Growth of Digital Marketing in India: How To Use Digital Marketing For Your Business?

Introduction

In 2019, digital advertising experienced a remarkable 26% surge from the previous year, reaching Rs. 13,683 crores, according to a report by Dentsu Aegis Network.  This growth outpaced the overall advertising sector, which saw a 9.4% increase. The digital marketing landscape is thriving, with projections indicating a 27% expansion in 2020, surpassing the 17,000-crore milestone. With approximately 700 million internet users in India as of 2020, expected to soar to over 970 million by 2025, the potential for digital marketing is enormous. For those serious about leveraging platforms like Instagram, learn digital marketing through reputable institutions is essential for gaining a competitive edge. As the market evolves, seizing these opportunities and adapting strategies accordingly will be pivotal for success in these dynamic industries.
 

Advertising in the Pre-Internet Era

During pre-internet days, advertising was carried out via television, billboards, and radio advertisements. Advertising used to be very different than how it is today. Door to door advertisement and word of mouth publicity was playing a vital role in marketing. When the internet happened, everything changed. Now we can easily advertise our product or service in front of millions of people without going out of the office, without even talking to anyone. 

Read: How the role of digital marketing is crucial for business?

How much time do Indians spend online?

Indians use the internet to do almost everything these days. Online learning, posting on social media, watching Netflix, reading e-books, playing video games, paying bills, and everything is possible online, so the amount of time Indians spend online is increasing gradually. India is outgrowing China as one of the leading markets for internet consumption. 

Even though TV is still the most popular entertainment source, with 58.7% of people prefer TV over other sources, Digital is also catching up. Indians spend around 1 hour and 29 minutes every day on average on Digital. Source.

They spend most of their digital time through their smartphone. 

Cheaper smartphones and affordable data packages have increased the time people spend on their smartphones. 

Precise Customer Targeting

Not everyone who watches your ad will end up buying from you. So, why announce your new product to the whole world when you can show it to your targeted, specific users? Big data made this even easier by analyzing past trends and user behavior. 

To keep their advertisers happy, social media platforms and search engines are updating their algorithms to make your ad appear to relevant and targeted audiences. 

This works very well with small companies and companies with a tight budget. Calculating ROI is much easier in digital than in a traditional advertisement. 

Here are some reasons why precise targeting can benefit a business and enable them to actively be a part of digital marketing growth –

1. It allows the business to stay relevant

Several businesses target their customers aggressively by constantly sending them e-mails and reminder messages multiple times a day, this may cause you to lose customers. Instead, it is more appropriate to do precision targeting. This method will allow you to stay on top of the minds of customers that have the potential to become regulars.

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2. It allows retargeting

The traditional form of targeting allows you to target the customers interested in the website. With precision targeting, you will receive data from the customers who have visited the website and retarget them. You can also target them for advertisements and reminders. Retargeting also eliminates the possibility of the customers forgetting the name of your brand, further fueling your digital marketing growth.

Why Digital Marketing is a Booming Field in India

Having closely observed the growth of digital marketing in India, I can confidently assert that it’s a booming field with immense potential. The digital marketing industry in India has witnessed exponential growth in recent years, with a remarkable increase in the adoption of digital platforms by businesses of all sizes. The growth rate of digital marketing in India has been extraordinary, driven by increasing internet penetration and the rise of the shift towards online shopping. As more companies recognize the importance of digital presence, the demand for skilled digital marketers continues to soar. In my experience, the dynamic nature of digital marketing presents lucrative opportunities for professionals seeking a rewarding career path.

Digital Marketing Role in Small Companies

Small companies tend to be frugal at their initial stages due to the limited resources they have. They can’t be able to afford big marketing budgets and campaigns like bigger companies. But so many online advertising platforms providing effective tools regardless of your company’s size gives a chance to smaller companies to stand up and create a name for themselves.

Gartner’s Digital Marketing Spend Report highlighted that up to 40% of respondents claimed to get considerable savings using digital marketing methods of promotion for their products and services.

Smart marketers from startups can also utilize SEO, email marketing to compete against bigger brands and easily create a name for their brand. 

Also Read: Digital Marketing Tutorial

Digital Marketing Trends

Digital is one of the fastest moving topics. A few years ago, AI was a distant future, and now AI is the heart of global business and industry. 

Through programmatic advertising, you can use AI to automate your ad buying, which helps you narrow down your audiences. 

Conversational marketing arranges a quick one-to-one connection between customers and digital marketers. 

Voice searches and smart speakers changing the way people use to search and optimizing your content for voice searches can create new opportunities for your business. 

