Remember the last time you had to delete a ‘spammy’ email from your inbox or were forced to watch some app commercial each time you played your favorite mobile game? Well, that’s digital marketing for you, and, even though some of these outreach methods might seem a little intrusive, it’s not all that bad.
If you think really hard, you might discover that some of best digital products you’ve ever tried (i.e. electronic books, games, movies, apps, in general) were brought to you through digital marketing. And now, prepare yourself because, with the advent of cloud computing, the digital marketing industry has swung into full gear. In this article, we’re going to talk all about the benefits of cloud integration in digital marketing.
Pushing services or promoting digital products is, without a doubt, a challenging endeavor. In order to reach out to your customers, you, the marketer, should come to know your target audience – what they want/need/desire – and, of course, find a way to promote that product without ‘harassing’ anyone.
Creating and managing a customer database can be quite tricky, especially if the digital marketing company relies on traditional storage devices. Accessing client information via a local service, let’s say a server or single computer, takes time and not to mention, expertise to address and solve issues along the way.
The trial and error method might work for other industries but, in digital marketing, speed and precision are of the essence when it comes to meeting the needs of your customers. That’s where cloud computing comes into play. Detaching themselves from the more traditional approaches to storing and accessing data, cloud services offer digital marketing companies the ideal platform to create, promote, and expand with an unparalleled efficiency and diminished costs.
What’s even more encouraging is the scalability of most of these cloud-based services, meaning that the provider can accommodate your needs regardless of the size of your company or customer database.
As you may know, the digital marketing industry encompasses a vast number of services and outreach marketing techniques – email-based marketing, online advertising, web analytics, online PR marketing. All those services/techniques are aimed at identifying the client needs and, of course, finding the best way to meet those demands. It is a strenuous process, one that requires diligence, and, above all, patience.
Furthermore, infrastructure is as important as coming up with the appropriate outreach methods and strategies. Cloud computing enables digital marketers to offer a safe and secure environment where customers can offer real-time feedback on the quality of services.
There’s also the issue of working with multiple file formats and remotely accessing data. Owning a server means that the data can only be accessed locally (terminals are physically hooked up to the server). That usually translates as time and resource losses when managing and trying to come up with an efficient workflow. With cloud computing, this issue has been eliminated – data can be accessed from all over the world and from all types of devices, for that matter. And with the advent of what we come to know as Bring Your Own Device, getting work done has never been easier.
Another aspect that really reshaped the digital marketing scenery is deployment. Within minutes, any digital marketing company can have access to a powerful array of tools that bolster efficiency, allowing it to invest more time and resources in client satisfaction. Moreover, the cloud service provides regular updates, so you won’t have to worry about the platform performing at sub-optimal levels.
Cloud computing can also benefit from AI and machine learning technology, which says a lot in terms of data management. Furthermore, cloud computing is far safer in terms of hacking and data loss, compared to the traditional data storage approaches.
As encouraging as all these things may appear, do keep in mind that choosing a cloud service is not an easy task. In fact, your company’s prestige depends of how well the service performs. If the cloud service provider you’ve chosen is prone to crashes, slow loading times, or doesn’t offer support for some types of devices, your business could very well lose credibility.
The good news is that most of these providers offer tailored services depending on your needs and company size. For instance, a digital marketing company will need additional storage space for client data and a platform stable enough to accommodate APIs capable of providing accurate web analytics.
Undoubtedly, cloud computing is a big step forward for the digital marketing industry and the benefits far outweigh the costs. Workflows are being resolved with light speed efficiency, data can be accessed from anywhere and from any device, and, of course, companies now have access to powerful tools and applications to analyze their customers’ needs and come up with effective strategies.
