Internet and Social Media Marketing is the Future of Marketing

If you are running a business and if you don’t have online presence then you are out of the race. Digital targeted marketing is the new marketing mantra and it applies to a local shop even. And so is the opportunity in Digital Marketing. Dabur is looking to ride on 'digital revolution' pursuing an aggressive e-commerce and digital marketing strategy. Social Media played an imperative role in Narendra Modi’s win. Pharma companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Abbot have started investing heavily for digital marketing campaigns. Top 5 automakers have spent 2600 crores for digital marketing campaigns in 2016. So what is digital marketing? It is the use of digital and electronic devices to advertise, promote and brand a business or product. The marketing of products or services and branding using digital media and channels has become inevitable to reach your targeted consumers.
So what triggers the revolution in digital marketing? In addition to its impact on our personal lives, the smart devices are transforming business and organizational landscapes. It is opening up access to global markets and communities of interest, uncovering new pricing models, revolutionizing the placement and distribution of products, transforming media, facilitating greater collaboration and efficiency within the organization, and empowering consumers to demand new, consumer-centric marketing models.

There are certain findings that provide insights into transition happening in the digital space in India. The mobile phone is now called ICE, since it is used for Information, communication and entertainment. For 2017 the number of mobile phone users in India is expected to rise to 730.7 million and to have 1.4 billion mobile subscribers by 2022.The number of smartphone users in India is predicted to reach 340 million and could reach almost 468 million by 2021. The data usage per smartphone user in India will grow to 11GB per month or even more by 2022. India ranks 89th globally in connection speeds with an average speed of 6.5Mbps, marking an 87 percent year-on-year change. This is bound to change by leaps and bounds when the 5G service is expected to be operational in India by 2022.
India is experiencing a massive growth in the number of mobile users, it still comprises of only 16 percent of the country’s total population with access to internet. Moreover, it is estimated that India’s internet users will soon leave behind US to become the world’s largest web base, after China. The average Indian user spends more than 28 hours of the week online, which is a result of instant access to a world of information and media at their fingertips.
Currently, India is the 2nd largest user of Facebook and YouTube in the world. The statistic shows the number of social network users in India from 2015 to 2022. In 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 258.27 million social network users in India, up from close to 168 million in 2016. The most popular social networks in India were YouTube and Facebook, followed by social app WhatsApp. Facebook is projected to reach close to 319 million users in in India by 2021.

As of the fourth quarter of 2016, the most popular social network were YouTube and Facebook with an 33 percent penetration rate each. WhatsApp was ranked third with 28 percent reach. India ranks second among countries with the most Facebook users, accounting for 11 percent of global Facebook audiences in April 2017. January 2017 data puts the active social networking penetration in India at only 14 percent of the population - one of the lowest rates worldwide.

Another important reason which has contributed to the growth of digital marketing in India is the start-up culture which has grown into an ecosystem wanting to promote and market themselves with the most cost-effective strategies.
The future of marketing is moving from traditional mediums to digital ones rapidly for a simple yet essential reason – The cost of customer acquisition, cost of impression, cost of customer reach in Digital Marketing is significantly lesser than conventional mediums such as – TV, Radio, Banners,and Print. It is estimated that by the year 2020, every company around the world will have an online presence. Key findings and studies have indicated that in the year 2017, 80% brands and businesses will increase their online marketing spend to drive their revenue up by 30%. This year, eMarketer estimates, advertisers in India will spend about $7.41 billion on paid placements in all media, up 11.3% over 2015 spending levels. By 2020, spending will hit $11.82 billion.
While traditional marketing mediums are struggling to grow at 11-14 percent/year, Digital Marketing is showing no signs of slowing down, currently growing at an annual CAGR of 40 percent!, Online Advertising market in India is increasing at the rate of 30% year on year’. The digital advertising spend in India was estimated to be around Rs 7,300 crore at the end of 2016, growing at a rate of 40 per cent over 2015 and is expected to continue at a CAGR of 33 per cent to touch Rs 9,700 crore by December 2017 and will cross Rs.25500 crores by 2020.
As the fundamental nature of marketing is shifting to one of customer centricity, massive micro-campaigns, and relentless focus on the customer decision journey, organizations need to adopt a digital mindset and integrate it into how they communicate and serve their employees, consumers, and the greater community to find lasting success in the emerging digital culture. To be effective, this digital mindset must permeate from the individual executive to the entire enterprise, transforming its culture. At the outset of this transformation, the executive team may feel out of control, overwhelmed and “on foreign soil.” But digital transformation is a necessary paradigm shift critical to the survival and growth of the enterprise. Industry is in huge demand of Digital Marketers and certified trainers. Training in digital skills for marketing can certainly help to bridge this gap and meet the rising future demand of the industry.
So, we can easily imagine that by the starting of 2018 more than 70% business will acquire Digital Marketing strategies. Rapidly changing technology & smart devices, internet and social media proliferation, increasing internet speed, start-ups, untapped rural market and so forth are going to generate a lot of jobs in the field of Digital Marketing in India. Digital marketing has been the buzzword in the Indian job market. This industry is expected to generate more than 20 lakh jobs by the year 2020.