“Its Marketing Scotty, but not as we know it”

Richard Masters

Background to Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

2012

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What is Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing is not some new orthodoxy, it is simply a whole range of new marketing tactics that are now available which have, largely, been enabled by the development of the Internet

Digital Marketing?The FT definition is “The marketing of products or services using digital

channels to reach consumers”There are all sorts of more prescriptive definitions, but I like

this one because it is simple and inclusive.DM provides for Small Businesses a whole range of

potential new and powerful Marketing Tactics which are affordable!

The key driver is technology, and in particular the spectacular rise in The Internet. However, other technologies such as Mobile and Digital TV are also important.

DM is where Business. Marketing and The Internet intersect. The next diagram tries to illustrate this positioning.

Digital Marketing

So broadly Digital Marketing occupies the space where Business, Marketing and the Internet overlap.

The next slide, and the subsequent table, develop the idea a little further by looking at some of the other overlapping areas in the Venn diagram to better position DM.

The characteristics of the other numbered areas in the diagram, are described in the subsequent table

The Overlapping Areas

No Name Characteristics

1 Digital Marketing I,M,B

Use of Internet based marketing tactics for business.

2 Traditional Marketing

M,B Tactics such as: Brochures, Mail shots, TV and Print advertising

3 Non Business Internet

M,I Government, Education , Charity etc. Internet based Marketing

4 Non Marketing Business uses

B,I Enterprise Applications, Cloud and Productivity Apps etc.

5 Non Business Marketing

M Traditional marketing for non-business organisations

6 Business Activities B Core business activities that have nothing to do with marketing or Internet

7 Internet I Personal uses such as Gaming, Music, photo’s, email. Non profit uses

The Internet: The key driver

This rapid expansion in the tactics available to small businesses for marketing, has been facilitated by the growth and development of the internet. Such has been the impact it is fair to describe it as a paradigm shift.

The Impact of the internet

The impact of the Internet on Marketing has not been a one off event. It has evolved over the past 30 years

It is useful to distinguish between two distinct phases:Web 1.0: The Web pre 2000Web 2.0: The current Web

These are each described in turn below:

Web 1.0

The web before 2000

Web 1.0Back in 1992 view of Web largely derived from

academiaIt was seen as a “Vast interconnected set of

reference libraries” where all the worlds knowledge could be stored for access by anyone.

First search engine emerged in 1993: AltaVista

 Rudimentary browsers emerged in1994: Netscape launchedInteraction was characterised as one way. The

user was largely passive.

Marketers Built Websites!1995-2005 was the era of website buildingBoy, did we build websites. Rivalled the

growth of railways in the 18th Century!Web design companies grew like topsy!Some accompanying developments in

“Outbound” or “Push” Marketing such as electronic newsletters & email marketing.

Often called the “field of dreams” era!

“Field of Dreams” Marketing “Build it and they will come” approach to

websites predominatedOften compared to erecting a billboard in a basementMarketers built millions and millions of websitesProblem was nobody came and even fewer stayed!

Why the Underachievement?Traditional “4P’s” product marketers saw

Websites just as new “Electronic Brochures” full of product “puff”.

Expensive investment in design elementsOften supplemented with email direct

marketing.Nothing to encourage customers to visit,

stay or return.Few visitors + little engagement = limited

Business Websites were consistently not achieving

business expectationsEnter, stage left: Web 2.0!!

WEB 2.0

The web post 2005

The genesis of Web 2.0Towards the end of the millennium a new

view of the web emerged from usersWe now call this Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is based on interaction: two way interaction, multiple

conversationsUsers wanted to participate

emergence of sites such as:

Google developed a commercial business model, based on search, that worked.Business could now better exploit the

web!

Web 2.0: Some Definitions“Well, simply put, Web 2.0 is an Internet

jargon term used to describe the newer generation of websites that are about "User-generated" content.  By this I mean Web 2.0 websites allow users to collaborate and share information, opinions, comments, ideas, links, ratings, bookmarks, reviews, pictures, videos, and more.” Allan Todd

“Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online” Webopedia

Web 2.0 : The howIt is wrong to see Web2.0 as driven by the

underlying technology. The Internet itself did not change.

Three factors came together:1. Software tools: new tools were developed that

allowed the building of new types of sites2. User aspirations: There was mounting pressure

from users for new types of systems that let then participate and interact and not be purely passive.

3. Entrepreneurs: A new generation of highly talented people emerged, who could see the potential of the Internet and who built brilliant companies and products to exploit it.

Created a major paradigm shift“Web 1.0 was where corporations thought the internet

was another dandy platform for telling us what they wanted us to know. Web 2.0 was where we showed them that the internet is about us, not them, and that if they want to stay around, they'd better sit back, shut up, and listen. Web 2.0, like Rock and Roll, is here to stay”. Ray Beckerman

“This Is Not Your Father’s Marketing” .. “And that’s the difference between traditional marketing and social media marketing. In traditional marketing, you throw out a message where it will be seen by millions of people who couldn’t care less.”... “In social media marketing, you find the people who are already talking about your message and join the conversation. It’s really that simple and that complicated.” liana li Evans

Impact on MarketingThe basic principles of marketing did not change. What

changed, fundamentally, was the way we went about doing it!...

A whole new discipline emerged: In bound marketing.The role of websites changed from Billboards to portals

and nodes of two way interaction.The whole process became customer centric and no

longer product centric.The creation of great content to attract and engage

customers came to the forefrontThe rise of online publishing, social media & multi mediaThe pre-eminence of search, and Google in particular.

Next stepsThis presentation has presented a brief

background to the revolution that is digital marketing.

The subsequent sections look at the manifestations of this revolution of relevance to small businesses

This starts with a re-iteration of the basic principles of marketing and then an exploration Digital Marketing and Social Networking and their applications

Finally, further technology impacts on small businesses ,such as cloud computing and mobile, are covered in outline.

Further Information/ContactEmail: richard@rjmasters.co.uk Website: www.rjmasters.co.uk LinkedIn: http://lnkd.in/vTp8KwG+ :

http://www.google.com/profiles/richardmasters.richard

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