The world around us and life as we know it, is constantly evolving. Think of all the rapid, colossal and even disastrous changes in so many aspects of our lives that took place in the last decade, or better yet, the last year. Today, social media, the internet and digital technologies are woven into every single aspect of our lives- how we communicate, how we socialise, how we entertain ourselves, are all networked through digital technologies.
We have been witnessing the inevitable demise of traditional communication and marketing methods for a while now. With our growing dependence on digital technologies, and with the Covid-19 pandemic, the process has only gained speed. Does it mean that people are no longer reading the news or watching television or listening to music anymore? No. What has changed is the delivery of the content and how we consume the content. We now keep up with current issues and the news through linked articles on our social media platforms, we watch our ‘television’ and listen to songs and podcasts through online streaming services.
The core component of marketing has always been being at the right place at the right time. Marketers need to speak to their audience in their language and meet them where they spend time at. The best, and the perhaps the only logical way to deal with evolution is by building systems around it. The world evolves, technology evolves, and so do the generations. Millennials and Gen Z grew up in the internet age, and are constantly on the lookout for fresh, modern and trendy.
Digital Marketing Specialists have become essential personnel to businesses in all industries, as digital marketing offers many possibilities, options and strategies, that allows businesses to get creative and experiment with various different tactics to cater to these, ever-evolving needs.
What is Digital Marketing?
All marketing efforts that leverage an electronic device, the internet or any digital technologies falls under the trajectory of digital marketing. It is a common assumption that digital marketing revolves around social media platforms. However, search engines, mobile phones, emails, websites, and video games are just a handful of examples of what is considered digital marketing channels.
When digital marketing first started out, the key skills required for a marketer was to be an email expert, who just needed a substantial enough campaign, a mailing list and maybe a good website landing page to get results. Fast forward to today, there are a spectrum of channels and tactics that fall under the umbrella of digital marketing. With so many channels, and so many players in the market, digital marketers need to have a wide array of verstialie, flexible and interdisciplinary skills in order to cut through the competition and make their campaigns stand out.
Some Areas of Digital Marketing
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):
The internet is essentially an endless pit of content, and search engines act as its libraries. When you go on a search engine and type out a word or phrase, you will be directed to millions of results that match your search. Normally, people won’t go beyond the second page of these results to look for what they want. So how do businesses ensure that their information or their website appears on these searches?
This is where SEO comes into play. To put it simply, SEO ensures that websites rank higher in search engine result pages, which would then lead to increased quantity and quality of organic traffic to their websites. Content marketing is highly dependent on traffic, and SEO utilised keywords to demonstrate to search engines that your content is the best, most relevant results to users.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is the act of promoting a business, its products and services on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Almost every single business today has an online presence, because in this day and age, it is an absolute necessity in order to create brand visibility. Social media allows customers of a brand to find and connect with them easily, and is the ideal way to engage and interact with customers.
Social media provides businesses the opportunity to reach millions of customers, on a global level, and helps increase brand awareness, drive traffic and generate leads. Creating and maintaining social media accounts on almost all social media platforms are free, and in terms of advertising, social media also provides some of the most cost-effective yet incredibly efficient options.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is the creation and promotion of “content”, such as videos, blog posts, infographics, educational articles, webinars, all via digital platforms. They are not explicitly made for the purpose of selling a product or service, in fact, a lot of the time it may not even be about the brand- it is about the audience and what they care about.
For example, many companies host webinars to provide their customers with credible, authoritative resources that they may not be able to get elsewhere, inviting guest speakers to answer specific questions. All of this in the hopes of strengthening customer relationships and developing more engaging relationships.
In addition to these, there are still many, many facets involved in digital marketing, such as Email Marketing, Pay Per Click, Influencer Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Marketing Automation, and so much more.
Why is Digital Marketing Important?
Offers Large Prospects
It goes without saying, but digital marketing channels being electronic and on the internet, means it is essentially a boundless, borderless space. There are no restrictions, such as ones that traditional methods face- a billboard, a TV or radio station is limited to certain geographic locations and only those living in those areas will see the ads. But with digital marketing, people from all around the world has access, broadening the target audience
Allows for Detailed & Precise Targeting
Advertising through mass media, such as TV, radio and billboards, there is a very limited amount of control over who sees the ad, of course, due to the nature of mass media. Digital marketing has the ability to reach a more concise, highly targeted and specific audiences with more personalised, high converting marketing messages. Social media advertising, and more specifically, Facebook Business suite probably has one of the most powerful targeting abilities in the market, with the ability to choose the audience’s location, demographics, interests, behaviours and so much more.
