The Importance of Digital Marketing in the Changing World of COVID-19

For the last few years, digital marketing has transformed more quickly than any other area of marketing, and the COVID-19 epidemic is to blame. The rapid emergence of the COVID — 19 pandemic caught most of the world off guard, where face-to-face communication was a common part of daily life. Due to the pandemic, everything changed abruptly and without warning. Businesses that traditionally relied on in-person accessibility through trade exhibitions, physical meetings, foot traffic for brick and mortar restaurants/retail sites, and other means faced a new challenge: adapt or close.

Because technology is altering our world at such a rapid rate, keeping up with new industry trends is becoming increasingly difficult. People began spending more time online than ever before during the epidemic, enhancing their online presence and expanding the online business possibility, suggesting a bright future for digital marketing agencies. Many businesses were looking for new, COVID-safe ways to connect with their audiences after prior avenues of communication were either totally blocked off or drastically modified. Many organizations that had never contemplated entering the digital marketing sector were forced to scramble to construct e-commerce channels, social media campaigns, and extensive websites almost overnight.

With the influx of new consumers and businesses into the digital world, brands are vying for consumer attention even if a direct sale is not available. Therefore, a diverse digital marketing approach is essential for cutting through the noise and standing out from the competition.

So, how have businesses learned to deal with Covid-19, and what influence does it have on today’s and tomorrow’s digital marketing activities? In this article, we’ll discuss the impact and importance of digital marketing in this recent times.

About Digital Marketing

Any marketing that makes use of electronic devices that may be utilized by marketing professionals to provide promotional content and track its effectiveness throughout the consumer journey, is called Digital Marketing. It refers to marketing initiatives that display on a computer, phone, tablet, or another device in practice. Online video, display advertisements, programmatic advertising, search engine marketing, paid social ads, and social media postings are just a few examples. Traditional marketing methods such as magazine advertisements, billboards, and direct mail are frequently contrasted to digital marketing. Though it is continuing for many years, the importance of digital marketing during pandemics has skyrocketed.

Types of Digital Marketing

There are as many different types of digital marketing specialties as there are different methods to connect with digital media. Here are a couple of good examples.

• • SEO(Search Engine Optimization): SEO, or search engine optimization, is a marketing technique rather than a type of marketing in and of itself. It’s “the art and science of making online pages appealing to search engines,” according to The Balance. Because SEO requires you to analyze and evaluate several contributing elements in order to attain the highest potential ranking, it is a science. When optimizing a webpage it must include quality content, level of user engagement, mobile responsiveness, and the number of inbound links.
• • Content Marketing: As in any marketing plan, the goal of content marketing is to acquire leads that ultimately convert into consumers. But it does so differently than traditional advertising. Rather than luring prospects with the prospective value of a product or service, it provides value in the form of textual information for free. According to Criteo, Content Marketing produces 3X more leads per dollar spent and it costs 62% less than traditional marketing.
• • Social Media Marketing: By involving people in online discussions, social media marketing can increase traffic and brand awareness. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the most popular social media marketing platforms, with LinkedIn and YouTube not too far off.
• • Pay-Per-Click Marketing: PPC, or pay-per-click, is when you place an ad on a platform and are charged every time someone clicks on it. Because you only pay when a user actually reaches your website, it’s very cost-effective. Besides you can choose your targeted audience based on location, language, etc and most of all the results come very fast for this marketing.
• • Email Marketing: The idea behind email marketing is simple – you send a promotional message to your prospect and hope that they click on it. Actually, it was the 1st form of digital marketing in history. Through this, you can create a meaningful relationship with your audiences through personalized messages. It can also boost the effectiveness of your direct marketing operations.

Because it covers such a big audience and provides you with far more flexibility and consumer interaction for your ad budget, the importance of digital marketing in the modern era of business has grown in popularity.

The Changing Audiences

With the introduction of COVID-19, individuals all over the world were confined to their houses for long periods of time, followed by social distancing norms, resulting in consumer behavior changes and a significant shift in information, commodities, and services consumption patterns. Regardless no matter whether there is a pandemic or not, the more people interact with technology, the more they like the experience, making it a normal part of their lives.

