DIGITAL MARKETING MINDSET

Engagement, Measurement, Four Buckets Of Digital Marketing

Understanding and capitalizing on the Cultural Markets, as well as the need for constant Upskilling and Reskilling in the constantly evolving field of Digital Marketing.

Digital marketing is not just about metrics and analytics; it is also about connecting with your consumers and targeted audiences through creativity and emotional intelligence.

The two core elements of digital marketing are “Engagement” and “Measurement”, and the four buckets to focus on are “People”, “Platform”, “Insight”, and “Instincts”.

Engagement, Measurement & The Four Buckets - People, Platform, Instinct & Insights.

Let me reflect on Engagement first. A little bit of human interaction online goes a long way in the age of AI and Bots/Chatbots. It’s all about helping brands tell remarkable stories to capture people’s attention, right from the awareness stage to the conversion stage, on the AIDA Marketing Funnel.

The key here is to engage with People and motivate them to take action. Despite tremendous shifts towards automation and technology in digital marketing, it remains a 100% people-driven business.

This is why I always advise marketing teams to imagine that they work in the hospitality industry when responding to the general public who engage with brands and their content online. Think "Customer Service" but for even prospective consumers. I have always found this strategy to be favorable. People talk. This strategy fetches "Earned Media.”

The same applies to Platforms. Effective communication with consumers has become a necessity now that Social Media has facilitated two-way communication between brands and consumers over the past two decades or more, allowing for quick and constant interaction.

One practice I consistently recommend to any marketing team is to have them reach out to every person who engages with their brand and its content online, thank them, acknowledge them, and genuinely make them feel special or heard. I’ve been doing this personally even before the start of my career in Digital Marketing.

To illustrate another example, let's consider Damian Bazadona, the founder of Situation Interactive, a digital marketing agency specializing in entertainment and experience-based brands. The strategy I mentioned above is very similar to the one that Bazadona incorporated into his marketing campaign on Twitter for the Broadway show “Dear Evan Hansen” – one-to-one marketing on Social Media, responding to more than 1,000 individual tweets from fans of the Broadway show, thanking them.

Each Platform on the internet has now evolved into a marketing stream for both big and small brands alike. Each has its algorithms, privacy policies, purposes, skill sets, and communities.

Understanding each platform at a granular level is crucial for targeting the right demographics and optimizing marketing campaigns effectively. Since the way these platforms operate is constantly evolving, knowing each platform alone is an essential skill set, in addition to staying current.

Platforms are not restricted to just Social Media alone. It expands well into VR, Gaming Platforms, and beyond. It’s all about channelizing your creativity to tap into the potential of multiple platforms or apps, not just Social Media, to promote brands and run PR or marketing campaigns.

A good example to cite here is the app “Covet Fashion”, where multiple fashion brands and designers showcase their products, launch new collections, advertise, and market their products through the game, targeted to the perfect demographic.

Another example of a brilliant PR campaign was when Artist Travis Scott performed at a live virtual concert on the online gaming platform Fortnite, which was attended by tens of millions of people virtually, all while live events were shut down during the pandemic.

Klarna later joined the suit by launching a gaming campaign, in October 2020, called "Playing for Keeps." The campaign featured two live Twitch events where players had the chance to win an "ultimate streaming setup." During these events, Snoop Dogg or Lil Yachty made appearances to enhance the experience.

As we gravitate towards Insight, with data collection and analytics evolving in a geometric progression, the digital marketing landscape has shifted towards “Measurements”. It has broadly evolved into a metrics-driven industry rather than a creative one. And why would it not? Ultimately, it’s the metrics and KPIs that demonstrate the proven results of marketing campaigns, or why a campaign succeeds or not.

Instincts are all about how marketing teams and brands adapt to changes in socio-cultural, political, and economic landscapes, as well as the stance they take in response to these changes. How marketing teams and brands navigate Cancel Culture, Affiliations, Identity Politics, and how they lean in and out of these kinds of conversations.

It’s all about how brands optimize these changes to their advantage in their PRs and marketing campaigns. Instincts are also about purpose and intent, and how brands can effectively leverage these elements in their marketing campaigns to achieve smarter outcomes and sustain their stances in the long game.

As the industry shifts towards measurement, with a vast divide between top agencies focusing either on metrics or creativity, the need of the hour is a healthy balance between both. We need branding, PR, graphic design, advertising, website development, social media management, content creation, and influencer-driven marketing to work in tandem with metrics and data-driven insights. After all, brands need high-quality websites, landing pages, and relevant content to secure a strong quality score, which in turn improves their SEO and SEM campaigns.

There is a whole new world of technological developments, extending to user interfaces, AI, machine learning, and automation, thereby broadening the scope of the industry and opening doors to new skill sets and opportunities.

I haven’t even covered the nuances of data collection, servers, and auctions yet, and the buck doesn’t stop here, as even more innovations can be expected to expand the possibilities of navigating through the dynamic landscape of privacy laws and regulations. Foresight is the key to capitalizing on these opportunities.