In this competitive world, where technology and social platforms are most used mediums to engage customers, companies usually pursue digital marketing strategies that engage by leading conversations. Rather, they should engage customers by providing them an opportunity to lead the way.

According to Robert Hegeman, digital creative director at Siegel+Gale, a global branding firm, engagement goes beyond simply responding to and talking with consumers.

Peter Gasca, Founder, Naked Cask, in his article at entrepreneur.com, has given four simple tips to engage customers and hence, improve digital marketing strategies. They are:

• Focus on mobile first
• Stop annoying your customers
• Make engagement painfully easy and obvious
• Stick to a website experience

To understand them in detail, please visit the following link:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245487

According to Rick Frascona (senior content manager with MadValorem), digital marketing is one of the parts of real estate marketing strategy. Event-driven marketing and predictive analytics can lower costs of direct mail marketing. A Real estate agent can find customers who have a maximum probability of buying or selling houses with the help of predictive analytics.  According to the National Association of Realtors, 92% of homebuyers in 2014 used the internet to search for homes. Read more at: http://www.inman.com/2015/04/21/can-predictive-analytics-breathe-new-life-into-direct-mail-marketing/

Digital marketing has become a necessity in every industry. Healthcare marketing professionals hesitate to use digital channels is due to its fragmentation. Jonathan Catley (Sales & Marketing Manager), writes in his article link about the top digital platforms for healthcare marketing and different channels one can utilize. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/2015-03-04/top-digital-platforms-your-healthcare-marketing

Travel companies are taking digital marketing approach, including a content strategy across platforms such as blogs, newsletters, dynamic websites and social media management. It is important for travel companies to get maximum people talking about them, mention them in pictures, even if people are not following the company on Twitter or Facebook? The answer is use of hash tags!  Frederic Gonzalo (Owner/Partner, Gonzo Marketing), explain the theory around the utilization of hash tags in destination marketing in his article link:  http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/hashtags-coming-alive-destination-marketing

In a recent research it was revealed that more than half of senior decision makers feel that their investment in digital marketing is not sufficient, with 87% of respondents planning to increase their investments in mobile marketing. Marketers are also looking to adopt new technologies in order to fight for market space. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-news/greater-investment-in-mobile-marketing-a-top-priority-for-retailers-and-brands-in-2015/1426]

According to eMarketer in the next 3 years, mobile phone penetration will rise from 61.1% to 69.4%. 2015 will be the year of more personalized customer interactions. Marketers will leverage more on accurate measurement tools and will embrace mobile expansion around the world. Matthew Idema (Product Marketing Director, Ads, Facebook), writes in his article link about some of the trends in digital marketing that will be popular in 2015: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/2015-digital-marketing-predictions/1373

Gartner had predicted that digital marketing budgets will grow by 17 percent in 2015. Next year in digital marketing, it is predicted that there will be an increase in personalized product advertisement and increase in digital content, in addition to an increase in social media advertising. This procedure will increase semantic search. There will also be an increase in structured data which will impact search and digital marketing. Content will become more important than the website. Audience segmentation will become more important and digital marketing, social media and CRM will make the business of drilling down into who your customers are (and minute detail about their personalities) much easier. Visual storytelling, which has been a key digital marketing tactic, will continue to be a key approach for marketers looking to drive customers through decision making process. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-features/what-will-digital-marketing-look-like-in-2015/1336

Earlier it was easy for marketers to advertise as there were few TV channels, newspapers and magazines. In this digital age, marketers need to identify and communicate benefits to consumers. Greg Satell writes in his article about some principles that will guide the marketers in today’s world. Read more at: : http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/04/16/4-principles-of-marketing-strategy-in-the-digital-age/

In a recent survey by Econsultancy Multichannel Retail it was found that online shoppers want more flexibility in delivery options. It was further found that a fixed date for delivery was the most popular choice (31%), followed by next day delivery and the ability to collect from stores (both 24%). The most important process in any digital marketing is customer fulfillment. Consumers want smarter delivery options. To make timely delivery, flexibility is needed on behalf of eCommerce firms and delivery fleets, as well as innovative technology that can accept deliveries on the behalf of consumers even if they are out. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/e-commerce-digital-marketing/fulfilment-the-final-frontier-for-digital-marketers/1180

