Meaning:
Internet marketing, also referred to as web marketing, online marketing, or e-marketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. The Internet has brought media to global audience. The interactive nature of the Internet marketing in terms of providing instant responses and eliciting responses is the unique quality of the medium.
Internet marketing is sometimes considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. The management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management systems are also often grouped together under the Internet marketing.
Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.
What is the Scope of Digital Marketing in India?
Digital Marketing industry is booming not just in India but all parts of the world. The year 2016 took the industry by surprise with over 1.5 lakh job opportunities in the Digital Marketing domain. Well, the following was a bigger surprise when only the first quarter of 2017 marked for 8 lakh job opportunities.
The surveys conducted by several forums have predicted this number to grow with Digitalization in the nation. Our Prime Minister has been actively promoting the idea of Digital India. PM Modi’s digital India campaign gained massive popularity. The initiative of Government of India is aimed at providing easy services to its natives.
Now imagine when a nation’s government is promoting the digital interaction, what do you think will be the Digital Marketing scope in that nation.
The Digital Marketing industry is at its peak at the moment due to many reasons, take a look at some of them:
It is the newest thing in town:
Hasn’t the internet driven all of us crazy? well, it sure has. There was a time when a new serial on the TV used to be the hot topic whereas today, the online posts or a new music video on YouTube grabs our attention. What is this? this is a shift in the choice and preferences. Digital media is gaining mass attention because of the fresh air it has got with itself. It’s like living in a new era. We are experiencing a revolution, while we are shifting from the traditional to the Digital media.
It is flexible:
Since the entire work is to be done on the internet, there is no restriction of the place. It doesn’t matter if you are at the office or at home. All you need is a device that is connected to the internet and you are sorted. Yes, it is actually that easy. Do you want to check your bank balance? do it on your smart phone. Want to book movie tickets? pick up your smartphone and book! This is the digital age, everything is available at your fingertips.
It is easy:
Accessing the digital media is no rocket science. It is a piece of cake. The newest of users also take a maximum of few days to learn how to operate the digital media. This is purely because it is designed in such a user-friendly manner that its primary objective is to ease the operations for human beings, the reason why our mobile phones are now called smartphones.
Eco- friendly
Being responsible citizens of the world it is important that we operate through mediums that do not harm our atmosphere cause being ignorant to the atmosphere will only have an adverse effect on us. The digital media additionally cuts down on paper usage. We operate the digital media over the internet and thus can save ourselves a lot of hustle in terms of hard work, long process of work and all the other drawbacks of using the traditional medias.
Fastest Reach
Previously radio was considered to have the fastest reach because of the live communication feature. Radio is still the medium with the widest reach but the new media is gradually overshadowing the most popular medias like a newspaper, television, etc.
Today, you post anything online and it gets trending within a few hours. This is because the number of users of the digital media are touching heights with each passing day.
Influential
The man kind is used to being influenced by whatever is trending the most. The virtual media has not fallen short of influencing the masses of its own new style. The social media occupying the most space has infused itself so well in the lives of the users that it is like the early morning newspaper that is a must. Only this newspaper is carried forward all day long (pun intended).
The social media’s influence has us all rolling with it. An average youngster’s day usually starts with waking up to the Facebook’s news feed and further leading to snap stories, Instagram and the list goes on. There are individuals who have become the local celebrities only because of the influence of Social media.
Job Opportunities
The massive user engagement calls for more and more job opportunities. The employment sector has seen a major share of jobs generated by the Digital Marketing Industry. The statistics show that the total number of job opportunities in the Digital Marketing industry to cross 8 lakh job in 2017. The career scope in Digital Marketing seems attractive to masses and that is the reason why many professionals are learning this course to enter the industry.
High engagement
It is true that the traditional media are being completely overshadowed by the internet- led Digital Marketing due to high engagement factors. The brands and companies have begun to give extra emphasis to the ad campaigns run on the internet over television ads. The revolution is here!
Small investments and big Returns
Digital Marketing ad campaigns ask for a very little amount of investments as compared to television and print ads. The high ROI is attractive enough to draw the attention of the marketers and advertisers.
Measure immediate results
An advertiser running a social media campaign can easily measure the performance of the campaign in real time without waiting for long intervals. The leads generated and online purchases are a direct measure of the performance of the campaign.
The campaign is run over the internet and the performance is measured in real time what can be better than this for a business?
There must be many more reason to the list of why Digital Marketing industry is at its peak but we will move further from here to briefly discuss the scope of Digital Marketing jobs in India.
Importance
Internet marketing is important because it aligns with the way consumers make purchasing decisions. Studies by analysts such as Gartner indicate that increasing numbers of consumers use social media and research on mobile Internet to carry out preliminary product and price research before making final decisions. Internet marketing enables you to build relations with customers and prospects through regular, low-cost personalized communication, reflecting the move away from mass marketing.
Convenience
Reach
By marketing on the Internet, you can overcome barriers of distance. You can sell goods in any part of the country without setting up local outlets, widening your target market. You can also build an export business without opening a network of distributors in different countries. However, if you want to sell internationally, you should use localization services to ensure that your products are suitable for local markets and comply with local business regulations. Localization services include translation and product modification to reflect local market differences.
Cost
Marketing products on the Internet costs less than marketing them through a physical retail outlet. You do not have the recurring costs of property rental and maintenance. You do not have to purchase stock for display in a store. You can order stock in line with demand, keeping your inventory costs low.
Personalization
Internet marketing enables you to personalize offers to customers by building a profile of their purchasing history and preferences. By tracking the web pages and product information that prospects visit, you can make targeted offers that reflect their interests. The information available from tracking website visits also provides data for planning cross-selling campaigns so that you can increase the value of sales by customer.
Relationships
The Internet provides an important platform for building relationships with customers and increasing customer retention levels. When a customer has purchased a product from your online store, you can begin the relationship by sending a follow-up email to confirm the transaction and thank the customer. Emailing customers regularly with special, personalized offers helps to maintain the relationship. You can also invite customers to submit product reviews on your website, helping to build a sense of community.
Social
Internet marketing enables you to take advantage of the growing importance of social media. An article on the Harvard Business School Executive Education website highlighted the link between social networking and online revenue growth. According to the article, a group of consumers that responded most strongly to the influence of social networks generated increased sales of around 5 percent. You can take advantage of this type of influence by incorporating social networking tools in your Internet marketing campaigns.
Internet marketing enables you to be open for business around the clock without worrying about store opening hours or overtime payments for staff. Offering your products on the Internet is also convenient for customers. They can browse your online store at any time and place orders when it is convenient for them.
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