Career in digital marketing

What is digital marketing : The world changes at immense speed. People are now living in the Information Age where prompt advertising and marketing decisions are needed. With the Internet’s continuous influence on various industries, major Search Engines are evolving and organizations are involving in search engine optimization (SEO). Analysts saw the advantages that the World Wide Web can offer in marketing companies and its products that paved way in searching for new strategies to utilize this online platform.  

According to Wikipedia “Digital marketing is the use of digital sources based on electronic signal like Internet, digital display advertising and other digital media such as television, radio, and mobile phones in the promotion of brands and products to consumers. Digital marketing may cover the more traditional marketing areas such as Direct Marketing by providing the same method of communicating with an audience but in a digital fashion”.

In other words, Digital Marketing is using all forms digital advertising channels to promote a brand. These channels include mobiles, television, radio and internet among others. Advertising through mobile phones, SMS / MMS / digital outdoor and banners also comes under digital advertising. Promotion is done in the same method as that used in direct marketing but in a digital fashion.

The ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ of Digital Marketing

The digital marketing comes in two flavours – push and pull. Pull digital marketing in which the consumer must actively seek the marketing content often via web searches or the recipient has given permission to receive content that is sent to the consumer by email, text message and web feed. Websites, blogs and streaming media (audio and video) are also examples of pull digital marketing. Articles with specific target / topic are a great source to pull interested viewers. In each of these, users have to link to the website to view the content. Only current web browser technology is required to maintain static content. However, additional internet marketing technologies (search engine optimization) may be required to attract the desired consumer demographic.

Push digital marketing technologies in which the marketer sends a message without the consent of the recipients, such as display advertising on websites and news blogs. Email, text messaging and web feeds can also be classed as push digital marketing when the recipient has not given permission to receive the marketing message. (This is also known as spam). Push technologies can deliver content immediately as it becomes available and are better targeted to their consumer demographics, although audiences are often smaller, and the costs of creation and distribution are higher. Push digital marketing technologies are more proper when done with the prior permission, the concept called as permission marketing. This is also more ethical. Permission can be obtained either through subscriptions, or consent to send email etc.

Because it is digital, a reporting engine can be layered within a campaign allowing the organization see in real-time how that campaign is performing, such as what is being viewed, how often, how long, as well as other actions such as responses rates and purchases made. Please note that each digital marketing technology is different and they cannot all provide the same types of reports. Also, digital marketing is constantly evolving and new technologies are being created all of the time.

Digital Marketing in India

According to recent research, at least $100 million are being spent at present on digital marketing in India. Since digital marketing is on a growth curve, job prospects in this industry look very bright for skilled professionals. Job search portal ‘indeed.com’ in 2010 had stated that at least 5 out of top 10 job trends will focus on digital media. In the coming year too, there will be an incredible demand for Business Development Managers, Online Marketing Managers, Social & Digital Marketing Managers, Social Media Directors, Interactive Media Strategists, Web Marketing & PR Managers, Marketing Program Specialists and similar profiles. The future for digital marketing professionals is bright. The country's Internet population is predicted to reach 25% of the population, and e-commerce industry to reach 100 crores in revenues by 2015. There is a big need of skilled manpower in this industry. So, traditional marketers should acquire digital marketing skills and new marketing professionals can take up digital marketing courses and pursue a bright career here.

What do you need to do

Anyone who has an interest in marketing, technology and advertising can enter the field of digital marketing. There is no formal education degree required to enter the field of digital marketing but as in every career a graduation degree with good communication skill will be an advantage. Any education in marketing or related fields can also prove to be beneficial. It is advised that you learn the art of digital marketing by observing the different marketing strategies employed by big players like Facebook, Google and yahoo. Digital marketing career covers the basics of traditional marketing and marketing in a new internet environment. A career in digital marketing would cover internet marketing paradigm, web analytics and intelligence – a quantitative way to interpret data and create market intelligence for decision makers, market research to include internet mediums, digital marketing issues, consumer behaviour and internet laws. Understanding of the Internet technology is a must for a successful career in digital marketing along with the core traditional marketing skills. An understanding of the Internet consumer behaviour, web analytics, consumer engagement with different digital channels, applicable rules and regulations governing each digital channels and for protecting consumers, are very important for a digital marketer.

Where to learn

There are many institutes in major cities of India offering a course in digital marketing. It is better to have a formal training first and then jump in to the job field. A course in digital marketing is a must for anyone who has no or little knowledge about the field. You can search for such institutes on the web, go through their contents and credentials before taking admission.

Expected Salary 

Salary of an individual does not only depend on The salary in digital marketing can range from 2-3 lakh per annum to start with. For an experienced and expert 7-8 lakh per annum can be on offer.