“Digital marketing is different [to traditional marketing]…it should be measured against different metrics, thus have different goals”
I have been working in digital/online/internet marketing for a couple of years now, heading all online acquisitions and analytics teams at a growing e-commerce company.
However, I am interested to learn the theoretical aspects (definitions, models, etc.) of how this fits within the broader academic discipline of “Marketing”. I had taken a Marketing course during my undergraduate degree and none of what I learned there seems to relate to “internet marketing”.
Frankly, I almost feel that “internet marketing” is more related to sales or advertising than “Marketing” in the traditional sense. Or am I wrong?
So where is the connection between the two and why is digital/online/internet marketing called “Marketing” so often?
Any courses, articles or other resources (including direct answer) that illustrate a theoretical framework or background of this would be appreciated!
Hi, Isaac; thanks for inviting me to answer. It’s totally understandable that you should think internet marketing is closely related to traditional advertising.
Hang on, rewind. It’s easy to see why anyone may think that Internet Marketing DONE WRONG is like advertising. Let’s explain.
First, you want to get known for the right reasons.
Start with social listening – follow conversations where your expertise can help people out. Don’t try and sell anything at first – just be a hero to those in need.
If your knowledge is sound and advice clear, people will start to follow you for the right reasons.
Be where your customer is
If you simply gatecrash a conversation and paste a link to an answer you have existing on your own web real estate, (social media or website/blog), people will see you as a spammer, even if you do it with good intentions!
The psychology adopted by today’s digital-savvy consumer makes them very protective of their little bit of the internet.
As marketers, we have to reach people where they are – if they’re using facebook, don’t try to send them to Google+ or Twitter.
In order to encapsulate the whole of this market, you need to be wherever you think potential customers will be.
How to begin Social Listening
The temptation is to push, push, push your own content. Then push it some more. You cannot do that until you’ve developed trust and displayed your authority by sharing relevant knowledge with your potential audience.
To begin, you can follow hashtags, perform your own searches on the platforms themselves and follow thought leaders in your field to see how they’re responding to people who you believe will benefit from your help.
Hootsuite Social Media Management offers ways to follow “twitter searches”, as per this image, depicting a couple of terms I’ve got a vested interest in:
To accomplish following hashtags using Hootsuite, simply:
create a stream in Hootsuite (after you’ve signed up, if you’ve not done so already),
choose the Twitter account via which you want to follow conversations (must be linked via Hootsuite),
choose the ‘search’ option for the new stream (it will have ‘mentions‘, ‘inbox‘, ‘home stream‘, etc.)
and finally enter the search terms for which you want Hootsuite to render tweets in your dashboard (as above).
Both have free versions, with options for greater social network coverage (both in volume and number of networks you can follow/post to) for upgraded licenses.
Also, make sure you’re following Twitter chats around your sector and are involved in Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ groups/communities of the same.
The new term for this ‘phenomenon’ is “Relationship Marketing“. It’s no different from the 1-2-1 help pro digital marketers have been offering for years.
First, we have to realise that LinkedIn is a platform where wheels move within wheels. Not quite “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”, but close enough.
So, before dropping a link to your app on groups who may like the product, but don’t yet see you as part of their clique, write an in-depth post about your app on LinkedIn Pulse, LinkedIn’s personal publishing platform
But don’t make it a sales pitch. Instead, outline the benefits:
Why would people need your app?
What time/money will your app save adopters?
How simple is it to install/use?
Stage 2 – LinkedIn Groups
Once that’s posted, engage in community threads where people are asking about issues that your app could solve. Or in groups where users of your app are likely to hang out.
There’s often ‘suggested’ groups for you to join. Ensure that your profile relates to the app you’ve created and these should be relevant.
“Groups You May Like”, LinkedIn suggestions
Better still, add details of the app in a “project” on your LinkedIn profile.
Even if the groups aren’t what you’d expect, one assumes you’ve tested the market and know your target persona before creating the app, right? Cool. But again, no hard sell.
You can always link back to your LinkedIn Pulse article or your profile in order that people can make up their own mind about your new product. This may be preferable at the outset instead of sending people off site to a bespoke landing page you’ve created.
Which reminds me, when you insert a link into your LinkedIn Pulse post about the app, create a specific landing page for potential LinkedIn customers.
They do think they’re special. Landing page content directed towards the traffic LinkedIn is likely to bring (corporate, middle management and small business owners) will help you convert them. They’ll love it!
Rehearsed ad lib – breaking down barriers and garnering trust
Mm, should I? Ah, what the heck…
…here’s something else you could try.
When I was doing the promo for a new golf product, the developer and I set out to look for both affiliates and customers in the LinkedIn groups.
We were already members of many of the same groups as I was writing a lot about golf at the time.
What we used to do is known as a ‘Dog and Pony’ trick.
We’d get together on Skype (he was in Canada, me in the UK) and craft a Q&A that covered the issues we’d identified his product could help solve.
We also looked at the price point, to ensure that there was a good margin for third parties to retail through affiliate links.
I followed his LinkedIn profile so that I got notifications when he posted. He’d put the questions to relevant groups and I’d respond with the preprepared answer.
As this seemed totally organic to other group members, they had no problem pitching in with their thoughts and comments. Neither did they object, as my answers always added value to the group.
Very important, that last point. If the info is quality, people will see you as an authority. Even if they don’t proceed to buy your product, you’ll at least have some return on your investment.
Anywho, the responses from golfers and affiliates alike gave us even more of an angle to pitch the product.
We also had a level of exposure that advertising cannot buy. Through word of mouth, we achieved our goal over the course of a few months.
How? People do like to share their knowledge when they’ve helped out elsewhere. Double bubble.
Now, I’m in no way suggesting you do this. My biz partner was a wily old fox and I’m an expert copywriter, a great team for what we wanted to achieve. But if you’re confident you can pull it off, the very best of luck…☺
zebedeerox 