Digital Marketing Zone Ahead, Go Slow

3 incidents. 3 clients. Same condition.

Client #1 had to get a website done… their campaign was about to launch in 1 weeks time and they haven’t decided on what their website should contain and how it would look. Now they wanted a website FAST. Client #2 wants to do an online advertising… a lead generation campaign… The creative haven’t been cracked; the landing page not yet ready; and the database (lead capturing) haven’t been thought about. But they wanted to go live FAST. Client #3 just got an approval for doing some social media marketing. They want to do ‘something’ in SM space… why, what and how…they are not sure of… But they want to create a Facebook page, and they want it FAST.

When it comes to Digital Marketing every client wants things done FAST.

I’m curious to know who had sold the idea to the world that every thing about Digital Marketing is FAST. Looking back at my own experience, I realize that during the early days of internet marketing… there was resource time available and less of technology advancement in terms of reporting and monitoring of the data. Also, people mistook real-time ability of digital marketing to “Speed”…thus was born the idea that everything in Digital Marketing is about pace – (go-to-market speed)

If one were to look digital marketing and traditional advertising (medium and collateral)…they would realize that the work and involvement into a digital marketing activity is more…yet the clients demand that anything that is digital should be done pronto.

In simple terms Digital Marketing is like LIFO – Last In, First Out… in terms of briefing and delivery:)

Let us take 3 common digital marketing activity any client would undertake and the amount of time and involvement of resources that should ideally take. Website build, Web advertisement, and a Multimedia CD

Website Build:
Building a Brand or Corporate website is the most basic and common of the activity that almost all the clients undertake… what does it take to make a website:
- Domain name
- Vanity URL’s
- Related Domain names in different extensions
- Website IA
- Website Wireframe
- User Experience
- Website Design
o Layout
o Flash animation

- Content Creation
- Search Optimization
o Keyword Density
o Meta Tagging
o Alt-Image
- HTMLization
- Tagging & coding every links/image/ for monitoring
- Database creation/maintainenace
- Features – IT development (CMS, widgets, etc)
- Hosting
- Testing/bugging

And the above is the list I could think about in the last 5 minutes there are many more…. Unlike a normal Print/TVC ad which is mostly the work of design and production… in digital marketing it is much, much more… Yet, there are clients would want a website in a week’s time :|

Web Advertisement:
Removing the media planning and buying bit which would be slightly similar to how the traditional media is planned or bought (similarity is only limited to the time spent for planning & buying, not the process or methodology)
A web advertisement unlike other medium collateral (which is mostly one master creative with requisite edits in terms of shape (for print) or time (for TVC)) is a huge activity… some of the work I can list out in terms of web advertisement are:
- Master banner creative
- Re-creating the banner for different sizes (ad inventories)
- File weight resizing (depending on publishers)
- Version edits (depending on publishers)
- Tagging
- Ad serving testing
- Backup files
- QC

Well…as usual client would need all this and more in a day’s time….

Multimedia CD:
A simple multimedia CD creation is also a big work. But clients are so demanding that they would want a multimedia CD to be created and delivered to them in a week’s time.. and that too from the scratch.
Imagine, you create a storyboard, start the design layouts, start coding, do the QC… give provisions for easy upgrading….etc… but all this the client expects over-night…

To all those who think executing a digital marketing activity is like pulling out a rabbit out of the magician’s hat – YOU ARE WRONG. Digital Marketing is no Magic… it is a lot of Logic and something that needs a lot of time for planning and execution.

As a marketer if you are entering Digital Marketing Zone – Go Slow.

Cheers

Santosh

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