Digital Advertising Alone Is Not Sufficient For Brand Building

Today, when the world is moving towards digitalization, it has become an immediate necessity for brands to stay proactive and updated with the current marketing mediums. Any business, irrespective of its genre, needs to build a customer base to reach the target and create recognition for the brand. With digital marketing, generating awareness, reaching out to the maximum audience, and increasing leads and market sales have become more achievable as it makes marketing attempts using an electronic device or the internet. It has plenty of options for a business owner to choose from, like social media posts, YouTube videos, ads on social media, email marketing, pop- up ads, clickbait URLs, and more. It has revolutionized the way brand owners and customers sell and buy goods and with the sheer effectiveness of the medium, every business is attempting to create a holistic image of its brand.

Why digital marketing is vital for a business?

People nowadays devote more attention to the internet and its contents. Online marketing over the years has shown effective results in the market. According to an article published by LYFE MARKETING, 64% of people say they have been influenced to buy something by watching a video online. 52% of buying decisions can be traced back to Facebook. Through a survey, the website claims that according to Google itself, there are 3.5 billion searches made by users per day. Also, 92% of these users will pick businesses found on the first SERP.

How digital marketing is helpful?

Digital marketing gives a brand myriad of options to reach out to the target audience and generate higher revenues. Some of the major positive qualities are:

Better possibility of reaching a vast audience: Digital marketing due to its vast approach can reach the audience globally. The internet is nowadays almost everywhere and that highly facilitates the brands to create a better and wider customer base.

Creates brand interactions and create higher levels of brand loyalty: Any business needs to also create a relationship between the buyer and seller. Digital marketing increases brand interactions with customers with help in giving better service. Therefore, it also increases brand loyalty, wherein a brand can attract repeated customers making better profits.

Low- cost platform: Digital marketing is a cost-effective approach during a promotion. It has the scope to reach out to more number of people while being within a budget. Some platforms can be operated for free, though one might have to walk some extra miles to get results. However according to Brandongaille.com, even if one decides to hire professionals for marketing efforts, the cost can be up to 50-75% lower than other marketing efforts with the same potential outreach.

Instant publicity: With a shorter attention span of the viewers nowadays, we need to engage people at sonic speed. According to Statistic Brain, the average attention span for someone online is now 8.25 seconds. So an informative post, update or notification seems efficient.

*Measuring ROI is easier:  As the internet is fast, one needs to stay updated and proactive in order to make the necessary changes as per the need. There are different tools which record important data like the amount of traffic on a said website, how many clicks on ads, how much time people invested on the page, how many purchases and so on. 

However, keeping all the above points in mind, the question still remains - Is digital marketing alone sufficient for brand building?

With every great opportunity comes a few setbacks that also needs to be reviewed:

*Time-consuming efforts: According to Social Media Today data, more than 60% of online marketers spend at least 6 hours a day on digital platforms to enhance promotions.

*Highly susceptible to negative public reactions: While targeting a larger the audience, one becomes open to a lot of criticism and negative feedback or backlash which can get de-motivating for the marketer.

*Can be easily copied: Online platforms are often just a click away from various internet malevolence. Logos and trademarks are nowadays extremely easy to fool customers, tarnishing the integrity of the brand, product or services that sometimes creates a negative online reputation.

*Getting lost in the online noise: In the wake of digitalization, online marketers have also increased in number, and so have the ads and promotion activities. Hence it has high chances of getting drowned in the clutter, losing valuable customers.

*Online marketing may not be appropriate for certain consumers: When looking forward to accelerating revenue, one must also keep in mind the masses who are yet to choose the online medium for making purchase decisions. There are people who are either not tech-savvy or may not have access to the internet. Also, there are people who still choose the traditional purchasing system where they can see, touch and feel the product before buying.

So what are the other mediums that brands can adopt?

Since long, businesses have always clung to traditional marketing devices. With the rise of digital marketing, ATL or BTL advertising has taken a back seat compared to the former. However, when intending to target a wider audience, above the line (ATL) advertising has always proved to work with all segments of the society, below the line (BTL) advertising is more target oriented, both geographically and demographically.

ATL advertising uses mass media channels like televisions, radio, print media. Till today there are a great number of audiences that can be reached through more conventional media, communication language and messages that create brand awareness. Not only that, but it also reflects the stature of the brand vividly and becomes more acceptable for consumers.

BTL communication involves a more direct approach to a certain target audience through leaflets, brochures, sampling, direct mailing, campaigns, sponsorship, and so on. It also tends to be helpful when business owners are trying to keep the budget tight. Overall if a marketer chooses the right target audience and keeps up with their interests and needs, the BTL approach can also be efficient.

Conclusion:

Digital marketing is evidently the want of the hour for most business owners, but one also needs to take into account the various segments of the customers who need to be reached simultaneously. One needs to resort to a unique mix of media to approach, especially in a country like India that is known for its diversity in all aspects. Advertising agency in Delhi has been exploring their options diligently in order to get it right. Keeping an open mind can prove to be a productive strategy to get good results.