Overview

Marketing has changed significantly over the past 10, even five years. Traditional methods of marketing, such as billboards and television ads, are no longer as effective as they once were. In this module, you will learn the evolution of traditional marketing to digital marketing and how this evolution affects both society and business.

Digital Marketing: History and Present

Marketing has changed significantly over the past 10, even five years. Traditional methods of marketing, such as billboards, television ads, and door-to-door sales are no longer as effective as they once were. To understand the evolution of digital marketing, it helps to really look at the evolution of technology itself. Provided below is a timeline of the history of technology, the Internet, and digital marketing.

Examine this historical timeline of online marketing

See below some of the humble beginnings of online marketing. This image is of one of the first banner ads used. It was published in October 1994 on the Hotwired website along with several other banner ads. They were the first of their kind and a baby step toward what Digital Marketing has become today. The image links to an older but interesting article from Fast Company magazine about the history of the banner ad.

Source: Fast Company

When the Internet first became mainstream in the 1990s, no one knew what it would become. The World Wide Web was called the information superhighway, and public perception was that it would lead to global communication and make the world a better place. The Internet has indeed changed the world, some for the better and some worse.

But even with the public’s high expectations for the Internet, I do not think anyone could have predicted what it would become. Twenty years ago, advertising was still done primarily through mass media. It was all “push” marketing, meaning a company would push information out to the consumer but had no way of connecting on a more personal or customized level.

As the Internet grew and became part of everyday life for many, consumer needs and behaviors shifted, and marketing strategies and tactics needed to adapt to those changing consumer needs. Today, people do not want to be pushed at. We do not want to hear companies saying how awesome they are all the time. Instead, we want companies to be easy to find when we need something. We want it to be noticeably clear why we should care about that company or what value we can get from it.

[Source: Internet World Stats]

Today, marketers use a “pull” or inbound method of marketing. Now marketers need to figure out how to draw customers to them. The focus is now on what value they can provide as a business, which often (but not always) comes down to convenience and price. The digital tactics marketers use is designed to attract customers to them by providing some sort of value. That value may come in the form of a blog or podcast, social media content, or an email blast. Regardless of the tactic a marketer uses, the primary goal behind digital marketing is to draw in your audience.

Adapted from HubSpot’s concept blog post, “What is Inbound Marketing?“

Target Marketing

Marketing has shifted from the “push” marketing of mass media to a “pull” method of marketing. We, as a society, love to buy things. But we really hate to be sold to. We have a DVR so we can fast-forward TV commercials. We have Amazon Music, Spotify, and satellite radio to avoid radio advertisements completely. Pushing out to people to convince them to buy is not as effective anymore. Instead, when people need your product or service, they want you easy to find, and they want to be completely clear on why they should hire you or buy from you.

Because of this shift in perspective, it is far more important for businesses to provide value to their target market. Why should they choose you when they need you? What is different about you?

Before you can answer these questions, you really need to understand where your target market is coming from. Today’s fast-paced, overly busy, overly-dependent-on-convenience society has radically different purchasing habits than they did even 10 years ago. It is important to understand exactly who you are talking to and what their needs, challenges, and problems are.

Once you understand your customer, you can more easily communicate how you will solve those problems for you and how you are different from your competition.

There are several ways to define a target market. Typically, you are using four diverse ways to look at your target market: demographics, sociographic, psychographics, and digital behavior. Referred to at various times as webographics or technographics, digital behavior includes both what technology (apps, web browsers, mobile devices, desktop computers, etc.) a person uses as well as the activities they engage in. For example, are they likely to participate in discussions? Lurk and watch without talking? Post regularly on social media? Create their own blog or podcast? Understanding your target market’s behavior helps you know what is important to them and where you can find them online.