What is Digital Marketing ?

 

What is Digital Marketing ?

Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services, as well as to generate direct revenue.

The concept of 'Digital marketing' has been applied to several different fields such as advertising, promotions, e-commerce and Public Relations etc. The term originated from the general growth of the Internet worldwide in the new millennium and is the second time that the term 'digital' is used online. The first time was during the time of Internet entrepreneurship in 1995 with companies such as Bebo and Citysearch being created. 

The term digital marketing was coined by Marko Rodin in his book 'The Web of Tomorrow' in 1996. In 2000, Rodin defined the term as 'the Marketing Mix applied to the new media'.  
In spite of it being coined more recently, digital marketing has been around since the internet became mainstream in the late 1990s. "The first online advertisement appeared on US-based alt.sex Usenet group in 1994: a print ad for sexual pharmaceuticals," wrote "Wired" magazine. "It consisted of an ASCII drawing of a hand tracing a credit card number." More recent examples include Google's Gmail and Google AdWords launch in 1998 and Facebook's creation in 2004.
In the 2010s, digital marketing strategies are being used to target specific niches and specific demographic groups via social media.

The term 'Digital Marketing' has seen a number of different interpretations and implementations. For example 'Marketing' has been defined as "Any activity that creates value for the customer, increases sales, or improves customer service. It is a marketing discipline that is concerned with the pursuit of business goals". 
 
In essence 'Digital Marketing' can be thought of as: The application of all four Ps (Product, Price, Place & Promotion) to marketing communications which encompasses both traditional & new media.
Digital marketing is a strategic tool that helps build business, from identifying target markets to developing and executing digital marketing plans that achieve tangible results. The objective of this type of marketing is to deliver an optimal customer journey experience through seamless engagement with leads and customers across digital touch-points.
EPFL defines the Art of Digital Marketing as: "a practical art founded on science. It combines creativity, technology and strategy in order to understand target audiences, navigate them in the digital space and trigger action."

As defined by the European Interactive Marketing Association: Digital marketing is 'the advertising and sale of products or services over computer networks'.