Browser push notifications, AB Testing, interactive content, and goes on and on. 

Marketers get new ways to effectively target their audiences, which is a primary reason the digital marketing industry is growing. 

What are the trends for the future of digital marketing in India?

There is no doubt about the fact that the present and future of digital marketing in India are bound to experience the growth of online marketing. Marketing trends are almost similar all around the world, and a large portion of digital marketing in India takes inspiration from the western world, further altering it according to the Indian audience. Therefore, by looking at them, some of the future trends of digital marketing in India will include

1. Increasing demand for AI:

Artificial intelligence is slowly but steadily making its place in the digital marketing field. The advantages that it brings to the table make the entire data collection, categorising, and targeting process less time taking and more accurate. Apart from that, automating repetitive tasks also save a huge amount of human labour, and therefore, money. Along with that, some of the most used features of AI, such as monitoring site traffic and boosting SEO, have been game changers for brands. As AI continues strengthening its grasp across fields, it is expected that soon it will also be able to predict the likings of the consumers, therefore, becoming an asset to the brands. 

  2.  NFTs, cryptocurrencies and virtual reality:

With the help of AI, there has been a significant increase in the fields of digital currencies and assets. Even if not many people are investing in them, the prospects shown make it hard to believe that they will not be growing stronger in the future. Big fashion brands such as Balenciaga are already making their presence in these virtual reality platforms such as Metaverse and selling their products as non-fungible tokens. On the surface level, it might not seem like a marketing trend, but it will soon give birth to unconventional marketing strategies aligned with these fields. 

  3.  Conversational marketing

Gen Z is more attracted to the brands to which they can relate. Professional speech and heavy words may fail to grab their attention as they may often find it unimaginative and monotonous. Hence, using more conversational tones may help get a grip on their attention. Apart from using more layman’s language, brands have now also started using chatbots to bridge an immediate bond between the customer and the brand. Such conversational marketing gimmicks are growing day by day, and are expected to become a significant part of future digital marketing. 

  4.  Customer segmentation and targeting:

Customer segmentation and targeting are considered to be one of the oldest tricks in the book of marketing, and surprisingly they still manage to work their magic in the digital era. The primary idea of content segmentation and targeting is to find an audience with similar tastes, needs, or preferences and make the marketing campaigns come across their path repeatedly. Earlier it was done with the help of newsletters, news advertisements or various other promotional methods. Now, with the technological advancements, brands can easily look for their targeted audiences and fill their news feeds, notifications, and inboxes with their click-bait offers, hence drawing more audience engagement.

  5.  Customisation:

Customisation and personalisation are going to take a big lead in the future of digital marketing in India. Most companies have already started by sending personalised push notifications to their users to gain more engagement on their apps. Now, many websites have also started doing it. Studies show that the facility of personalisation plays a crucial role in the customer’s buying journey by making them feel valued. Catering customised advertisements and notifications immediately makes the audience feel that the brand is putting more effort, hence, grabbing their attention successfully. Therefore, it is expected to be one of the conventional trends in digital marketing in India. 

  6. Keeping transparency and building trust:

Due to the overflow of digital marketing campaigns all over the internet and the exaggerated claims that they make, audiences lose faith in them and start commonising every marketing campaign as a sham. Therefore, to prevent that from happening in the future, the brands will have no choice but to become more transparent and build trust among their audiences. 

  7.  Storytelling:

Rather than brands bragging about their products, Gen Z is more curious about the back story of it or how the creator got inspired to make it. They want to know about the inspiring success story of the brand, see the testimonials and understand what problem the product solves. Therefore, the ethos of a story is expected to be the key to the future of digital marketing in India. 

  8.  Short DIY videos:

Not only Indians but people worldwide are getting addicted to short DIY videos that are now present on different social media platforms. Even though the pioneer of short videos, TikTok, has been banned from India for quite a long now, thanks to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, the popularity of short and crisp videos has remained constant. Short videos match perfectly with the fast-paced lifestyles that people are now living and give them the perfect amount of engagement without draining much time. 

Metaverse

Metaverse is a new theory that has taken the world by storm. This trend became popular right after Meta made it popular. Metaverse creates a virtual space where virtual and augmented reality co-exist.

Metaverse gives every individual the power to create an avatar in the digital futuristic world. This is a world where anybody can take all kinds of actions. Digital marketers saw the metaverse as an opportunity and an impactful medium. While this may be a newer concept, there will come a time when the metaverse will become the prime space for the growth of online marketing.

