You know that sultry, melodic, almost seductive voice that lets you know which teller to go to at the supermarket; or the mechanical voice that tells you to mind your hands and get ready to ‘move the trolley now’ on escalators at airports?
Digital marketers are like those voices; we keep saying things but not many people pay attention.
Let’s take, for example, online marketing: it’s been about 10 years since marketers, really savvy marketers, first started talking about the importance of being online; about how the internet is the great leveller and how consumers will increasingly use online means to influence their decisions.
Hands up if, in the past, oh let’s say three months you’ve read an article about a study that revealed large corporations still don’t take digital marketing seriously. Keep your hands up if you’ve read another article about another study that revealed small businesses don’t take digital marketing seriously.
Who is taking digital marketing seriously?
Aside from digital marketers, that is.
The most recent study I’ve read was on 11 January, when a UK agency found that small business owners in the UK are still failing to take advantage of online marketing, and this despite knowing that it’s good for them.
It’s like people who still smoke despite the years of research that proves how bad smoking is for them.
It doesn’t make sense.
Towards the end of 2011, I read about a study on Fortune 500 companies, who are also not paying as much attention to digital marketing as they should. Although, interestingly, Fortune 100 companies (the top performing 100) use more internet marketing strategies, including social media and mobile marketing, than the other 400. Is it proof that online marketing increases profits? No. But it does make one think about the correlation.
For the past three years it’s been The Year of Mobile. It’s also been The Year of Social Media. It’s eerily similar to crying wolf, in an inverted, non-predatory kind of way. Maybe people are simply saturated with all the digital media hype. Mind you, that doesn’t change the fact that mobile marketing is increasingly important as smartphone use rockets around the globe. Nor does it change the fact that people are starting to base their consumer decisions on what their Facebook friends have to say.
It may not be the year of mobile or social but it is going to be a big mobile and social year. I’m getting tired of extolling the virtues of digital media and trying to convince people of their logical use. Instead, I’m going to hit them where it hurts: ego.
“The cool brands are doing it, why aren’t you?”
Sandy writes on behalf of Now Learning, which promotes a variety of online courses in Australia, including IT courses, and marketing, beauty and healthcare courses.
