The Micro and Macro Of It All
By: Kimberly Grant
In order for digital marketing to spread its wings and fly into the hearts of potential consumers, organizations must take into account key factors. The digital marketing environment can be fraught with major players that can hinder the flow of information or stop it all together. There is the micro environment that is within the organization and there’s the macro environment on the outside. Of course, this is not to be confused with macro marketing, which is explained in my earlier post, “Macro & the Movie Industry”.
Microwaving the Message
Within the micro environment of digital marketing, a marketer must take into account its customers, competitors, and even suppliers. Within this micro environment, we are familiar with all of the key players; thus, making our marketing efforts easy. Their online behavior shapes how marketers decide how, when, and where to market to them. For instance, if you know that your customers mainly interact with your company website, you will be sure to update your promotional offers on your site on a regular basis.
A great example of a micro consideration to digital marketing is when you are browsing IMDb.com for the upcoming showtimes for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Within then IMDb homepage is a paid banner or video advertisement for an upcoming movie or television series that’s basically a paid ad. For IMDb, the people visiting their site are a part of a target audience of people who work within the entertainment industry; specifically in film and TV. The promotion of Doctor Strange would be considered an opportunity in the micro environment.
Macroing the Big Picture
The macro environment of digital marketing is just as the title suggests: it’s the bigger picture. In the macro, broad forces affect the entire marketplace. These forces can include social, economic, legal, political, technological, and even ecological influences. For instance, a country deciding that a specific film cannot be seen by its citizens would have deep impact on digital marketing efforts. It could also affect an organization’s profits and losses.
Let’s take Squid Game, which can be seen on Netflix. It’s a very popular South Korean television series that’s based on a child’s game and has been loved by audiences around the world; except North Korea. According to Variety.com, a young man in North Korea was sentenced to death for smuggling the television series into the country. People who were involved in distributing and watching the series were sentenced to work in mining camps. This high level of censorship would definitely affect any marketing efforts.
Caution: Macro Influences
In the case of Squid Game, North Korea’s censor of the series would fall under political, social, and legal forces. According to Variety, North Korea recently passed a law prohibiting all forms of entertainment. This means that any efforts to promote or distribute Squid Game would be considered illegal. Not to mention, this law also censors access to the Internet, which would make all marketing efforts for the series illegal. This scenario represents an all-out threat to the macro environment in digital marketing.
While Squid Game is a cautionary tale (both in real life and in the series), it serves as a reminder that marketers cannot control every move, every decision, nor every sentiment. Since the macro environment presents situations that are way beyond the control of the marketers, there needs to be some planning in place.
When planning a marketing strategy, it’s not just about how the target audience will view the marketing message(s). The outside forces, like social media sentiments and government intervention, should be taken into account in every market. Being up-to-date on the changes within these forces is of utmost importance. Likewise, keeping these forces foremost in mind will help any marketer plan ahead to still get their message across.
Interested in more marketing insights? You can read my take on the difference between traditional and digital marketing here.
