What is the Future of Digital Marketing?

October 23, 2020

What is the future of Digital Marketing?

The future is a notoriously hard thing to predict. From Picard using a suspiciously familiar iPad device in the 90’s Star Trek Next Generation to the current future vision of pop-up 3D interactive experiences - we get it right, wrong, and become obsolete well before the time we thought it would be a cutting edge innovation in equal measure.

Don’t predict the specifics, unless your business is innovation - and you lot outstrip each other all the time. Capitalising on the future of digital marketing is not about the new technology in isolation. At We Are Doodlebug we will always use the latest cutting edge solutions - MASSIVE fans of new shiny objects - but they are just tools to achieve objectives. The future of digital marketing is understanding the human role in the transaction.

A while ago there was a lot of buzz around attribution. What was it in the process that ‘made the sale’? Was it a landing page, an ad, an email - and let's pour resources into the one that works best. It’s appealing to think that way. I do it all the time - why did that work? How do we do more? But the flaw was almost immediately obvious - that one element, even if it is the final action, is rarely solely responsible. We continued our hunt for the ‘Magic Bullet’ by weighting our attribution across a range of actions and impressions - better, but still flawed. It relied too much on the purely digital actions. In reality people interact with your business online, in the real world and in their internal deliberations.

Social media is another good example to consider. It aims to show you more of what you like. This is deliberate to get you to spend more time on the platform. You begin to hear only from those who you interact with most, often sharing your views. You become frustrated by this. Guess what - you keep going back for more in a cycle of dependence (and in some cases addiction) until it goes too far and either you subconsciously filter messages (ads) out completely, become damaged by the intensity of your experience or you delete the whole sorry mess from your life.- and I have friends who were never on Facebook, Instagram or twitter and they seem to be doing very well without them. I just can’t market to them via social media.

Most businesses can’t be omnipresent. We are not all Coca Cola or Nike, and trying to broadcast in the same way would burn up your resources pretty much instantly. You need to make sure you are giving the right instructions in the right manner at the right time in order to guide your clients to you. This means using the tools - new and old depending on the audience you are trying to reach - in a consistent and empathetic way.

Push steadily, not hard. Measure the outcomes - especially the cost and value of each acquisition. Work on the channels your clients respond to, and test others methodically. If leaflet drops work, don’t worry that your Facebook ads flopped - test a new channel. This is how we catch up with and stay ahead of the wave.

Find out what works in your industry, test what works for your customers and keep control of the direction you are heading with a really tight strategy which evolves according to the impact the strands have - shedding weak strands and developing strong ones. We always ask why a channel is used. ‘It’s new and innovative’ is rarely a great metric. ‘My customers love it and engage with it’ is, as is ‘Since we started using it, sales have gone through the roof as a direct result’ - if only it were that simple!

So, at We Are Doodlebug, the future of digital marketing involves an understanding of the humans that technology is augmenting. There will be vast numbers of wonderful tools we will use - being invented as we speak by people way more intelligent than me - but they are only as good as the humans using them (and yes, this includes Artificial Intelligence!). As your clients become more immune to the ‘Shiny Things’ it takes more than a new gimmick to engage them. The future of digital marketing is in understanding human behaviour and how that relates to your business, the stage you are at and the people you want to reach.

Unless we understand the way a human brain processes the world around them and interacts with it, we aren’t maximising our chances of speaking to them in the way that counts.

If this interests you, click to book your free audit now, we'd love to explore further with you.

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What is International Day of Education? On the 24th of January we are celebrating International Day of Education, we recognising the education sector from a broader perspective. You may think, why is this something that needs recognizing? Well let us tell you. In 2018 the United Nations General Assembly granted the 24th of January as The International Day of Education. This day in particular focuses on educational development and reflecting on what we take for granted for accessing education and resources. Why Is This Important? Last year alone, the UK had at least 10.7 million children attending schools across the country whilst in other underdeveloped countries such as Sudan, Mali and others have a staggering rate of 258 million pupils who do not have access to any form of education. It is especially hard for those living in regions of higher inequality, education is not deemed as necessary and is often dismissed. Often governments also lack the sufficient funding for educational resources, meaning there is not enough funding for basic necessities such as bathrooms, teachers and supplies of uniform. International Day Of Education calls for change; the aim is to bring civil societies and individuals to take solid steps to ensure that children get to have a primary and secondary education in underdeveloped countries. Who Have We Worked With? We Are Doodlebug are proud to have worked with two amazing UK based Educational Trusts. As a company we believe in growth, the education sector is proven to provide that for individuals especially those in less fortunate circumstances. As Malala Yousafzai said “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world”. The Diocese of Ely Multi Academy Trust, and Campfire Education Trust have been pivotal in providing Primary school education to thousands of children. Both Trust’s provide and establish a dynamic professional learning community, allowing children to grow an enthusiasm for learning and create curiosity about the world whilst still providing a caring attitude towards it. Seeing a child flourish in education is not just rewarding, it also gives them a chance in life and sets them up for success. How We Are Doodlebug Support Educational Trusts/Schools? 1.We can provide a consistent brand across schools whilst maintaining individual personality. 2.Ability to easily find policies in one place on the main MAT website which school sites link to so that they are always kept up to date and remain compliant. 3.We provide support via phone or email as well as training staff to make their own edits.a different source.