If you are reading this you know Guwahati is booming online, right? Almost everyone is shopping online, glued to their phone on social media – it’s crazy how the internet has taken over completely. But here’s the thing, businesses in Guwahati are still sceptical about the whole digital marketing thing and whether they should invest in it to help grow their business. So let’s break it down. 

Imagine you opened a new clothing store in Guwahati, digital marketing lets you create a website that showcases all your clothes. You can run targeted social media marketing campaigns to reach all the fashion-forward people of the city. Plus, you could even collaborate with Guwhahti fashion influencers to create a real buzz around your store. Pretty cool, right?

But here’s the thing, digital marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all-all deal. It’s like a toolbox with various tools, each handy for specific tasks. Here are a few tools that the digital marketing toolbox contains:

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): This is a tool that helps your website rank higher on search engines like Google. So when people in Guwahati search for stuff related to your business, your website pops up first, bringing in potential customers who might turn into fans of your store. You can even find a digital marketing agency right here in Guwahati like Portamento India that specialises in SEO to help you with local searchers.

Content Marketing: This tool leverages the power of how creatively you can present your store to your audience through content that informs, educates and entertains your audience. This could be anything from blog posts on the latest fashion trends to cool videos showcasing how to make your clothes or even downloadable e-books and style tips. Valuable content pushes your businesses forward and attracts visitors to your website who can ultimately turn into loyal customers.

Social Media Marketing: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are goldmines for connecting with your audience. These platforms can be used to share updates about your store, promote your products, run fun contests, and build brand awareness. Imagine running a social media contest where people share their outfits using the clothing they previously bought from your store with a specific hashtag with winners taking home goodies from your store. This incentivises the audience to participate, create a buzz and talk about your brand, helping you gain more exposure.

PPC Advertising (Pay Per Click): The traditional way of advertising has been rendered obsolete with the coming of digital marketing which is a more efficient and data-driven way of advertising. This tool lets you run targeted ads on platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads. What pay-per-click means is you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it cost-effective. It can help you reach a wider audience, and drive qualified leads to your website or social media pages. This is a very powerful tool as it targets those who have shown interest in fashion, searched for keywords related to clothing and fashion and according to their behaviour on the internet. While this tool does the rest, you only have to optimise the content of the ad to get more clicks and optimise results.

Email Marketing: This is another powerful tool to stay connected with your audience and nurture those leads. You can build a list of emails and send out regular email newsletters, with valuable content, promote special offers, and drive business. Imagine your clothing store sending out email newsletters featuring new arrivals, exclusive discounts for subscribers, or style inspiration tailored to different seasons.

Now let’s understand why digital marketing is a game changer:

Reach a Wider Audience: The limitations of a physical store no longer holds you back from connecting with potential customers not just in Guwahati but across the Northeast India region and even throughout India.

Targeted Marketing: Unlike traditional marketing methods, digital marketing allows you to tailor your message to specific demographics, interests, and online behaviour. This ensures that your marketing campaign reaches the right audience, who are most likely to be interested in your products or services, maximising your ROI (Return on Investment).

Measurable Results: This is probably the best thing about digital marketing – you can actually track the performance of your marketing campaigns in real-time using analytics tools. This not only helps you see what is happening but also optimises your marketing efforts and refine your strategies to get the optimal results.

Cost Effectiveness: Digital marketing unlike traditional methods of marketing is cost-effective, meaning it tailors to your budget and the type of marketing you are seeking. From small to big businesses everyone can leverage the power of digital marketing without the worry of breaking the bank.

While digital marketing helps you build brand awareness, improve customer engagement, and generate leads and sales and is a powerful toolset for any business looking to thrive in this digital age. The question remains: How do you get started with digital marketing?

Define Your Goals: What is it you want to achieve? More brand awareness? More leads? More sales online? Having clear goals will guide your entire digital marketing strategy.

Know Your Audience: Who are you trying to reach? It is important to understand your ideal customer’s demographics, interests and online behaviour to craft a message that resonates with them. Imagine having a conversation with a customer who is interested – but you gotta know what makes them tick!

Pick the Right Channels: Different marketing tools have different usage and are not created equally. Choosing the right channels to best align your marketing goals and target audience is crucial for the perfect marketing campaign. For example, your fashion store’s best bet is using social media and building a website to reach your target audience.

Create Content That Resonates: This is the heart and soul of any good digital marketing campaign. Your target audience needs to be able to resonate with the message you are trying to convey whether it be through informative blog posts or eye-catching videos showcasing your products. In a world where we are constantly being bombarded by content every second, creating high-quality content helps you stand out of the crowd which in our world we term as scroll-stopping.

Optimise your Website: Your website is your storefront in the digital world, so making it easy for your audience to interact with makes it incredibly easier to gain more potential customers and lead to more buyers. Optimising it for search engines makes it easier for people to locate your digital storefront.

Track and Analyse: Digital marketing campaigns are not click-and-forget. Constant monitoring and tracking of the key metrics and fine-tuning your campaign are essential for optimal results and maximum impact.

Stay Ahead: In the world of digital marketing, things move fast and constantly evolve. Staying informed about the latest trends and innovations ensures that your strategies are always effective and you remain ahead of the competition.

Getting started with digital marketing can seem overwhelming at first but a reputable digital marketing agency like Portamento India right here in Guwahati can help you develop and execute winning digital marketing strategies. Agencies have the experience and expertise to navigate the complexities of the digital marketing realm and can help you drive marketing campaigns and deliver exceptional results. Hiring a digital marketing agency is like hiring a coach. Consider hiring Portamento India as your digital marketing agency to help you crush your marketing goals.

