People often talk about digital marketing as though it is a silo – different from the rest of marketing. They think in terms of channels when building a marketing plan – building the plan for television, print, radio and then of course digital.
The challenge is that we aren’t doing traditional marketing and digital marketing. We are marketing in a world that is digital.
People spend more time on their phone than watching television.
We look at our phone within 15 minutes of waking up.
We use devices to solve almost any problem, do research and find information.
The world we live in is digital and you are simply marketing in it.
What this means for marketers is that we need to first think of the problem we are trying to solve and then think about the tools that will best solve it. The tools should match how people are influenced and how they make decisions.
Rather than thinking about marketing in channels and silos we should think about marketing as trying to solve problems and determine the most effective way to solve those problems.
Digital should be a part of every strategy upfront, because it is probably the largest medium influencing purchasing behavior. People don’t think in terms of channels. They don’t really think at all about your marketing – most of it happens subconsciously.
When you build your marketing strategy, don’t think in terms of digital marketing versus traditional marketing. Think about the problem you are trying to solve and the touch points that you can use to solve it. Consider where your audience spends their time and meet them there.
