In the labyrinth of social media marketing providers, it can be difficult to separate valuable opportunities from wasted money.
And the rapid changes in the world of technology are making this dilemma even more difficult.
“Five years ago, digital marketing was much easier,” recalls Sagar Sethi, CEO of Melbourne-based digital marketing company Xugar.
“But times have changed.
“Not only is the market becoming more fragmented, but the cost of reaching consumers through online sites is also increasing.”
Today, many companies are engaging in what Sethi calls “digital spray and pray,” advertising and collaborating on various online platforms to start receiving an influx of leads.
Naturally, such a haphazard approach yields unreliable results at best. However, Sethi was keen to stress that this does not mean that digital marketing itself is a waste of time.
“Analytics are now extremely sophisticated and require a high level of skill to operate. When properly managed, analytics can help determine exactly when and how to reach consumers and inform decision-making. We can identify it,” the CEO said.
In particular, he said one of the benefits of online analytics is that it gives businesses instant access to data about audience engagement.
“For example, at Facebook, this information is readily available in the Ads Manager platform, so you can instantly see how your ads are performing and analyze things like return on ad spend and cost per lead.” said Sethi.
“This is a game-changer because you can see which ads are performing well and quickly decide whether to drop a campaign.”
Sethi said that in addition to analytics, social media marketing offers businesses the opportunity to “hyper-target your ideal customers based on demographics” such as age, gender, interests and purchasing habits.
But he strongly cautioned that it's important to hire real experts who can provide hard evidence of results and have “in-depth knowledge” of online marketing.
If not, Sethi warned, digital marketing is just “throwing money down the drain.”
CEOs aren't the only professionals who recognize the benefits of informed and thoughtful online marketing technology. Earlier this year, Melbourne media agency Assembled Media took steps to “take the guesswork out” of online marketing with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).
Buxton Real Estate has even hired a dedicated 'technical expert' to take the brand to new heights, while independent agency Jarls Real Estate is leveraging AI marketing to It targets a niche group of elite buyers.
