Before we dive into all the reasons why digital marketing should be standard practice for any business or brand, let’s start by defining what digital marketing is.
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for all your online marketing efforts. You leverage channels such as Google search, social media, email and websites to connect with your current and prospective buyers.
In today’s world, people spend a lot more time online than they used to 12 years ago. I say a lot because the way people shop has changed. Nowadays you simply add items to your cart, check out and move on to the next item on your list. It’s completely changed the retail shopping game, meaning traditional marketing isn’t as effective as it used to be.
But one thing has remained the same. Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place at the right time. In today’s world that means you should meet them where they are spending a lot of time– on the internet!
If you’re not convinced by now that you should be utilizing digital marketing, here are a few advantages to help seal the deal:
1. Digital Marketing Levels the Playing Field
Digital marketing allows small and medium business the chance to compete and acquire their share of targeted traffic. Small businesses now have the tools to perform sales and marketing processes that were previously only available to large corporations.
2. Digital Marketing is Cost Effective
If you’re a small business you understand what it’s like to have very little resources and even capital. Digital advertising provides you with more options such as, Google AdWords and Facebook Ads but it also provides you with control over your budget. Additionally, using paid mediums like Google and Facebook are cheaper compared to traditional marketing options like television and billboard ads.
3. Digital Marketing Delivers Leads
Online businesses marketing products and/or services measure their success by the percentage of traffic converting to leads, subscribers, sales, sign ups.
Tip: Create a strategy using SEO, Social Media and Email Marketing to help increase sales. These three mediums generate interaction with targeted audiences and deliver higher conversion rates.
4. Digital Marketing Helps Generate Better Revenue
Increased conversion rates generated by effective digital marketing strategies will deliver profitable results for your business. According to Google, companies using digital marketing strategies have 2.8 times better revenue growth expectancy.
5. Digital Marketing Caters to the Mobile Consumer
Mobile devices have evolved from being an alternative communication method to essentially a personal assistant. Now when people shop, their smartphone is their go-to advisor. Bottom line: Consumers use their smartphones before heading into a store so positioning your business to be found online will produce positive results.
Tip: Remember when I said create a strategy using SEO? It’ll help set your business up for success for the mobile consumer. Data shows that less than 10% of people advance to page 2 of the search results when researching a product or service. “If you ain’t first, you’re last — Ricky Bobby”
6. Digital Marketing Earns Trust
Have you ever looked at reviews before purchasing something off Amazon? Digital marketing leverages testimonials and social proof from actual consumers who have previously purchased a product or service marketed by a business. In a Nielsen report, 90% of people claimed they would trust information about a brand, product or service if the data comes from other people.
7. Digital Marketing Invites People to Take Action
Digital marketers can make use of clever ways to entice conversions using calls-to-action (CTA). A CTA specifies what you want your web user to do next. Buttons like, Call Now, Sign Up, Download and Buy would be a CTA.
At the end of the day, digital marketing is all about ensuring survival for your business in today’s world. If you’d like to hear more about digital marketing in relation to your business, please feel free to contact us.