Before the internet came along, traditional marketing was a static entity, made up largely of print, radio and television ads with no customer interaction.
With technology moving at break-neck speed over the last 30 years, including the invention of smartphones and social media, the need for companies to adjust marketing initiatives has changed faster than the information superhighway.
By incorporating analytics like search engine optimization (SEO), businesses can interact with customers on a much more personal — and cost-effective — level than ever imaginable in the pre-internet days.
Because people spend so much time in front of their computers and phone screens, companies are hiring digital marketing leaders to develop advertising strategies through email, content marketing, search platforms and social media. Earning an MBA in digital marketing can help leaders meet this growing demand and gain the skills they need to lead digital marketing teams effectively.
Boise State University’s online Master of Business Administration in Marketing Leadership provides the strategic and analytical skills to guide organizations in a digital world that is overflowing with data on customers, products and interactions.
Advantages of Digital Marketing
As technology continues to move forward, businesses should take advantage of digital marketing to expand their reach. The nine most common advantages to using digital marketing include:
- Global reach — Because of the internet, marketing is no longer restricted by geography to the smallest or largest of businesses; they can all reach customers anywhere in the world. Digital marketing can also help a business grow with increased visibility.
- Local reach — Even with the ability to reach a worldwide audience, local customers remain important to most businesses. SEO and targeted ads to local areas can increase visibility and help bring customers into the physical doors of a business.
- Lower cost — Affordability is an especially appealing advantage to digital marketing that also levels the playing field for small businesses competing with big ones through SEO, content marketing and social media.
- Easy to learn — The key to digital marketing is making it work for a specific business. The tools to learn how to get started aren’t difficult, although the difficulty level can change with the goals and scope of a campaign.
- Effective targeting — Through the use of SEO, pay-per-click or social media demographic information, businesses can use data to find the right audiences to target a campaign around. Effective targeting also provides information about changing customer behaviors, allowing businesses to make changes on the fly.
- Multiple strategies — Strategies like SEO-based content creation, search engine marketing, social paid ads, video marketing, forum engagement, local search, remarketing and social media, influencer and email marketing help form overall marketing strategies for businesses.
- Multiple content types — Content types like blogs, podcasts, emailers, eBooks, visual content, infographics, whitepapers, quizzes, social media posts, webinars, increased engagement and analytics and optimization are ways to showcase a brand online.
- Increased engagement — Businesses get even more traction from digital marketing when users interact with posts by liking a photo, sharing a blog post, saving a video or interacting through a paid ad click. Best of all, these interactions are measurable.
- Analytics and optimization — By measuring the effectiveness of a campaign in real-time, businesses can fix any mistakes and learn what works best for future campaign use.
Meet Challenges with an MBA in Digital Marketing
Earning an MBA in digital marketing prepares students to approach digital marketing at a top level Boise State’s Online MBA in marketing leadership includes three courses focused on leading and managing marketing teams.
BUSMBA 541 Marketing Leadership: With an examination of the marketing leader role, this course prepares students to lead the marketing department, sales force and internal innovation processes.
BUSMBA 542 Digital Marketing Management: With a focus on combining digital marketing tools for maximum effect, this course illustrates the use of marketing metrics to monitor effectiveness and maximize return on investment.
BUSMBA 543 Strategic Project Management: With an emphasis on value propositions, including price strategies, this course looks at the challenges of managing multiple products and services in different stages of the product life cycle.
The skills learned in these courses are vital to succeeding in a digital marketing landscape that is sure to continue to grow with technology.
Are you ready to earn an MBA in digital marketing and generate more company leads? Attend an online information session or connect with a student success coach to learn more about Boise State’s Online MBA, Marketing Leadership Emphasis.