The digital ubiquity has become so obvious in our daily lives that even the newspapers have added digital cuts in their portfolios. Businesses adopt digital communication models to make the conversations immediate and interactive. Transparency, authenticity and personalization are the other add-ons. These merits lure more and more customers to digital channels.  On the education side, Management (Full time / Online MBA) students also need to understand how to integrate digital communication models as an essential element in a  business strategy .

Digital First

Digital first is prioritizing the communication on digital channels (others come next). The key utilities of digital first strategy are: –

• Appeals to Gen Z customers: Who are impulsive and prefer visual story telling (e.g. realty major Puravankara comes out with reels to promote space selling.)
• Omni Channel Delivery:  Sends out consistent content across the channels (no more missing messages). E.g. Tata 1 mg sends out their health alert messages through different channels.
• Consistent Templates: Logos, graphics, colour are uniform across the channels e.g. Coke’s red, Nike’s Black or Barbie’s pink.
• Personalized Messaging: E.g.  Retailer’s personalized messages on exclusive birthday deals.  
• Automated Documents: Facilitates with ease, variety of high-volume or on-demand jobs (e.g. Banks’ digitalized monthly statements).

Shrinking Attention Span

Studies reveal that the human attention span is shrinking.  From approx. 12 seconds as of year 2000 it stands at around 8 seconds at present and a web page visitor stays on a page not more than 10 to 20 seconds. Hence the brands need to ensure to send across the message within this time span.   This haste has added an innovative fabric, snackable yet authentic, to digital communication:

• Short is Snackable: Short, crisp text, attractive visuals, engaging reels and videos, all these ensure quick grasp, easy digest and longer retention.  
• UX Resonates: User experience (UX) is authentic and it resonates well with the audience. Sharing the experience on official channels captivates and inspires.
• Video Appeals: Videos are visually appealing and quickly convey the brand message. The trend is short-format videos tailored to suit the dynamics of each channel (e.g. Instagram, YouTube)
• Personalize to Be Liked: Segmentation based on past purchases and online alerts on new arrivals etc. provide personalized content for better appeal.

The Digital Pitch

The digital pitch has transformed the pattern of customers’ brand interaction.  A brand is gauged on the parameters like authenticity, transparency and social responsibility This prompts the brands to adopt strategies like:

• Leveraging favourite platforms (e.g. FB Reels)
• Collaborating with influencers (Builds authenticity)
• Engaging genuine dialogues (No false promises)
• Enabling Interactive engagement (e.g. augmented reality- AR)
• Data driven insights (e.g. recommendations based on past purchases)
• Customizable products (e.g. make your own burger by food chains)
• Fostering online communities (e.g. FB groups by consumer durable brands)

Wrapping Up

In the fast paced digital drive, marketing trends tend to evolve. Success favours those brands who are agile and quick to adapt.

Discussion Question

What is your digital marketing take? Carpet bombing or Snipping / focused marketing? Why?

Source Article

https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/advertising-to-gen-z-strategies-for-a-digital-first-generation-135514.html

https://www.bostondigital.com/insights/shrinking-attention-span-what-it-means-marketers