Digital Media

Digital Media can be defined as digitised content that is transmitted over the internet. This includes text, audio, video, and graphics. Digital Media opens up a gateway to a whole new world. Advantages of using this medium include, instant access, saves time, saves money, specific targeting of a demographic and easy communication. Digital Media turns the one-way communication path of Traditional Media into a two-way open conversation.

Digital Marketing channels include digital display marketing, search engine marketing, social media, pay-per-click, mobile marketing, email marketing and websites. However, it is important to remember that each channel has a desired outcome and are likely to have a different target audience.

Digital Marketing is less time-consuming in terms of roll-out, it provides more accurate data on reach and the effectiveness of a campaign. Receiving data from digital platforms is extremely crucial. It is great at providing analytics on the success of a campaign, collects data on who is accessing the information and determines whether your marketing is actually working. Creating a digital campaign allows you to adjust your campaign then and there for greater success. Post campaign analysis will help you to improve future activities and understand which tactics work and which do not. While not all Digital Marketing provides instant results such as SEO, content marketing, and social media engagement, there are still digital marketing tactics such as pay-per-click, display, and social media advertising that can produce quicker results.

One of the biggest advantages of Digital Marketing is that it allows you as a business to reach to a specific audience demographic, whether that be related to age, gender, region, interests etc… allowing you to tailor content to ensure you have the highest engagement.  It is the most cost-effective way to reach your audience and potential new customers.

Traditional marketing can often make it very difficult for small businesses with limited budgets to compete with larger businesses for ad space, whereas Digital Marketing is affordable and small businesses can get more for their marketing spend. In Social Insights, Adobe reports that businesses are increasing email marketing to maintain lasting relationships with consumers beyond the point of sale – an easier and cost-effective way to continue communication.

Social Media platforms are a channel of Digital Media that has really boomed in the last 10 years. These not only provide great insights into your reach but also work as a channel for your consumers to connect with the business and communicate more easily. However, it is important to remember that not all Social Media platforms will resonate with your audience. Just because a new platform has launched, doesn’t mean you should create accounts for your business on them all. For example, Adobe Social Insights, reports that “18-29-year-olds are more than twice as likely to have an Instagram account than over 50-year-olds”. Therefore if your target audience isn’t within this age bracket maybe it’s worth investing your time elsewhere.

Using Digital Media to market your product or service is a great way to introduce yourself to a wider audience, while some elements will take time and re-adjusting, on the whole, is the most cost-effective way to promote yourself!