• April 20, 2021

4 Reasons Why All Business Graduates Must Study Digital Marketing

4 Reasons Why All Business Graduates Must Study Digital Marketing

When newly minted business graduates enter the workplace today – they enter a brand-new world of information. Gone are the days of paper-based communication like books and newsprint; even television and radio broadcasts are fast becoming outdated.

Younger generations are now consuming digital content on a daily basis – via mobile phones and social media. The number of Facebook users hitting the 2 billion mark is a wake up call to small and large businesses worldwide. With five new profiles being created on Facebook every second, it makes sense for businesses to be where their customers are – in the digital world.

New business graduates have an opportunity to lead their companies into the digital age. In fact, their new skills can prove invaluable in a scenario where most senior staff do not have the expertise or knowledge to target the digital market.

So what makes digital marketing so different from traditional marketing? Why do business graduates need to learn digital marketing as a separate, special and integral component of their curriculum?

The Digital market operates differently from the traditional market

In traditional marketing scenarios, an advertisement in news, television or print media would reach everyone who consumed that media. The cost of the marketing was decided based on the maximum reach that the particular media channel could provide.

Digital marketing is completely different. In digital marketing you can tailor your campaign to reach a specific audience. The cost of your marketing is based on the interaction your audience has with the advert. Complex technology is used to create, manage and measure digital marketing. All these factors make digital marketing strategies and methods very different from traditional strategies.

Knowledge and understanding of digital marketing concepts like Pay Per Click, Facebook Pixel, Video views, Google Adwords, different social media channels and how they operate etc is needed before you can even begin forming a digital marketing strategy. This knowledge is not found in the traditional marketing curriculum and needs to be studied separately.

Digital Content is consumed differently from traditional content

Social media platforms are designed for a change hungry generation, always on the go. These platforms are not static and general like a newspaper. They are dynamic and tailored to the individual’s tastes and preferences.

Any social media feed, from Facebook to Snapchat to Twitter changes within seconds. Consumers scroll through content quickly, rejecting and accepting matter at a glance. To capture their attention within a moment requires major changes in advertising methods.

To get social media engagement and interaction one has to know how to present matter that stands out from literally thousands of others. This kind of attractive content creation requires special skills that can only be found in a specialist Digital Marketing Course.

Digital Marketing can break or build reputation

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing method for any business. Digital Marketing is the method of utilizing the word-of-mouth promotion opportunities that online platforms provide. How to engage this technology to your advantage is known only to skilled digital marketers.

A business can grow its reputation organically by generating quality content that is shared to others by their consumers. When people see that a product is shared, liked, tweeted, or commented upon by their friend, they are more likely to purchase it. When people read reviews on Amazon, Facebook, Google Buisness, Zomato or Trip Advisor, they are more likely to trust the brand.

The opposite is also true. One negative comment on social media can hurt a business strongly enough to cause losses. For example, a British Airways flyer, Mr Hasan Syed used Twitter’s self-service ad platform to post a promoted tweet, which read: “Don’t fly @British_Airways. Their customer service is horrendous.”

Mr Syed, a hair-care entrepreneur based in Chicago, had flown business class on the airline with his father on a trip to Paris. When BA lost his father’s luggage and failed to respond to his complaint on Twitter, he took matters into his own hands.

Mr Syed spent over $US1,000 on his smear campaign and his angry tweets were seen by more than 50,000 Twitter users in the UK and New York markets where his promoted tweet ran.[Source: Business Insider]

One has to be very cautious as one steps into the digital marketing arena. Failed strategies can be disastrous to the company and the employee. Graduates who learn the art of digital marketing can protect themselves and their companies from terrible failures.

Digital Marketing world is complex

The Digital world is as complex as the World Wide Web. For example, statistics reveal that there were at least 23 social media channels used by Australians everyday. Similarly, content can be created in various forms, from images and videos to text, gif, infographics, webinars, podcasts, and emails.

Advertising strategies can vary – search engines, paid placements, email give-aways, Instagram competitions, Twitter Q&A, Facebook Live – the list goes on. With literally hundreds of methods to reach your audience through hundred different channels, the digital marketing world is complicated and scary.

Similarly, digital marketing analytics are complex with multiple data points. One has to learn to collect, study and leverage data such as views, clicks, conversions, engagements, downloads and customer feedback through multiple different channels.

Specialised digital marketing knowledge is the only way to navigate this complicated web safely. One needs to know which platforms to target and how to target them most efficiently. One has to study their demographic and know what type of content they will engage with. One has to know where to spend money to get the maximum results.

The digital age is here to stay. We can no longer deny the reality of digital marketing for all businesses, old and new. There is an urgent need to revise Business curriculums as companies struggle to find talent that will help them prosper in the digital age. Digital marketing must be added as an integral and crucial component of any Business Degree.

Guest Post by Alex Brown –

Alex is the digital marketing manager for Gowning Street, a fast growing E-Commerce Start-up that supplies graduation gowns to University and Private college students nation-wide. www.gowningstreet.com.au