Almost halfway through 2021 – wow time goes by fast! Everyone has heard by now of digital marketing, many have started to realize its importance, but few can say with confidence that they know exactly what it is. The ambiguity around this subject stems from the discordance between the definitions online and the actual job responsibilities of a digital marketer.

For those of you who have studied digital marketing at an academic level, or at least have tried to figure out what it is from Google, you have probably come across definitions like “the application of digital technologies that form channels to market and achieve corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition”.

However, if you are the average Cypriot business owner, Digital Marketing to you is just another word for Social Media.

Digital Marketing, by its definition, means utilizing digital technologies to increase the value of a product or service to the customer. The easiest way to translate this is that a certain technological innovation – gadget or software – would act to make the life of a customer easier. A local example would be the “check the price” machines in Smart Supermarkets. They help customers know for sure the price of a product, without having to look for a member of staff, or having to go to the counter while carrying a basket full of groceries.  By avoiding unpleasant situations and saving valuable time, the customer can find value in those machines.

A good international example is the non-dairy store locator by Ben and Jerry’s. The famous ice cream company has recently launched vegan products and as one would imagine, they come in limited supplies often causing disappointments when people visit small shops and don’t find them. To help their customers avoid such disappointments the company has created a store-locator website where you can enter your postal code and the nearest shop with the vegan flavors is indicated on the map. Now if that isn’t helpful I don’t know what is.

What most people define as digital marketing, is online marketing – ways to promote their product or service online and the utilization of new tools like Analytics to better target, deliver and measure campaigns. Huge difference. It is also worth mentioning right about here, that in 2018 social media should be used to increase and maintain engagement with users. It should never be your only online activity.

While the Internet is the child that technology is most proud of, it is not one of the same.

Cyprus is a small market when compared to the rest of the world and what this often means is that technological advancements do not come here first. We take longer to adopt new technologies and they are usually more expensive than they would be in other countries.

While this misconception or ambiguity is understandable given the Cypriot market, it is important to keep in mind whether you are looking for a job after university or recruiting a new member for your company. Be clear in what you are looking for in a new employee (sometimes the term social media manager might be more appropriate than the ever so used Digital Marketing Executive) and be clear in what you want to be doing in your new job.