It is not just the early adopters and innovators who are abandoning traditional media in favor of a variety of digital outlets. Even the most adamant traditionalists have been forced to embrace digitalization by the epidemic and lockdown of 2020, simply to stay connected to the outside world. Digitalization has evolved into a solution, a way to meet fundamental requirements such as food, as well as interaction with friends and family, entertainment, and the procurement of knowledge, goods, and services that were previously only available in person. According to e-CAB, in the past quarter (July-September 2020), internet sales in this country soared by 70–80%, and online shopping produced $708.46 million in income during these epidemic times.

Of course, a section of the audience has always been interested in doing more and more online. The introduction of lockdown, on the other hand, has drastically enlarged the number, availability, and profile of the digital audience, bringing in people who were previously only accessible offline. Not only that, but it has altered their attitudes, expectations, content consumption, and how they expect to be treated as consumers.

Bangladesh’s digital commerce has grown remarkably due to covid-19. A governmental study shows that around 45% of the total demography are potential e-commerce users. According to NewVision, there are approximately 2,500 e-commerce sites and 150,000 Facebook-based outlets operating in Bangladesh. And all of these businesses depend on digital marketing to increase their sales and to build trust with their consumers. To sum up, the importance of digital marketing in the present scenario is increasing day by day.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Marketing

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most significant environmental challenges in modern marketing history, with the potential to have a significant impact on fundamental marketing principles. In these unpredictable times, industries must adapt faster while meeting customer demands. Even the most well-established businesses are struggling to keep up with the epidemic, and digital marketing services are no exception. To survive, businesses have been compelled to reinterpret their digital marketing goals, and many agencies have had to reinvent their existing aims and business models. In general, this circumstance has opened up more opportunities for digital marketing companies to explore customer strategies.

Let’s take a look at how the pandemic has impacted digital marketing.

1. Bringing Brands Closer to Their Customers

Marketing companies are in charge of laying up diverse communication strategies for different brands. People spend more time on the internet when they are confined to their houses. As a result, consumers’ expectations have shifted, necessitating a shift in brand communication techniques. Brands must portray themselves in a more professional manner in order to increase their internet presence. They seek out agencies to help them humanize their businesses.

To create a healthy relationship with their customers, brands must humanize their approach to connecting with them. To outperform the competition, this can be performed by discarding outdated cold corporate practices and becoming more sensitive with customers.

2. Changing to a Virtual Work Environment

Businesses have changed as a result of the pandemic. More and more businesses are adopting a digital work structure. Despite the bleak environment, digital marketing businesses have the required edge to function. The lockdown has given agencies the opportunity to identify and rethink their various digital job tasks in the absence of a physical office.

3. Changes to the Agency’s Philosophy

The Covid-19 has proven to be a far more serious health threat than we had anticipated. As a result, it’s critical to be more aware of employees and to address their frustrations and wants. Many organizations have made steps to provide extra support to employees and their families as they cope with the pandemic.

Many employers have provided Covid-positive staff paid time off without withholding their pay. Furthermore, many organizations paid advance salaries to staff who endured the most difficult obstacles throughout the pandemic and never laid them off.

Apart from that, digital marketing firms organize vaccination campaigns for their employees and their families on a regular basis. Employees now feel as if their employer has their backs, and they return to work stronger and more confident. Employees’ emotional wellness has been increased as a result of these changes in agency work culture, and they have remained optimistic throughout the trials.

As the digital marketing landscape evolves, organizations are seeing the need to adapt their business strategy. Brands have realized they need to be performance-driven and have elevated their expectations in terms of ROI (Return on marketing investment) from digital tactics, from being more visible on social media to employing digital techniques for running a business.

Importance of Digital Marketing during Covid-19

Digital Marketing gives the opportunity of running the business as usual to both businesses and consumers. As our traditional marketing heavily depends on physical contacts, digital marketing is the ultimate solution during this COVID pandemic. One of digital marketing’s biggest virtues is that it eliminates the need for the personal touch and physical communication, which has proven to be one of its major weaknesses in this situation.

