As I’m writing this article, the number of internet users across the globe is 3,567,365, 887 and counting. Even in India, fueled by internet penetration in rural areas, the number of internet users is set to see a two-fold rise standing at 730 million by 2020 against the 350 million at the end of 2015. These are just a few numbers that indicate the influence that internet and allied forces bear on our lives today.
With increased internet usage over the last few years, the digital and social media landscape in India has witnessed a paradigm shift. About 87 per cent brands leverage digital and 38 per cent of them allocate a whopping 1/3rd of their budget to digital marketing. This only mirrors the fact that more and more businesses are embracing digital to attract, engage and transact with their customers and this is being aided by increasing investments in better internet connectivity and growth in internet and social media usage.
The reason for this enthusiasm for digital marketing is simple: digital marketing is perhaps the only cost-effective and most viable method to get your message out and build a solid consumer base. It is not only great value for your money, but also, the barrier to enter and scale up are miniscule compared to traditional media. In other words, you can have great impact on a limited budget which has leveled the playing field between big and small companies, thereby giving a great fighting chance to new talent to compete with the biggies, without fear of being trampled.
Here are six reasons to drive my thoughts further.
1. You’ll be in high demand
No matter what field of business you are in, marketing is going to be the true winner. Yes, product development is important but if you don’t understand your customers’ needs and communicate them the benefits of your product, how will you sell it? Marketing and sales are the only functions within a business that provide instantaneous measurable ROI.
I was reported that 85 per cent marketers are tracking revenues generated through digital marketing with 50 per cent of them reporting that e-Marketing activities are contributing more than 10 per cent of their revenues. This just goes to show the growing influence of digital marketing. Things were different a few years back, when businesses were busy building breakthrough products. Today, product development has become easier and faster with outsourcing and better technologies. The only way a company stands out in the crowd is through concrete marketing activities.
Not just companies, even political leaders are greatly relying on digital marketing to grow their influence. The unseen hand of digital marketing is what is behind Narendra Modi or Donald Trump’s sensational campaigns.
Good digital marketers who can conduct high-quality campaigns help build brands from scratch. Eighty per cent of Indian marketers believe that integrated campaigns on email, social and mobile can result in significant increase in conversion rates. The sudden diffusion of smartphones, hand held devices and access to high speed internet has changed how media is consumed, thus altering people’s buying behavior. But there are not enough highly proficient digital marketeers out in the market. Remember, it’s this scarcity that has created great demand.
2. Lucrative job opportunities
What follows is anybody’s guess : when supply is less while demand is more, it goes without saying that a good digital marketer will get big bucks. Plus, the higher you go up the ladder, so does your pay scale.
3. Laying the groundwork to help you become an entrepreneur
A lot of product heavy startups bootstrap, raise capital from their savings, inheritance or through investors and are able to build a product in a couple of months. However, if you don’t know how to market that product, the business just won’t take off. When marketing is done right, scaling the business is easier.
Your experience in digital marketing, will not only get you better job opportunities, but will be immensely helpful if you plan to become entrepreneur in the near future. You will understand of customers’ needs better, evaluate market fitness of products and assess demand in the market. You will also be sensitive to the changing needs of your customers and their perceptions.
4. It’s a challenging job but equally exhilarating
Digital marketing is not for everyone. If you’re weak hearted, you’ll not be able to handle the uneven territory that comes with marketing. With new online campaigns, you could succeed or you could falter. Over a period of time, as and when you figure out what works, you scale up.
Nevertheless, the other interesting aspect is because you will be working around the internet, where you work from is not crucial as long as your work is accomplished. Who wouldn’t want to be the master of their time?
5. Choose what sector interests you.
Digital marketing is a huge industry and there is a lot going on under the umbrella. You can hold a multitude of roles in digital marketing for a wide variety of dispositions and skills. You can become content or email marketer, social media or mobile marketer, e-commerce executive, inbound marketer, a SEO or PPC executive or you can be an online PR expert. Isn’t it always great to have more to choose from?
6. No specific educational background
This, in my opinion, is the biggest testament to the democratisation that digital media has brought into our jobs market: that you don’t need a specific set of qualifications to be able to pursue digital marketing. Your passion, not qualification, matter. The best part is you don’t have to begin your career from scratch if you want to make it big in the business. All you need is passion.
Here I would like to add a quote by Swami Vivekananda. He’d said,”Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders and know that you’re the creator of your own destiny.” If you’re really serious about it, digital marketing can do wonders to your career and take you places. Its dynamic, progressive, well-paid and a critical part of the industry now.