Digital marketing is a component of marketing that uses the digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media platforms to promote products and services.[2][3]
It has significantly transformed how brands and businesses use technology for marketing since the 1990s and 2000s. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life,[4] and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops,[5][6] digital marketing campaigns have become increasingly prevalent, employing combinations of methods. These methods include search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, optical disks and games. Digital marketing also extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones.[7]
The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.[8]
History
Digital marketing effectively began in 1990 when the Archie search engine was created as an index for FTP sites. During the 1980s, the storage capacity of computers had already large enough to store large volumes of customer information. As a result, companies started choosing online techniques such as database marketing rather than relying on limited list brokers.[9] These databases allowed companies to track customers’ information more effectively, transforming the relationship between buyers and sellers.
In the 1990s, the term digital marketing was coined.[10] The first clickable banner ad, the “You Will” campaign by AT&T, launched in 1994. Within the first four months, 44% of all people who viewed the advertisement clicked on it.[11][12] Early digital marketing efforts focused primarily on simple HTML websites and the burgeoning practice of email marketing, which enabled direct communication with consumers.[13]
In the 2000s, with increasing numbers of Internet users and the introduction of the iPhone, customers began searching for products and making decisions online instead of consulting a salesperson, which created a new problem for the marketing department of a company.[14] Additionally, a survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2000 revealed that most retailers had not yet registered their own domain names.[15] These challenges encouraged marketers to explore new ways to integrate digital technology into marketing strategies. At the same time, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, introduced by Google AdWords in 2000, allowed businesses to target specific keywords, making digital marketing more measurable and cost-effective.[16]
The mid-2000s saw the emergence of social media platforms such as Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), and Twitter (2006). These platforms revolutionized digital marketing by facilitating direct and interactive engagement with consumers. In 2007, marketing automation was introduced as a response to the rapidly evolving marketing climate. Marketing automation is the process by which software is used to automate conventional marketing processes.[17] Marketing automation helps companies to segment customers, launch multichannel marketing campaigns, and provide personalized information for customers.,[17] based on their specific activities. In this way, users’ activity (or lack thereof) triggers a personal message that is customized to the user in their preferred platform. However, despite the benefits of marketing automation many companies are struggling to adapt it to their everyday uses correctly.[18][page needed]