Real-time marketing (RTM) is the latest trend in the world of digital marketing. But, we need to know what is RTM. Real-time marketing (RTM) is the practice of brands and media companies jumping on social trends to join conversations with consumers. In RTM, brands join conversations to become part of the trend. Read more about RTM, follow: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/trendology-the-data-behind-real-time-marketing/1147

Pure tag management software/solution has become omnipresent. Every company wants to own one. But it is a feature and not a product segment. So, the future of "tags" is shifting to data management. Most TMS providers are now engaging in unification platforms, by which all the data collected from various channels and devices can connect and interact. These can be utilized by marketers so as to reduce spending, and increase marketing efficiencies. The future of tag management is digital marketing. It gives marketer agility and ownership of their data. To know more about tag management and its benefits and the future challenges it faces, read the article by Contributor Hollis Thomases (veteran of the interactive marketing world) at: http://marketingland.com/future-tag-management-102355

Digital marketing is based on data. It can be measured and tested, and we can learn something valuable from each campaign that we complete. Grant A. Johnson (Founder of Johnson Direct and Digital) writes in his article about some points which are to be kept in mind when creating a digital marketing campaign. To know more, follow: : http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/25056/a-seven-item-checklist-for-measurable-marketing-in-the-digital-age

Nowadays, the success of digital marketing depends on analytics and if it is used effectively, then marketers can recognize trends, uncover insights and take action such as personalizing content and remarketing. But, data loses its value if action is not taken timely. Now, the question arises that how marketers tackle the immense volume of data and take action. JD Nyland (Director of product management for Adobe Analytics), writes in this article how analytics can help in taking smarter action. To know more, follow:  http://www.cmswire.com/cms/digital-marketing/5-ways-analytics-enables-smarter-action-026782.php

According to Pernille Bruun-Jensen (leader in marketing efforts for NetBase) both digital marketing and customer care have moved beyond the Web to social media. Marketers have advanced technologies at their disposal. Social data is providing the higher returns on investment that business leaders are asking for. Similarly, emergencies can be detected and prevented before it is too late. To successfully lead in social media and henceforth in digital marketing, marketers need a strategy based on accuracy and speed using real-time tools. Next-generation social analytics reveals not just who is engaging with your brand and what they are engaging with, but why they are engaging. To know more about what next-generation social analytics can do for a brand go to: http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/next-gen-social-analytics-are-transforming-digital-marketing-160064

Social, Mobile, Analytic, and Cloud (SMAC) based business models are trending nowadays in digital marketing. SMAC gives you a complete solution in transforming your business as a highly functional and productive entity and also helps in managing future business challenges. Every digital marketer should take into account some key points when designing their own SMAC business model. They are: 1. every business should consider their business objectives and resources. 2. Organizations should implement a more realistic initiative to drive their business marketing strategies. 3. Companies should discover their business capability in using SMAC and explore every aspect of benefits that can be derived from each. 4. Organizations should link with technology partners that can help them manage their SMAC based marketing campaigns. To know more about SMAC, please follow Jason Bowden (Chief Consultant at Digital-Warriors Internet Marketing)’s article link: : http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-smac-social-mobile-analytic-cloud-your-business-model-1

According to Jason Bowden (a contributor to Business 2 Community), branding is a means by which a company is able to build their own identity and to communicate what their products and services are. In order to promote branding, brand managers always try to point out that their marketing campaign's focus is on consumers. These brand companies can learn more about their target customers with the help of big data analysis. The entry of data provides plentiful information that helps these companies in determining the various aspects that will yield better profit. Big data provide a window of opportunity for brand companies to know what products their target customers want. By instilling big data analytics, it is easier for marketers to know about their competitors and thus improve their digital marketing. There are other benefits in using big data. To know more about these benefits, follow: http://www.business2community.com/big-data/infusion-brand-marketing-big-data-analytics-0994537

