Digital Communications (Definition, Challenges, Techniques & Strategies)

Choosing the most effective digital communications techniques and refining them to attract visitors and new customers at an efficient cost is now a major marketing activity, for both online business and multi-channel businesses. In this Article, we explain the differences between the different digital media options and review the strengths, weaknesses and success factors for using the communications techniques.

Key challenges of digital communications

It is sometimes suggested by some suppliers of digital media that they are ‘quick, cheap and easy’ to deploy. This is a great misconception since there are many challenges which need to be overcome when managing digital campaigns. Again referring to a Google Ads campaign as an example, these include:

Complexity

To enable the benefits we have mentioned above – such as personalisation, testing and dynamic variation in ads through time – time has to go into configuring the campaign although the search engines provide defaults to enable easy setup. This requires specialist expertise either in-house or at an agency to manage the campaign.

Responding to competitors

Since competitors can also change their approach readily, more resource has to be used to monitor competitor activity. Automated tools known as bid management tools can assist with this – they will automatically check amounts competitors are paying and then adjust them according to pre-defined rules.

Responding to changes in technology and marketing platforms.

Google and the other ad- serving companies innovate to offer better capabilities for their customers. This means that staff managing campaigns need training to keep up-to-date. Google offers ‘Ads Qualified Professionals’ so that companies can be certain of a minimum skills level.

Cost

Although costs can be readily controlled, in competitive categories the costs can be high, exceeding €10 per click.

Attention

While online paid search ads are highly targeted and there is arguably little wastage, not everyone will view paid adverts, indeed there is a phenomenon known as ‘banner blindness’ where web users ignore online ads (more details In continue). Engaging with the audience with advertising is also a problem in social networks and other publisher sites, which can lead to a very low rate of people clicking on ads.

The relationship between traditional and digital communications

It is helpful to understand the relationship between the new digital communications techniques and traditional communications, in order that new opportunities are not missed and campaigns can be planned in an integrated fashion. According to Jenkinson (2007), there are important learning opportunities to be derived from understanding the scope of personalisation both on- and offline. To illustrate the relationship between different levels of marketing communications consider, which is based on terminology introduced by Jenkinson and Sain (2001) and increasingly adopted by practitioners and academics.

benefits of digital communications

Accountability: Digital media are potentially more accountable through the use of measurement systems known collectively as web analytics. Google provides a free tool known as Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) to enable its advertisers to test the value generated from its ads.

Testing: Potentially, testing becomes more straightforward at a lower cost with the option to trial alternative creative executions, messaging or offers. Google offers another free tool – the Website Optimizer – to test alternative landing pages.

Flexibility: Campaigns can be more flexible, with the capability to change copy or offers during a campaign. Alternative ads can be served within Google to evaluate which works best. Google Ads also offers day-parting, where ads can be displayed at different times of the day.

Micro-targeting: Alternative messages can be delivered for different audiences according to what they are searching for. Potentially a company can show a different advert in Google Ads for each term searched on.

Cost-control: Costs can be controlled for each group of search terms entered by customers through the search engine, managed collectively, and bids made can be increased or decreased with the aid of software.

would be continued… inshallah