Siddharth Rajsekar aka Sidz is the founder of the Internet Lifestyle Hub, one of the world’s largest communities for coaches, trainers, teachers, and experts with over 11,000 members. He is the author of the international best-seller, “You Can Coach”. As an acclaimed lifestyle entrepreneur and international speaker, Siddharth has trained over 200,000 people in the last 10 years. Recognized as one of India’s leading and sought-after “info-marketing” specialists, Siddharth has worked closely with renowned International experts like Robert Kiyosaki, T Harv Eker, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy & Jack Canfield. Siddharth has developed and perfected the Freedom Business Model that helps people take their expertise online and building a super-profitable digital coaching business.
Most physical aspects of life are changing to virtual ones and everyone is now a part of this dynamic digital world. Even rural communities, senior citizens and so on, are adapting and at an accelerated speed, especially since Covid struck us. They not only affect general crowds but also affect industries and determine economies. Marketing is the industry that needs to be ahead in this learning curve, predicting the wave before it hits the markets. A marketer who manages to master the upcoming wave will position oneself for dominance and bear fruitful results.
To predict the major waves of internet marketing, one should observe patterns and shifts. Further, in the article, I will describe how we can be prepared and make a smart move into the third wave of internet marketing. Understanding the history of internet / digital marketing will give a better perspective.
First Wave of Internet Marketing
From 2000 to 2010, the likes of Yahoo messenger and MSN started fading, bringing in the rise of Google ads, squeeze pages, and long-form sales pages. During this era, the big internet marketers, such as Eben Pagan, Michael Filson, Yanik Silver, earned millions from this space. The first wave of internet marketing was an affronting as well as a teaching moment for traditional marketers. The ones who mastered Google ads not only became millionaires but they changed the very nature of marketing. Text-heavy sales letters were sent with a link at the end of the email which redirected to PayPal and ClickBank, this also gave birth to affiliate marketing.
The Second Wave of Internet Marketing
2010 – 2020 bought the rise of social media, e-commerce, videos and internet marketing. One way set funnel is not the only approach anymore, multi-step funnels, upselling and so on play bigger roles. These four aspects changed the way people approached the internet completely. By this decade people had started building communities, buying and creating content, all online. Each aspect is powerful individually and can make and break social settings. For example; when online videos came into existence, they started with Youtube but quickly were adopted by other platforms. Platforms like Youtube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat have realised the power of actions speaking louder than words, in this case, actions are videos and pictures. This has also reduced the need of reading large texts, as videos and photos convey significantly more, and in a shorter period. Another catalyst to this decade was improved internet bandwidth. This decade showed us that almost all activities, from education, learning to grocery shopping, clothing and shelter is just a click away.
The Third Wave of Internet Marketing
Since 2020, the ballgame has changed completely. Marketers have managed to stay afloat in the first two waves of internet marketing, but the third wave is going to be brutal and marketers that learn to sail, will be the only ones surviving. So what exactly is the third wave of internet marketing?
Due to the dynamic nature of the digital space, one must remember adaptability is the only key. Merely making lists, building funnels or creating digital ads is not going to cut it. They are still very relevant but are only a small part of the big puzzle. The standard sales, acquiring and nurturing sequences of a funnel is not enough. Building a connection is critical.
A digital marketer can move ahead to the third wave of marketing by adopting the following:
- Create and own your digital ecosystem
One must create their platform, dedicated social media, and aim at creating a community of their own. Platforms make a huge difference. Every brand/company should have a platform and a small community with the customers. For example; the Integration of e-commerce and e-learning is something that is now picking up pace.
- Community Building
Creating a community is of utmost importance during this third wave of internet marketing. The aim should be to create a connection and build a community with the audience you want to tap. The audience is used to mainstream marketing and looks for a larger purpose and attachment, within each aspect of their lives, even the purchase of goods and services.
- Narrowing down your micro-niche
In the next decade, micro-niche business models will work best. Any product or business should be catering to a niche, which will help focus on the main deliverable and deduct distractions. Going a level deeper with your offering will help create your niche, which will be valued more than a generic service or product. For example; A yoga instructor should not only position oneself as a simple yoga instructor but stick to a micro-niche within yoga, say, weight loss or yoga for mom.
- Podcasting
Voice and sounds are more important than they seem. This single sensory activity can help share deeper insights, creating an impact, subconsciously, even when the person is physically doing something else. Podcasting has been proved to be a crucial way of communicating with people, creating a bond, and reaching out on a deeper level. The marketers who have still not adopted podcasting, webinars, clubhouse, and such are missing out on an entire market. Voice is the future, one must just observe their surroundings to witness this. With Alexa, Google Home, Siri etc. being operated just with voice controls has simplified the entire process. My child who is not able to write or read can search for exactly what he wants just by talking to the voice assistant.
- Create in-depth videos for Youtube
Focusing on creating in-depth videos for YouTube will create a huge difference in the long run. Creating videos longer than 10 minutes means sharing knowledge, unlike videos on Instagram Reels and TikTok which are short-lived and do not add value. To cater to an audience on social media, one has to keep their feed alive, by creating continuous content, which tends to affect the quality of content uploaded. However, this is not the case with Youtube. It is one such platform that can trackback any videos creating an impact even after many years down the line. The content on Youtube is more credible and informative.
- Realign your focus on Google ads
Google ads and Facebook ads are competing, however, Google ads have an upper hand when it comes to specifications. Google is more relevant and demand fulfilling, it can further be optimised, creating much more opportunity than other advertising platforms. However, it can be argued, as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and so on also give results.
- Tapping the Influencers
Collaboration with influencers diversifies your market, helps connect with the influencers’ audience, and most importantly reduces the cost per acquisition tremendously.
Making these a part of your routine will help any digital marketer fly across the third wave of internet marketing with flying colours.