  10.  Vocal Search

There is a large population that uses voice search, which shows that the future of digital marketing in India is here. The primary reason for voice search becoming popular is the increased use of smartphones and smart speakers like Alexa and Google Home, which have transformed individuals’ lives. With the advancements in technology, voice search accuracy is approximately 90%. General users and digital marketers use this technology to create newer models and help the company progress.

  11.  Programmatic Advertising

This is one of the other online trends that has become vastly popular. Many people get confused between programmatic and traditional advertising. While the traditional form uses quotes, proposals, and human negotiation and the programmatic form uses algorithms and machines. This automation helps in increasing conversions on websites.

Programmatic advertising has proven to be more efficient in targeting the right audience and increasing quality sales. This is a technology that is becoming popular and its usage is rapidly increasing.

  12.  Marketing on Quora

There may be several spaces for digital marketing in India, however, there is one platform that stands out, Quora. This question and answer platform were supposedly used by some specific group of people, but this has come to be a platform used by new age people and has become a favourite of the emerging digital marketers. The main reason behind the success of this platform is that individuals use this platform more than companies.

The best part about this platform is that when a person is reading the answers, they feel a direct connection with the person themselves, instead of the company. This appears to be a trustworthy and genuine way of attracting customers.

  13.  Whatsapp Marketing

Digital Marketing is a growing trend that is changing the traditional forms of marketing. Whatsapp can help engage the target market as it allows the business to send direct messages to consumers. This has also helped them establish their credibility while extending the growth of online marketing.

Not only sending promotional and reminder messages, but WhatsApp has also started taking online orders directly from them. This increases sales vastly. WhatsApp marketing is the best way for digital marketing.

Highest-Paid Careers in Digital Marketing

In my experience, digital marketing offers some of the highest-paid careers in India due to the rapid growth of digital marketing in the country. As businesses increasingly recognize the importance of establishing a strong online presence, the demand for skilled digital marketers has surged. Professionals adapt at leveraging various digital channels to drive brand awareness, customer engagement, and sales conversions are highly sought after. From roles such as digital marketing manager, SEO specialist, and social media strategist to data analyst and content marketer, the opportunities are diverse and financially rewarding. The exponential growth rate of digital marketing in India underscores the lucrative nature of careers in this field, making it an attractive choice for individuals seeking high-paying roles in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Future Growth of Digital Marketing

By 2023, the number of active Indian internet users will reach almost 666 million. Based on the report of GlobalData, the Indian e-commerce market is pushing to 7 trillion rupees by 2023 because of lockdowns.

According to Goldman Sachs report, digital marketing career scope in the Indian market will be worth $160B by 2025, which is three times the current value. 

Digital marketing is expected to create 20 lakh jobs by 2020. 

The number of internet users is expected to reach 800 million by 2021. 

If you are a digital marketer or want to get into digital marketing, your salary growth will heavily depend on your skills. You have to run along with the industry and update yourself to be successful. The day you stop learning, the day you stop growing in this fast-paced industry. 

upGrad’s Exclusive Digital Marketing Webinar for you –

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Prepare Yourself For The Future 

Digital marketing is not going to slow down but accelerate. By implementing effective strategies, best practices, adopting the latest technologies, you can expand your business and gain a competitive edge. 

With Artificial Intelligence, Programmatic advertisement, Chatbots, Personalization & conversational marketing, Micro-moments, the digital industry moves on every day. So, you have to update yourself and your team if you want to succeed in this field. 

Conclusion 

Change is fundamental in life, especially in the domain of digital marketing. Embracing new technologies is key to remaining successful in the market and shaping the future of digital marketing in India. 

If you’re keen on diving into digital marketing, upGrad offers an excellent starting point for your journey. 

Their digital marketing course spans 6.5 months, divided into modules covering theory, case studies, and live industry projects. Topics include SEO, SEM, social media/content/email marketing, marketing analytics, campaign management, and marketing strategy, providing a comprehensive understanding of the field. 

The Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing & Communication course take on a holistic approach to digital marketing. By the time you finish with us, one thing is for sure – your horizon of knowledge will expand significantly and you’ll learn to think and act like a true digital marketer.

You can also check out IIIT Delhi Digital Marketing Program With upGrad. IIT Delhi is one of the top institutes in India and also one of the oldest IIT’s and is always excelled in giving highly industry-relevant courses, Now IIT Delhi has partnered with upGrad to get these top IIT Delhi courses online. They have a variety of other programs like Machine Learning, Executive Management Programme in Strategic Innovation, Digital Marketing and Business Analytics etc.

With so many perks and benefits, why should you go someplace else?