To put it simply, digital marketing is a marketing way to communicate with consumers in a timely, customized and cost-effective way. No matter what form digital marketing takes in front of the public, it always exists for marketing. The essence of digital marketing is to develop new markets more quickly, effectively and at low cost, and dig out more potential consumers. In the current development stage of “content is king”, we-media is undoubtedly the most popular and important form of marketing carrier for digital marketing.
“We media” takes advantage of the situation and becomes the most important carrier of digital marketing
Iresearch data show that the size of China’s social network advertising market grew from 3.16 billion yuan in 2012 to 23.96 billion yuan in 2016, with a compound annual growth rate of 65.9%. And iResearch is expected to this year’s annual data of 37.62 billion yuan, two years later in 2019 this figure is expected to reach 81.77 billion yuan. The social network advertising market is currently the most fertile and fertile soil for digital marketing.
Among them, the number of we-media public accounts, big VS on social media platforms, anchors and Kols with their own traffic has grown rapidly in recent years. Iresearch statistics show that in 2017, the number of Kols with more than 100,000 fans on weibo platform increased by 57.3% compared with last year, and the number of wechat public accounts has already broken through the mark of 10 million. The secondary growth of we media has become the new habitat of digital marketing.
The first rigorous definition of “We Media” was in 2003, when the United States proposed that “We Media” was a way for ordinary people to share their own facts and news with them after they were strengthened by digital technology and connected with the global knowledge system. From blogs, microblogs to the current wechat public account, Domestic we-media has achieved unprecedented development in recent years, and digital marketing forms have also undergone significant changes.
First of all, as citizen media, we media is more authentic and closer to the lives of ordinary people. On this basis, digital marketing with the help of “we media” such a “civilian” communication channel, it is easier to win the goodwill of the public, the value of marketing content is easier to maximize release. Therefore, the best digital marketing approach is definitely not “we media”.
Secondly, we media is an important channel for modern people to learn about the rich and colorful world through the Internet. People don’t have to be bothered by time and space any more, and they don’t have to be there to know the full facts. Most importantly, “we media” provides an important space for the whole people to make their voices heard. As a platform for the whole people to make their voices heard, “We media” has a wider audience and is easier to reach multiple audiences than other forms.
Finally, the application of Internet innovative scientific and technological achievements provides technical support for we media to maximize the value of digital marketing. Whether it is the “information cocoon” brought by algorithms, the prediction of consumer behavior under large digital collection, or the transformation of traditional industries brought by the powerful information processing capability of cloud computing, the digital marketing mode that we media can mobilize is very powerful. This all depends on the support of Internet scientific and technological achievements.
As the most important carrier form of digital marketing at the present stage, “We media” is easier to achieve marketing precision based on clear database objects with the help of rich channels, and can make the marketing effect quantifiable in a variety of ways. “We media” endows digital marketing with richer connotations. For enterprises with marketing needs, we media is naturally the most important partner of enterprises, and even holds the half-life of enterprises.
As a digital marketing tool, the decline of we media is inevitable
At present, the domestic “we media” industry is approaching maturity, and the whole industry starts to subdivide. In this period of scarce traffic, the content tends to be quality, and the quality of “we media” becomes more and more important. But what we still have to see is that time is running out for “we media” in this era of daily travel thousands of miles.
With the progress of the concept of The Times and the rapid development of science and technology, “We media” only as a tool attribute in a certain stage of development began to be exposed, and the disadvantages of “We media” gradually emerged. The most obvious manifestation is that in this period of scarce traffic, not only we media feel the crisis, all walks of life on the Internet are under siege. As a phased tool of digital marketing, we media is bound to decline.
Take the simplest example, nowadays, people pay attention to the number of public numbers in the overflow, more and more types of attention, but really open the number of careful reading is less and less. Even BAT is asking, where did the traffic go? Indeed, this is not only the result of a new generation of young people chasing niche and personalized content being diverted, but also the impact of more new forms and ways of expression on “We media”. From short video, to live broadcast, and then to THE RESEARCH and development of VR/AR application, more novel and technological new intelligent station on the stage of digital marketing.
However, as the development of “we media” enters the latter half, the content is constantly subdivided, and the public generally holds an attitude of “nothing but abuse”. As a result, more and more “We media” are unable to survive and make transformation. It is not only the segmentation content that puts forward higher requirements for We-media KOL. Although the knowledge payment opens a new door, the quality tuyere of “consumption upgrade” has been blown up in the industry with the coming improvement of user taste, and the dividend of we-media era has been almost exhausted.
At the same time, more and more new forms of expression begin to distract the attention of we-media users, and their time is constantly cut to the limit. We-media with insufficient traffic is being ruthlessly eliminated by digital marketing, which is an inevitable result of we-media as one of many digital marketing tools. Tools evolve as technology advances, old forms are innovated and new forms are discovered. But on the other hand, this innovation must be a good thing. It means that digital marketing has never been stuck in a rut. It is moving forward with The Times.
To borrow a phrase from GDMS, “it’s the best of times for consumers.” Technological innovation leads digital transformation, and technology changes the way brands interact with users, which means that the development of all industries in the world is full of opportunities. However, what remains unchanged is the urgent mentality of digital marketing facing user needs. Consumers have raised higher expectations for brands, and digital marketing has faced greater challenges.
The marketing concept of tools and channels is dead
Marc Pritchard, the marketing director of Procter & Gamble, China’s largest consumer goods company, once said, “It is wrong to regard all digital tools, technologies and platforms as the marketing concept of digital marketing. The marketing concept of tools and channels is dead.” That’s a good place to put it.
In today’s digital age, users have gone from being passive recipients to actively experiencing and participating in brand marketing. On the one hand, for enterprises, accurate discovery of users, or even the realization of personalized marketing of thousands of people, is the most easy to attract users’ attention, and the marketing effect is more significant. Nowadays, more brands are trying to be “close to the people”, relying on digital technology to build a new environment of dialogue with users, so as to deepen users’ recognition of the brand, strengthen the emotional connection with users, and strive to make users experience the ultimate personalized expression.
On the other hand, for users, in this era where everyone wants to get attention and live a personalized life, accurate marketing programs can make users feel that they are valued, and attention to user needs is easy to win users’ favor. Building feelings with users is conducive to improving user loyalty. Striving for superior user experience and effective retention… The idea of tool-based marketing is dead, and user-oriented digital marketing will thrive.
Domestic digital marketing is changing with the rise of the mobile Internet, and it is easy for brands to lose their original intention to keep up with these changes. These blink of an eye changes caught the marketing market by surprise. “More and more, marketing following tools is proving to be passive and ineffective.”
Therefore, tool orientation must not be the core of digital marketing, brands need to pay tribute to the consumer centric era. No matter how the tools of digital marketing change, how the marketing form and carrier change, grasp the needs of users “appropriate medicine” is the secret of digital marketing longevity.
Liu Kuang, meditation on the Internet, wechat official account: Liukuang110