Similarly, Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimisation shows your content to users who have searched specific keywords, and those who have shown interest in your company in the past. And the icing on the cake, digital marketing also allows for creating specific marketing content to sub-groups within existing target audiences, which is especially helpful for businesses selling multiple products to multiple target markets.
It is Cost-Effective
Digital marketing campaigns are highly trackable, allowing you to analyse the results the campaign is producing with the results you intended. Based on this, you are able to increase or decrease your budget as you see fit. It gives marketers confidence, knowing that the money they are putting into the campaigns are producing results, unlike traditional advertising methods such as a TV commercial which leaves the same dent in their pockets whether the ad produces results or not.
Provides Measurable Results
Adding on to the highly trackable aspect of digital marketing, it is also so much easier to measure compared to traditional marketing mediums. Digital marketing campaigns, such as Facebook and Google ads provide exhaustive insights into all the metrics- the number of impressions, shares, views, clicks, how much time someone spent on the ad, and so much more. The results are also, available in real time, so marketers can make necessary adjustments as needed.
Why You Should Choose a Career in Digital Marketing
By now you have heard the phrase “the future is digital” over and over again. But it is true, digital jobs are growing every year, and so is the digital skills gap. Studying digital marketing could give you a unique competitive advantage, future proof your career, offer job security, and provide fruitful prospects in terms of career progression.
The demand for skilled digital professionals is so high right now, in every industry. In terms of basic economic terms, demand exceeding supply creates a shortage in the market, and thus increases the value of the product. In this case, digital marketers can expect to get paid more than their peers in more traditional fields.
Digital marketing also allows students with no prior industrial knowledge, but with enough digital media knowledge to be hired early. For example, if you have a large following on social media, contribute to conversations online, and are able to showcase your digital media knowledge and abilities, you might just be able to start your career early.
In such an ever-changing, ever-evolving world, marketers are constantly looking for new ways and ideas to make their products stand out. Digital marketing opens the doors for several creative talents, such as writers, designers and videographers the ability to express themselves on a day-to-day basis. Creative individuals are given the chance to push the boundaries to come up with new, creative and captivating experiences to connect with their audience.
Some Existing Skills That Could Help KickStart Your Digital Marketing Career
- Marketing Management
- Content Writing
- Graphic Design
- Content Curation
- Web Development/ Design
- Business Analysts
Career Opportunities in the Field of Digital Marketing
- Social Media Manager
- Digital Marketing Executive
- Marketing Communications & Advertising
- Visual Communication Design
- Content Marketing Specialist
- SEO Manager
- Marketing Automation Coordinator
Entry Requirements to Study Digital Marketing in Malaysia
GCE A Levels | Min. Grade C or above in 2 subjects |
STPM | Min. Grade C or above in 2 subjects with a CGPA of 2.0 |
Foundation/ Diploma | Min. CGPA of 2.0 |
UEC | Min. Grade B or above in 5 subjects |
International Baccalaureate (IB) | Min. score of 24 points |
*The requirements may vary among universities, for inquiries on other entry requirements, contact Excel Education
Recommended Universities to Study Digital Marketing in Malaysia
1. Asia Pacific University (APU)
Image Credit: Asia Pacific University
Program | Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Marketing Management with a Specialism in Digital Marketing (*) Dual Award with De Montfort University, UK |
Intake (2021) | May, September |
Duration | 3 years (full time) |
Indicative Fees (2021) | Local Students: RM 87,000
|
2. Taylor's University
Image Credit: Taylor’s University
Program | Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Digital Marketing and Analytics |
Intake (2021) | August |
Duration | 3 years (full time) |
Indicative Fees (2021) | Local Students: RM 102,518
|
3. Monash University
Image Credit: Monash University
Program | Bachelor of Digital Media and Communication |
Intake (2021) | March, August |
Duration | 3 years (full time) |
Indicative Fees (2021) | Local Students: RM 37, 132 (Annual)
|
4. UCSI College
Image Credit: UCSI College
|
Program |
BA (Hons) Digital Marketing (*) Third Year Transfer to University College Birmingham, UK |
|
Intake (2021) |
May, September |
|
Duration |
3 years (full time) |
|
Indicative Fees (2021) |
Local Students: RM43,365 (First Two Years at UCSI) + £ 15,550 (3rd Year at University College Birmingham) International Students: RM 55,970 (First Two Years at UCSI) + £ 15,550 (3rd Year at University College Birmingham) |
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About the Author
Rifqa Abdulla
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