Digital advertising refers to the process used by companies and individuals to promote their products/services and present them to the target market through online platforms and digital channels as a form of marketing (McStay, 2016) . To deliver promotional messages to the customers, digital marketers use platforms such as social media, email, mobile apps, search engines, display ads, and websites. The digital marketing industry is fast growing. However, it highly depends on the customer's ability to access data and internet connection. Various digital marketing channels have their pros and cons.
Display Ads are a form of digital marketing. One of its advantages is that it enables the salesperson to target a specific audience through the precise generation of Ads based on the niche, demographics, geography, and time. By using display Ads, the marketer can catch the full attention of their audience and regulate the money budgeted and used for marketing. The marketer can even control the amount of money spent on each campaign per day. This advertising channel also helps grow small businesses by helping ecommerce stores gain exposure and make sales. It is a disadvantageous method because the Ad listings are temporary, and they tend to disappear as soon as the budget runs out. There is also the case of intense competition between digital marketers, and this could cause higher price bids for the marketers.
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Emails are also a popular digital advertising channel. One significant advantage of advertising through emails is that it is a more affordable and cost-effective method. The cost becomes minimal because there is no advertisement cost or printing fees. Another advantage is that emails can reach a big audience in a shorter period of time. Through emails, one is able to personalize and segment their messages. This will boost the marketers' interactions with their clients because they are able to choose the kind of messages they send and those that would appeal to the customer's interests. Emails are also time-saving; they enable the marketer to develop templates and engage many clients at a time (Salehi et al., 2012) . An advantage is that some emails could be marked as spam. If the message does not appeal to the right audience, it could irritate them, especially if it is a frequent activity and they could mark it as spam. Undelivered emails could also derail marketing. This could be as a result of poorly designed emails.
Using websites is also a reliable method, and it has the advantage of reaching a wider audience. A marketer is able to catch the attention of more clients because a lot of people on the internet may be searching for a particular product. It also has the advantage of quickly reaching the international market, as the message can reach anyone, anywhere, and at any time. Another advantage is that a website makes it easier for the client to access full business information because it shows the type of product/service available, their prices, the business's location, and so much more. An advantage is that a website is not reliable as the information provided needs to be updated on a regular basis, and websites are known to crash more often than not. Another disadvantage is that a website can attract bad publicity, especially if a client has experienced inadequate services, they could vent their frustrations in the comments and review sections.
Social media is also a popular digital marketing channel with its pros and cons. One advantage is that the marketer has a direct connection when engaging with the audience; it is more interactive (Nadaraja & Yazdanifard, 2013) . The business owner gets more insight on the client and receives direct feedback on how they perceive the business. This information helps them to provide better customer service. A disadvantage is that social media marketing is that it is easier to receive negative feedback and potential for embarrassment.
In the first case scenario where a brand has a strong e-commerce presence and wants to drive more traffic to their website to develop purchase interest, the most appropriate digital channel for this task is the use of display Ads. This is because the advert will reach a large audience. The marketer can control the type of audience receiving the information, which will ensure the right audience is reached, thus promoting their sales.
In the second case scenario, where my well-known legacy brand is trying to foster affinity between their product and online customers, I would recommend the use of emails as a digital advertisement channel. I believe this method would be useful because not only is it cost-effective, but the brand will also be able to personalize the messages received by clients and reach a broader market too.
In the third case scenario, whereby my client is looking for a high-impact seasonal campaign that extensively leverages videos, I would recommend the use of social media marketing. This would be the ideal method to achieve their goals through digital advertisement because social media is more interactive, and their campaign will reach a large audience within the shortest time.
Display advertising and social media are both distinct yet fast-growing digital marketing channels. Social media enables the marketer to interact and connect with their target client as opposed to display advertising, which requires a specific ad that is temporary and disappears once the budget is depleted without necessarily reaching the target audience. On the other hand, display advertisement is more likely to reach a wider audience as they pop up even when a customer has not searched for the item, unlike social media where the advertisement is limited to an audience.
References
McStay, A. J. (2016). Digital advertising . Macmillan International Higher Education.
Nadaraja, R., & Yazdanifard, R. (2013). Social media marketing: advantages and disadvantages. Center of Southern New Hempshire University , 1-10.
Salehi, M., Mirzaei, H., Aghaei, M., & Abyari, M. (2012). Dissimilarity of E-marketing VS traditional marketing. International journal of academic research in business and social sciences , 2 (1), 510.
