In an era that digital platform is a marketing war zone to reach out to a majority of consumers in the country, digital marketing has become an important riddle for business to solve according to the changing behavior of consumers. Nevertheless, there are still some misunderstandings that many people perceive and it is far from reality. Mr. Ukit Tangsubkul, founder and CEO of MintedImages Co., Ltd., will then clarify everything in this article.

1)  Digital Marketing is not Online Selling

If mentioning digital marketing, most people would think about online selling on various online platforms like websites, social media, etc. This is called E-Commerce, which is a part but not the whole of digital marketing, because digital marketing is a tool that allows 2 types of trading which are online trading that both parties do not meet face-to-face and this is called E-Commerce. Another type is to meet with the retailer via online platforms that bring buyers and sellers to make online trading. The latter is usually used in business with high values like properties, cars, B2B, etc.

Every digital marketing tool has different strengths, thus, they have to be used together appropriately. For example, Facebook is like a television that sends messages to the target, Google provides information through ‘Search’, Google Map, YouTube, etc. Also, suitable tools have to be used for particular trading such as Chatbox which is suitable for E-Commerce, but not face-to-face trading, etc.

The important rule of digital marketing is “think about online, think about phone”. Every message will have to be suitable for viewing on phone. No matter if it is a picture posted on Facebook/IG/LINE, the alphabetical size has to be suitable to view on phone and attractive enough to not be ignored. Video clips will have to be in portrait (9:16) to be fitting on the phone. And in digital marketing, the website is the most important core because, apart from being the only asset that entrepreneurs possess online, the website is a “Silent Sales”, a retail stall that opens 24/7. If compared to a website to the seller, a good website needs to be able to display the signature part of the product as much as possible and it must be user-friendly. Also, digital media has to be used to attract customers to the website. The secret mechanisms of successful websites are 1) User Interface (UI) 2) User Experience (UX) 3) Compatible Programming that is fast for uploading, easy to update, and responsive. All these will have to follow the marketing strategy to be able to sell. Mr. Ukit stresses that “An attractive website without a marketing theme can never sell their products.”

2)    Engagement does not mean Turnover

Many people think that number of likes on their Facebook Page determines their sales volume. Actually, it is not. Sometimes, the number of likes was not contributed by the buyers. According to the research, Facebook users can be classified into 2 groups which are Engager, who clicks and does nothing else, and Watcher, who watches and does not click. Surprisingly, the statistic has shown that the latter tend to have more buying power. More importantly, 90% of people who watch the advertisement and buy products will not click ‘Like’. Therefore, social behavior does not determine potential buyers.

Tools from powerful platforms like Facebook and Google, in which Facebook is the most meticulous tool that records every online activity. Besides, Facebook has a machine learning mechanism that predicts the future based on the past with data of people from half of the world. This allows Facebook to be the most accurate platform to predict user behavior as well as detecting potential customers efficiently.

Facebook can target 3 groups of customers which are Core Audience by choosing from Demographics, Interests, Behaviours, Location, and Connection. The next group is Custom Audience which is to show the advertisement directly to the target group based on personal information like email or phone number or those who show interest in product etc. The last group is Lookalike Audience which is similar to Custom Audience by referring to the assumption that people of a similar appearance will possess similar behavior and interest and thus, they will be interested in the same product. Apart from that, if there are many groups of customers, there must also be an amendment in the content to appeal to different groups of people. If unsure of the result, there can always be an A/B Testing to see the feedback.

As for Google which is an important digital marketing platform with complete tools ranging from Google Search, Google Map, Google Ad, YouTube, Gmail and Display Network, entrepreneurs will have to do SEO and SEM marketing with several keywords, so that product will be displayed when customers search for it. Besides, Display Network is a tool that will allow the banner to appear on various websites that match the target group without spending high cost on it. Importantly, the reason that Google becomes a powerful digital marketing tool is that its capability to retarget customers. When advertisements only focuses on those who are interested, the possibility that the product will sell is the higher and lesser cost is needed comparing to randomly spreading the advertisement.

3)    Advertisement to Boost Turnover

Successful digital marketing does not mean spending a lot of money on advertisements, but it consists of mindset, skillset, and toolset. Firstly, there must be a correct mindset to set the solid and clear goal (user base/conversation/revenue, etc.), so that strategy can be fixed and processes can be planned. For example, to create advertisements on Facebook with an accurate machine learning system, it has to be clear whether engagement, total downloading, or awareness is the goal. Also, appropriate information should be given for the machine learning system to find an accurate result. If the goal is set wrongly, no matter how much money is used, the campaign will never be successful.

Once the principles of digital marketing are understood correctly, a strategic beginning can then be launched!

Citation: NIA-SCB IBE – Innovation Based Enterprise Course on the topic Digital Marketing at FYI Centre on 6 November 2019.