engine traffic and search engine results page (SERPs), which list search results based on users’ search terms, became the most sought-after marketing metrics. In 2006, reports emerged that search engine traffic had increased to over six billion in a single month. Around the same time, search engine optimization (SEO) was gaining momentum. SEO allowed businesses to optimize their web presence to be more popular, findable, and relevant toward search engine users’ queries.
Today, email and social media are full-blown media outlets where businesses brand themselves and interact with users. Other social media platforms are Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.
Digital marketing is popular because it’s affordable. It empowers the small businesses to go after the same customer the multi-billion-dollar brand is trying to acquire. Then there’s content marketing for small business owners who cannot afford to run paid advertisements or pay social media influencers. Content marketing uses various digital content to communicate brand values and inform or acquire customers. The most popular, high-return content pieces are videos and blog posts.
Thirty years ago, businesses didn’t have much choice regarding how and who to reach. They’d disseminate information and hope the right reader or viewer came across it. Thanks to SEO and marketing analytics, businesses can push targeted advertising campaigns and measure their effectiveness. What’s more, companies can choose from several digital media outlets, depending on the target audience. Access to product information is unprecedented for the customer, not to mention improved customer experience.
