Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services.
It has significantly transformed the way brands and businesses utilize technology for marketing since the 1990s and 2000s. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life,[4] and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops,[5][6] digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of methods. Some of these methods include: search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones.
The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
Digital marketing effectively began in 1990 when the Archie search engine was created as an index for FTP sites. In the 1980s, the storage capacity of computers was already large enough to store huge volumes of customer information. Companies started choosing online techniques, such as database marketing, rather than limited list brokers.[9] Databases allowed companies to track customers' information more effectively, transforming the relationship between buyer and seller.
In the 1990s, the term digital marketing was coined.[citation needed] The first clickable banner ad, the "You Will" campaign by AT&T, went live in 1994, and over the first four months, 44% of all people who saw it clicked on the ad.[10][11] Early digital marketing efforts focused on simple HTML websites and the burgeoning practice of email marketing, which allowed for direct communication with consumers.
In the 2000s, with increasing numbers of Internet users and the birth of the iPhone, customers began searching for products and making decisions about their needs online first, instead of consulting a salesperson, which created a new problem for the marketing department of a company.[13] In addition, a survey in 2000 in the United Kingdom found that most retailers still needed to register their own domain address.[14] These problems encouraged marketers to find new ways to integrate digital technology into market development. At the same time, PPC advertising,[expand acronym] introduced by Google AdWords in 2000, allowed businesses to target specific keywords, making digital marketing more measurable and cost-effective.
The mid-2000s saw the emergence of social media platforms like Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), and Twitter (2006). These platforms revolutionized digital marketing by facilitating direct and interactive engagement with consumers. In 2007, marketing automation was developed as a response to the ever-evolving marketing climate. Marketing automation is the process by which software is used to automate conventional marketing processes.[16] Marketing automation helps companies segment customers, launch multichannel marketing campaigns, and provide personalized information for customers.,[16] based on their specific activities. In this way, users' activity (or lack thereof) triggers a personal message that is customized to the user in their preferred platform. However, despite the benefits of marketing automation many companies are struggling to adapt it to their everyday uses correctly.
Digital marketing became more sophisticated in the 2000s and the 2010s, when[18][19] the proliferation of devices capable of accessing digital media led to sudden growth.[20] Statistics produced in 2012 and 2013 showed that digital marketing was still growing.[21][22] With the development of social media in the 2000s, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, consumers became highly dependent on digital electronics in their daily lives. Therefore, they expected a seamless user experience across different channels for searching product information. The change in customer behavior improved the diversification of marketing technology.
Digital media growth was estimated at 4.5 trillion online ads served annually with digital media spending at 48% growth in 2010.[24] An increasing portion of advertising stems from businesses employing Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) to tailor advertising for internet users, but OBA raises concerns about consumer privacy and data protection.
Nonlinear marketing, a type of interactive marketing, is a long-term marketing approach that builds on businesses collecting information about an Internet user's online activities and trying to be visible in multiple areas.
Unlike traditional marketing techniques, which involve direct, one-way messaging to consumers (via print, television, and radio advertising), nonlinear digital marketing strategies are centered on reaching prospective customers across multiple online channels.
Combined with higher consumer knowledge and the demand for more sophisticated consumer offerings, this change has forced many businesses to rethink their outreach strategy and adopt or incorporate omnichannel, nonlinear marketing techniques to maintain sufficient brand exposure, engagement, and reach.
Nonlinear marketing strategies involve efforts to adapt the advertising to different platforms[26] and to tailor the advertising to different individual buyers rather than a large coherent audience.