Entrepreneurship, 6th Edition

7Digital Marketing for Entrepreneurs

Introduction

Digital marketing has evolved rapidly since the Internet became accessible to the public in the late 1990s. In the early stages, businesses of all sizes created Websites to provide information about their operations or to sell products and services online. The introduction of Google's search engine revolutionized online search and made it possible for Websites to be found. In the early 2000s, social media platforms began to change how we communicate and network with one another. The introduction of Apple's iPhone was another major disruptor to the world as it brought the Internet from our desktops into the palm of our hands. As a result, today, entrepreneurs need to manage connections with customers via multiple devices and across different platforms.

At the end of the 20th century, businesses relied heavily on traditional media such as television, radio, and print to reach mass audiences with their messaging. Digital marketing accounted for at best 10% of the overall budget. Marketing and advertising budgets have shifted more toward digital media nearly every year since the early 2000s—reaching 46.9% as of 2017 and climbing as a high as 73.3% on average in 2022.¹ The global digital advertising and marketing market was estimated at $667 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $786.2 billion by 2026.² Between 2023 and 2024 ...