The number of mobile internet users in India has reached 371 million by June 2016, and is on track to cross 500 million users by next year. The fast-growing internet penetration in India is exhibited by the fact that it has surpassed the U.S to become the second largest internet user market after China. Many Indians easily spend about 2-3 hours daily browsing the internet on their mobile phones. Thus, many decisions of a growing generation of savvy Indians are internet-driven. We can, therefore, safely presume that the solution to many a problem is well researched on the internet today.
Digital Marketing assumes paramount importance in an increasingly digital world. For startups, this is even more relevant as an aggressive but judicious use of the digital media can assist in:
- Leveraging various digital and social platforms that the target audience spends time on
- Easily reaching out the target audience – at the click of a button
- Reaching out to the target audience at minimal cost
- Targeted marketing and lead generation through scientific means and available analytics
- Gauging the success and failure of campaigns and being able to make mid-way corrections
- Engaging with the target audience; digital media is most amenable to create and sustain engagements through both organic and paid techniques
- Creating a blend of brand and product/conversion campaigns through targeted marketing
- Measurement of campaigns which allows for analysing the value of each rupee spent
While dwelling on digital marketing, one cannot miss its heart and soul i.e. content creation and curation. Although it is universally acknowledged that “content is king”, one of the most overlooked investments while launching a startup is content marketing! Smart, engaging and compelling content generates excitement, elicits customer response, facilitates conversions and creates a top-notch equity than can catapult your brand towards wide acceptance.
Two critical factors in favor of online marketing vis-à-vis offline are its its cost effectiveness and ability to reduce wastage factor while trying to reach the target audience. Let’s talk about the Sunday newspaper which you enjoy reading with a hot cup of tea! The quarter page to full page print ads of real estate, E-Commerce, FMCG products etc assume that they will garner eyeballs of 30-40 lakh but then how many of these are your relevant audience? How many are in the considered set of being inclined towards making a purchase? Maybe a few thousand. This is where the value of digital marketing comes into the picture. Every marketing budget should have a revenue goal, and digital marketing as a tool not only helps you to measure spends better but also eliminates the wastage factor to a large extent.
Digital marketing gives the freedom to every beginner for running brand and product campaigns with manageable budgets. Startups don’t have millions to spend on marketing and advertising, and have a ‘lean’ approach. So, make a small start, measure outcomes, take corrective measures and engage with a whole new world of digital enthusiasts! And you may have taken the baby steps towards achieving your dreams.