admin My digital marketing journey started 5 years ago, before that,I was a programmer.
I started marketing feature films in social media.My initial efforts never succeeded in bringing people into the movie screens.Now everything seems very obvious, at that time, it didn’t occur to me that my efforts were not reaching sufficient number of people.
I succeeded the second time,I was able to reach out to a large number of people this time.I used facebook advertising, which was very cheap 4 years ago.This time again,I failed.Very few turned up at the theatre.
It is at this point,I started thinking like a salesman than a programmer.Digital marketing is not like java where the language obeys your command.Human beings are very complex.They will always find a way to NOT obey your command.
I started to think about the people who turn up a the movies on the releasing day.What are their motivations ? How can I convince them to buy tickets?At this point I realised it is important to match the product with the buyer.It is pointless to market a film to people more than 35 years if you want them to turn up on the first day.Similarly, women are better targeted from the 2nd week unless your movie can generate huge amount of hype.By the way, no need to call me a sexist
yet, in India, women don’t visit theaters often, unless it is playing a very popular movie.
As I started marketing products ranging from websites, apartments to medicines,It became very obvious that understanding of human nature and behavior is the most important skill in a digital marketing professional’s kitty.In a perfect world, you would be able to reach out to only those people who are sure to purchase your product through various targeting techniques.In a perfect world, advertising expenses will be negligible.Nobody has to teach anybody there is no such thing as a perfect world.
Targeting methods cost available in all digital advertising platforms are inversely related to ease of use.The more obvious your targeting, higher the price.For e.g.,it will cost you higher to target wealthy people.Everyone wants the rich to see their advertisements because they have the money to buy the service if they like it.
Now, let’s assume that you have successfully targeted your potential customers at a reasonable price,How do you convince them to purchase?
Most digital marketing companies pay little or no attention to user experience design.A good user experience will make it easier for the potential customers to decide whether they want to purchase from you or your competitor.The more difficult you make this decision, the user is more likely to give up.He may go to the competitor’s website and purchase their service even when your products may have been a better choice.
Web designers need to be careful about the aesthetics, but it doesn’t end there.Most of the time, a simple elegant easy to navigate website will win over an artistic yet difficult to navigate website. Make it a pleasure to surf your website, you will be singing all the way to the bank !
