To discuss the new technologies and how such data driven technology is enabling digital marketeers to reach audiences in new ways, CEO of Digital Marketing Agency, Solomon Thimothy, speaks with Digital Journal.
Solomon believes that more advancements will shift the way companies strategize their digital marketing efforts in the months ahead.
Digital Journal: How has marketing changed in recent years?
Solomon Thimothy: Digital marketing has evolved tremendously and it will continue to change. Since there is no scarcity in products or services anymore, customers are in control now. People have options and they rule the game. Right now, your task as a marketer is to catch their attention, which is not easy because customers don’t try to look for you. Instead, you have to find them. You need to come to the place where they hang out most, be it Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or even Alexa at home, and prove to them that you’re the real deal by bringing value. That’s the biggest difference.
DJ: How important digital marketing for businesses?
Thimothy: It’s the lifeblood of your business. You can create the best product in the whole universe but what’s the point if nobody knows about it? And the only way to get through to people these days is via digital channels.
DJ: Which types of technologies are assisting marketers?
Thimothy: Technologies that facilitate marketing experiences, such as content marketing and SEO, social media, email, videos and paid advertising. Also, technologies that simplify marketing operations, namely, Web Analytics, Business Intelligence (BI), Digital Asset Management Systems (DAM), Product Information Management systems (PIM), and more.
There are technologies that help companies move leads through sales pipeline, such as Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) Content Management Systems (CMS) and Marketing Automation systems. Plus, Internet and infrastructure, for example, Google, social media, software development tools, cloud computing, etc.
DJ: Is social media important?
Thimothy: Digital marketing doesn’t happen without social media these days, so yes. It is more than important if you want more conversions.
DJ: How important is data for businesses?
Thimothy: Every business decision is based on data. It basically tells you how you should segment your market and what you need to do to close more sales. By examining as much customer-related data as you can get and by following bigger marketing trends, you learn what areas you need to focus on. This streamlines all your business processes and allows you to prevent unnecessary spending.
DJ: Which tools are useful for analyzing data?
Thimothy: There are many options. You can totally go for open-source tools and customize them to your needs. Or you can use Google Analytics and get the same data. Google Analytics will allow you to analyze the behavior of your customers and using the insights you can reach the target audience faster. Besides, it will help you process and visualize all the visitor data. Google Analytics was made by Google for Google. So unless you are planning to communicate with your customers via Bing, Baidu or Yandex, Google Analytics will give you everything you need.
DJ: Should consumers be concerned about data privacy?
Thimothy: Theoretically, yes. With the amount of personal information people share, it’s pretty natural for them to have some questions as to how it will be used later. But as long as sharing your personal data is an informed decision (after all, you can read a detailed explanation of how your data will be used once you click “I agree”), there shouldn’t be any serious concerns. Besides, customer’s privacy is now a guaranteed right in the EU and US. The companies are obliged to comply with GDPR, and this will only grow in the coming years.
DJ: How can voice technology assist in digital marketing?
Thimothy: Soon, people will stop typing queries, and keywords won’t be particularly helpful anymore for finding what we need. We live in a world we can practically tell our devices whether a phone or a Google Home what to watch, listen to music, turn off the lights or even call a business. However, that’s not the end of SEO, it’s only the beginning of an era we’ve never seen.
The growing popularity of voice in search is just a signal that digital marketing has to become more versatile and more mobile. Voice technology will build upon itself and create business of its own. As a result, digital marketing will be forced to develop and find ways to make brands searchable for any type of request. Hopefully, this will create a deeper engagement of companies with their audience and increase customer loyalty.