Apart from that, the result of gaining clients through digital marketing is very efficient and effective. Let’s take a look at some statistics for various kinds of digital marketing:

• • Email marketing offers a 4400% ROI on average. (OptinMonster)
  • 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level and vice-president-level executives use social media to make purchase choices. (SuperOffice)
  • Organic Google searches contribute to 43% of eCommerce traffic. (Wolfgang Digital)
  • Content development is the most beneficial SEO strategy for 72% of online businesses. (isitwp)
  • Every year, 1.66 billion individuals purchase online. (Statista)

Previously, the lack of a physical link in digital marketing was seen as a weakness of its. Now we can see how erroneous this first assumption was. In fact, we can see more active and consistent participation in digital marketing interest and investment than we have ever seen before. The development of digital marketing has completely changed the landscape of advertising and marketing. Many technologies have now lost their foothold as the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic continues to reshape the globe in less-than-ideal ways, which is undeniable. Digital marketing, on the other hand, has grown in strength in the face of such adversity. Among many some of the key advantages of digital marketing are:

1. 1. Digital marketing increases customer loyalty with frequent communications.
   2. Marketing via digital media is a more cost-effective option than traditional methods. They have the same impact yet cost a fraction of the price.
   3. Small investments in digital marketing provide a large return.
   4. Unlike traditional approaches, which need weeks or months to assess the validity of a campaign, a digital campaign allows you to know how an ad is functioning nearly instantly.
   5. Advertisements are easy to adjust in digital marketing. If your campaign is performing well, then you can invest more in it within some clicks and if not, then you can stop as well.
   6. Businesses may improve their brand and image by utilizing their digital channels. A well-designed website, a blog with high-quality and informative posts, and a highly involved social media channel are all examples of how a company may promote its brand.
   7. The marketing features of digital marketing are easy to share among vast audiences.
   8. Targeted advertising is possible with digital marketing since adverts are delivered to customers depending on their interests or initial action.
   9. The world has turned into a global village and you can expose your business globally through digital marketing.

The rise of digital marketing is without a doubt one of the most significant advancements in the advertising and marketing sector to date. Now that the globe is coping with the aftermath of COVID-19, the importance of digital marketing has resurfaced. Digital marketing provides the ideal chance for organizations and consumers to continue to participate in the industry’s continuing evolution while being safe and secure.

Future of Digital Marketing in Bangladesh

The role of digital marketing in the COVID-19 epidemic is becoming increasingly essential. As a result, there is a surge in global interest and investment in digital marketing. We have never seen such a deep appreciation for and comprehension of digital marketing before. The future of digital marketing appears to be brighter than ever – and it is just getting brighter as time goes on. Digitomark believes the underlying strength of digital marketing is that it is an iteration of advertising and marketing that combines all of the strengths and wonders of every branch of marketing ever created while also presenting the world with new ways of approaching and looking at marketing and how it can become bolder and stronger over time through consistent attention to detail and ongoing transformation. The entire globe has gone through several amazing inventions and transformational times throughout its history. And now it is the time for digital marketing to shine.

As a digital marketing agency in Bangladesh, we have been involved with this arena for a long time. As an ideal agency, we research our client’s needs and ways of connecting them with their consumers in a convenient way that helps them in growing their businesses and made them trustworthy in their sector. We provide SEO Services, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Pay Per Click Advertising and many more services all over Bangladesh. We will continue our journey with diligence and dedication to increase our client’s sustainable growth. 

FAQ

What is SEO?

Ans: The act of optimizing content and web pages in order to rank higher on search engine results pages is known as search engine optimization or SEO. 

Is it truly necessary for me to have a website?

Ans: Yes! Although word of mouth is powerful, the majority of customers seek and study organizations online before making a purchase. 

What is social media?

Ans: Users can interact and communicate with one another through shared material on social media networks. 

What social media platforms are best for my business?

Ans: While having a social media presence is important for all businesses, each business will have unique social media demands and tactics. 

What does responsive design mean?

Ans: Responsive design is a web design strategy that aims to create a website that adapts to a variety of devices and screen sizes.