Arguably, digital marketing is still in it’s infancy. Advancements in technology over the last decade have led to great change in the way that digital marketing has been conducted: and no matter what form it takes, digital marketing is only going to increase. Ad-supported free apps and content marketing are ever popular, and are going to be a huge driver for growth in the area in the coming years.

Content marketing is very important, with regards to how digital marketing is conducted. It is no longer about pushing products in customers’ faces and hoping they buy more, there is now a much greater emphasis on content and engagement. This means creating a more connected consumer experience via marketing that makes use of every electronic device imaginable to engage customers. Digital marketing gives marketers a whole range of technologies to engage with customers, helping to make the experience as engaging as possible. Its importance is highlighted by many in the industry, with 91% of marketing practitioners saying that digital marketing is ‘important’ or ‘very important’, according to Forrester Research. The same study also goes on to say that by 2019 spending on search, social media, email and display marketing will exceed spending on cable and broadcast TV advertising combined.

Most interestingly, the industry is not just dominated by big businesses. IBM, Adobe and Google, to name a few, do have a large influence, but there are may small marketing agencies out there which are contributing to advancements in the industry. Agencies are seen as being the prime movers in the industry. There are many new tech-savvy start ups which offer integrated services and cross-functional talent. However, in an industry with many start ups and some technology giants, there are a number of challenges for these agencies to overcome: 1) a lack of technology or other resources; 2) ability to better track and measure results; 3) ability to precisely target prospects; 4) developing effective content or creative for digital campaigns; 5) conversion rates.

This Past Year

But what exactly is the state of digital marketing now? The big realisation over the past year is the importance of the customer experience. Many companies are realising that they can create a competitive advantage by making the customer journey an amazing one. Furthermore, the emergence of of real-time personalised marketing was one of the most interesting developments. Using automated technologies marketers were able to instantly target advertising to audiences.

However, continuous evolution of technologies makes it harder for marketers to keep up. Constant change has become a reality for marketers and for customer relationship management it makes it more difficult, due the sheer number of channels that are developing at a fast pace. From social media to content marketing to automation, marketers continue to add more tools to their repertoire to stay ahead of these evolving trends. The most difficult part is managing these technologies, and managing to integrate them effectively with current marketing activities.

For The Future

Jerry Rackley, chief analyst at Demand Metric, suggests that in 2015 solutions that help better target their ideal customer will see greater adoption. This would include predictive marketing analytics, advances attribution, personalisation, and sophisticated loyalty solutions, which will be highly integrated with marketing automation platforms and social media.

Continued advancements of social networks as advertising platforms will further advance the industry in the near and long-term future. Social networking sites are really starting to generate a nice return of investment (ROI) for business, and they are most likely to become the forefront of a company’s online marketing activity.

Finally, content marketing is going to continue in growing in popularity, alongside native advertising, and will be key drivers in growth of digital marketing and its vibrancy. It is most likely that these two areas will come to prominence in 2015, especially on mobile devices.

So what can be taken away from this? It is clear that digital marketing is a key part of marketing for many businesses, and is only going to get stronger. Integration across many platforms will drive customer engagement and the experience consumers have with particular firms. It is an industry which is only going to go from strength to strength, making it a very interesting area of marketing to keep an eye on.

Martin, EJ. (2015) The State Of Digital Marketing, EContent. Vol.38, No.1, pp.18-19