Growth in social media networking with increased logging into Facebook and twitter accounts has been accounted to be about 37 % in 2013 according to trends in digital marketing, media and commerce. Though the global rate might be less the growth rate in India of social networking has been high especially in urban areas. India has recorded the second highest number of Facebook users and is likely to become the largest number of Facebook users in 2016. A survey by Internet and Mobile Association of India found that there has been a 50% increase after 2012 in Facebook use, 33 million in Twitter and 20 million on LinkedIn. Social media being the next being frontier is definitely unavoidable and has become an imperative part of a holistic marketing strategy benefiting businesses reducing costs and improving customer services. Corporate and B-schools give latest promoting strategies and marketing strategies through social media. Read more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/socialmedia-updates/india-records-highest-social-networking-growth-study/article1-1244761.aspx 

Research Company Gartner suggests that there will be 4.4 million big data jobs available in the next two years. Everything is moving towards data: big data, mobile datasets.  Creating and implementing an analytics program requires four steps: 1) Defining your metrics and developing a plan 2) Collecting the data 3) Developing reporting features and capabilities 4) Ongoing analysis and implementation. Understanding each of these core components enables a company to make the right investments at the right time. Corporate data culture is a spectrum that can often be classified as follows: 1)No or limited data 2)Basic data 3)Deeper data that's soiled or controlled 4)Democratic data access. The idea is that your strategy should take the following points into account: 1) Data collection and reporting. 2) Analyzing the data, articulating the implications for business. Useful data tracking comes down to evaluating: 1) who is coming to your site, and what are those people doing once they get there. 2) What channels are driving buying customers? 3)Who is converting 4)What conversions are deepening relationships 5)What conversions are driving revenue 6)Who is buying multiple times 7)What's your lifetime customer value 8)What are your churn rates. Any solid analytics plan will take your business model into account and develop a set of metrics that maps to your unique needs and buying funnel. Read more at:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/02/10/2014-is-the-year-of-digital-marketing-analytics-what-it-means-for-your-company/

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Digital Marketing agencies offer a service for a calculated fee if one wants to undertake a media marketing project, he has to hire a programmer who specializes in social media marketing. After the project is done he is left with two unnecessary employees to whom he has to pay a fair amount. These agencies will allow him to use the knowledge for minimum period of time with no responsibility after the end of the project. These agencies are well responsive of the reality that what marketing method hysterics the company best. Two varieties: large and small. Larger companies admittance variety of tools and they publish these messages in Twitter, Facebook, emails. The smaller companies may do not have huge resource and tools they spotlight on an exact feature of social media. A person-to-person conversation with the top personnel in that company is an additional benefit which the small agencies provide.Read more at: http://socialmediatoday.com/michael-bird/2537756/bring-your-business-global-marketplace-what-look-your-digital-marketing-agency?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29

In the present world, advertising is shifting towards digital media, and experts say that small business owners should keep up with that trend in spite of prevalence of billboards and newspapers ads. Whatever the product is, marketing the product to target customer is critical. With the limited budget advertising decisions should be taken wisely. According to Eric Schiffer (head of marketing firms' digitalmarketing.com and socialmediamarketing.com) "You can easily throw a lot of money down the drain if you don't think about the right strategy and right platforms". Owners can build a local business profile on either Facebook or Twitter, and they will be presented with buttons to "promote" or "advertise" their page. Using this process will enable the owners to identify and convert customers at far less cost compared to search based advertising. According to Sidney Smith "E-mail is still king, and building out your e-mail list is so important". Services such as ConstantContact, Vertical Response and iContact can be used to manage an e-mail marketing list. Companies uses GPS data to push coupons and deals via text messages to individuals near a store. To know more about usage of social media, e-mails, text messages and loyalty cards for advertising visit: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/small-business-guide-how-to-invest-your-digital-advertising-dollars/2014/04/20/67f5ad6c-c4a7-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html  .