Digital marketing is a powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes reach new heights. By understanding its potential and implementing a well-defined strategy, your business can thrive in the ever-competitive marketing world. We hope this blog has helped you understand everything about digital marketing. Now the only thing that remains is for you to embrace and incorporate digital marketing in all of your business endeavours. GOODLUCK!

Will Digital Marketing Die? A Comprehensive Guide to its Impact and The Future

Digital marketing, time and again has proven to be an effective toolset that is a cost-effective way for businesses to market and reach their target audience, build brand awareness, generate leads and boost sales. But is digital marketing dying? It is important to note that the landscape of digital marketing is constantly evolving with the advancement of technology, changes in consumer behaviour and shifts in the online environment. But to think that digital marketing in its entirety is dying is a very pragmatic and one-sided way of looking at things. Although the current digital marketing realm might be facing some challenges. We must first acknowledge and analyse these hurdles to speculate on its future.

• Ad Blockers and Ad Fatigue: Consumers are using ad blockers to stay away from bothersome or pointless adverts. Another rising worry is a phenomenon known as “ad fatigue,” in which viewers lose interest in the continual flood of advertisements.
• Privacy Concerns and Regulations: Consumer data is like a goldmine for companies and data mining has become a real thing. The growing concern around the collection of consumer data and use has prompted authorities to enforce data protection regulations resulting in companies having to follow certain regulations when it comes to being able collect and use these data for targeting and customising ads.
• Saturation and Competition: There is a growing amount of saturation in the digital domain. The rivalry is intense as more companies enter the online market. With all of the content and ads that consumers are exposed to on a daily basis, it has become more difficult for businesses to stand out.
• Evolving Algorithms: The way the content is ranked and presented is impacted by the constant algorithmic updates made by social media companies and search engines. In this dynamic environment, marketers need to adjust their approaches in order to remain visible and relevant.
• Rising Costs: Digital advertising is becoming more and more expensive, particularly in highly competitive industries. Small firms frequently require assistance in order to set aside enough money to properly compete with larger corporations.

Despite these hurdles, according to Statista, the global spending on advertising reached a staggering $522.5 billion in 2021. By 2026, it’s expected to balloon to a whopping $835 billion. This explosive growth is a clear sign that digital marketing isn’t going anywhere. Businesses of all sizes are recognising its power to deliver real results.

Think of it this way, people will always have needs and desires and businesses will always need ways to reach their target audience. In today’s world, everything happens online, the internet is where people research products, compare services, discover new brands, and continue doing so. Digital marketing is simply a toolset that provides business owners with a set of tools to strategically navigate the online space to reach and connect with their target audience.

Unlike traditional marketing efforts, digital marketing provides business owners with tools to analyse their marketing efforts in real-time and with precision. This data-driven marketing allows businesses to constantly fine-tune their digital marketing campaigns and optimise them for maximum return on investment. According to Statista digital consumerism in India was 345 million as of 2023 and is likely to increase to over 400 million by the end of 2027. People have become increasingly comfortable using digital channels to make purchasing decisions, making digital marketing an essential bridge between businesses and their customers. With more and more people shopping online, digital marketing has become a necessity for businesses if they want to stay ahead of the competition. Digital marketing in itself is constantly evolving with new tools and platforms which might seem to be overwhelming at first, but it is providing businesses with essential tools to help business owners reach their target audience more efficiently by constantly adapting to the shifting consumer needs.

While the core principles of digital marketing will remain – like understanding your target audience, crafting compelling content and measuring results – the future of digital marketing will see a shift of focus on these key areas: 

• Artificial Intelligence: AI is already playing a major role in helping human marketers with tasks like automation, content creation, ad targeting and campaign optimisation. We can only expect it to go uphill from here, with AI playing a more sophisticated role allowing human marketers to focus more on the creative and strategic side of digital marketing.
• Personalisation: While digital marketing is already personalised, hyper-personalisation will become a thing with the incorporation of AI in digital marketing. This will feed the personalised experience that consumers crave. They want brands to understand their needs and preferences unique to them. Digital marketing will continue to lean towards a hyper-personalised experience using data and analytics to deliver targeted messages, content recommendations and offers that resonate on a very intimate level with each individual customer.
• Customer Experience: Much like seamless user experience, digital marketing will also focus on delivering a customer experience that is seamless across all touchpoints helping businesses build stronger customer relationships.

From what we have learned so far, digital marketing isn’t dying but only transforming and evolving. By staying informed about new trends, embracing innovation, and focusing on delivering value to your target audience, you can ensure your digital marketing strategies remain effective and future-proof.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of digital marketing:

• Stay Curious: With the digital marketing landscape constantly evolving, it has become more important than ever to stay informed and keep refining your skills to stay in the game. Subscribe to industry blogs, attend webinars, and participate in online communities to stay updated on the latest trends and best practices.
• Audience Comes First: A business should always put its customer first by taking time to understand their needs, preferences and online behaviour. The better a business understands its customer base, the better the marketing strategy, and the better the marketing results.
• Data-Driven Marketing Decisions: Data is a digital marketer’s best friend because it helps to make informed decisions. Using analytic tools to track the performance of campaigns, identifying what’s working and what’s not, and constantly fine-tuning the strategies based on the data collected is not only important but necessary to stay ahead of the competition.
• Invest in High-Quality Content: Content remains and will remain the cornerstone of any digital marketing strategy. It is essential to create content that solves your audience’s problems and resolves their pains. By focusing on high-quality content, it will provide value to your audience and build your rapport as one of the thought leaders in your industry. 

By being adaptable, data-driven and audience-focused, you can make sure your digital marketing strategies continue to make an impact and bring more conversions. Remember the future of digital marketing is all about building meaningful relationships and delivering value at every touchpoint to build brand loyalty and push your business to new heights.