Will digital marketing die?

Digital marketing obviously isn’t dying. Yet what will vanish, probably in ten, maybe in five years time is the notion of ‘digital’ marketing being, in some practical way, a separate function from the rest of the industry. One of the best terms we know for digital is ‘A solution looking for a problem’. It’s relevant for all advertisers right now, but what others have yet to get to terms with is just how fundamental it has become to marketing as a whole.

Either in the B2B or B2C industries, across the board, technology is also an important aspect of how customers communicate with companies, and how these people perceive goods and services. It is also a great way for them to know about the actions of customers: not only what they are purchasing but why and how they are purchasing it. Every day, customers don’t encounter Dove or Coca Cola from a solely visual viewpoint, then the next day intangible or print or television media. We communicate continuously with brands through multiple experiences and channels. in parallel, not in sequence.

That realization has sparked an improvement in how many companies work, kick-starting an innovative model that combines several platforms, the solution to each one optimized for the best outcomes. We partner with brands to do more than just move a TV commercial to YouTube – each needs its own material and statistics then informs us of the reactions from the viewer which are so specific.

How data has changed the landscape

Digital marketing has expanded the amount of information that every company can gain about its clients. Marketing experts no longer have to focus on polls – or on cell phones or face-to-face on the main street – there are tons of data ready to be collected, on Instagram, Linkedin, and on other social platforms. Data that can show not only a clear perception of a brand’s positive and negative feelings but also a more nuanced perception of how deep certain feelings are. Larger retailers will purchase this expertise on a large scale but, with the correct tools, it’s open to all businesses.

The skillset has changed

The increase in creativity and the evidence that is already open to organizations, is pushing a real shift across the continuum of communications and networking groups capabilities. The marketing function of today’s companies ought to think differently about each platform, and how they interact with users. Only dashing on digital media trends is not enough. Each marketer today has to have a visual awareness, and with that, digital marketing professionals need to consider brand creation and the subtleties of what makes customers purchase.

You need to have a new model for marketing

You can no longer view applications and websites as additional or supplemental communication outlets. This revolution is not one of the new or increased media outlets where I can advertise to customers, but a deeper shift in how and where content (and advertising as part of that) is consumed. We need to adjust the way we think about the interaction between our ads and our customers to succeed in this modern world. The aim can no longer just be to attract customers to your website, hoping to turn a small percentage of those visits into action or purchases. At least not if you choose to expand and meet new audiences, or to split away from sites to hire or pay for visitors.

Alternatively, recognizing that buying choices take place in many contexts, the functions of advertising and company websites ought to move away from conversion and to influence choice and brand recall positively. Instead of being more of a funnel for my marketing to draw people from outlets to my website and seek to convince them to shop, it has to become a tool to extend the scope of my company into places where my customers actually consume content.

Rather than my website being the ultimate stop on a buying trip, it has to become a portal for the things I want to share, and the ideas I want to highlight – feeding news and discussions that are occurring out there, outside my reach. This might sound radical, and perhaps even dangerously naive to a generation of digital marketers who obsess with conversion rates and clicks. Even the most popular companies in the world have long known that this paradigm exists, and for decades have adopted this sort of philosophy. Brands such as Toyota, Lego, Diageo, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, and several others advertise precisely like this, as they realize the dialog is not dominated by them.