Just a little more than a decade ago companies and people were two different entities distances apart. Then the Internet changed things quite a bit. Online websites went from being just static brochures to social networks that allowed people to interact with each other. This was named as social networking. People were hooked to this idea and social networking platforms soon became the giants of the Internet. That was the point when businesses felt left out. It was as though they were marketing their stuff in a world that people had left and were completely missing out from the world that was just populated i.e. social networks.
Rather than going into depression some businesses were daring enough to accept the idea of going social. The owners of these companies made up their minds that they would go social and have a presence in the new social world where everyone was having a great time. However, the most important thing that needed to be thought out before businesses stepped in the online social lives of the people was to penetrate without becoming the sore thumb. Going in outright with a selling attitude would have only resulted in a big disaster and a cold rejection.
The strategy for businesses was to become a social entity and rather than selling stuff to people they had to become a part of their surroundings. Businesses went in with this attitude and became greatly successful. Their main target was not to sell but to be present in the online social world so people would recognise them and keep them in mind. This was done by creating social networking profiles, making blogs and sharing new and interesting content throughout social media. Business would just upload interesting content and people were free to choose whether they wanted to see it or not.
The next phase of the strategy was to go for the mildly aggressive or active digital marketing once the business had been accepted by people. This was thought to be done through email marketing, newsletters, banner marketing, etc. The common thing among all these methods was that they were free. There was little to no investment required for businesses to market this way. Businesses went further and picked up pay per click marketing methods where they had to pay for their marketing. Affiliate marketing was another B2B and B2C method for businesses for marketing and paying for it.
Today, you have to be with the trend if you want to make your business successful. You must have an online presence and a brand that doesn’t poke into the lives of the people but becomes a part of them. Over time it has been proved that some businesses harness the power of email marketing while others capitalise more on blogging. Some businesses have redefined social sharing for the most boring businesses and some have taken content marketing to a completely new level. People are spending more time on Internet than ever before and you must have a strategy to be their favourite brand through sound digital marketing.