“What comes next?”- The standard question torturing the newbies, with a small business. Because guess what, coming up with the idea of the business or setting it up is not the mammoth task. How to get customers through your door is the mammoth task.
Enters, digital marketing. Digital marketing services have revolutionized the world of marketing, throwing the traditional ways out of the window. People associated with the ads printing press and billboards are on a job hunt now!
Jokes aside, multi-channel digital marketing is increasing by as much as 137%, backed by an even awesome 500% increase in brands using multiple digital marketing services. As much as 72% of consumers are already connecting with brands through their various digital marketing channels and activities.
So, if you haven’t started using it, what are you waiting for?! After all, when the whole world is going digital, your marketing strategies need to too.
Thus, it’s not just a word you use to sound smart in meetings. It’s the real deal! Want some proof? Continue reading to know what digital marketing is and the importance of digital marketing for your small business.
1. First things first – what exactly is Digital Marketing?
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, let’s talk about what exactly is digital marketing.
“You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything.” And to tell anything, you need to meet people where they are. With the boom of digitization, people are online. And this is the point of digital marketing.
Similarly, digital marketing is combining marketing ideas and digital platforms. Advertising your business through various digital channels like social media, email, mobile applications, etc. is digital marketing.
Just like a snuggie, it’s a comfortable and proper security blanket for all marketers. And especially, digital marketing for small businesses is extremely beneficial.
2. Importance of digital marketing:
According to statistics, if you track down the normal day of an individual:
- 35-50% of their time is spent on digital platforms.
- 97% of the US population, under 65, is on social media at least once a month.
- 76% of Facebook users are on it every day.
- 51% of Instagram users are on it every day.
The majority of the time of an individual is spent online. And this is the major reason why digital marketing is an ever-growing industry.
Turn back time to when businessmen used to spend most of their money on billboards. Remember that time? Not really? Neither do the millennials!
Once, they were the real deal. There used to be billboard wars!
Whereas, nowadays, not a single person sitting in a vehicle will spend even a second looking at billboards. With such advancement of technology and comfort, nobody bothers to look outside. They are either listening to music or have their noses buried in phones.
Thus, moving your focus to the digital world is the need of the hour. Here are the points proving the importance of digital marketing for small business:
2.1 Target audience identification:
Digital interaction is of utmost significance. You have numerous ways to get to know the mentality of the audience you want to target: their likes, dislikes, aspirations, necessities, guilty pleasures, among others.
As we all know, in today’s world, data has become the most valuable asset, outranking the likes of oil, which held the coveted title previously. And the best part? It’s free.
You put up a post on social media and try to start a conversation. Or try to post a survey link on different social media platforms. You demand, and the Netizens will supply. You’ll be flooded with information in no time.
Customer relations and digital marketing complement each other. More than a brand or a company, you become a sort of a trusted partner with the customer. And once the trust sets in, the customers won’t think twice before coming back to you, which is proved statistically, that people tend to buy from the same business or brand again, if their trust is high and their needs are met. Thus, digital marketing for small businesses is of pivotal importance.
Cost-effectiveness is another mammoth advantage that digital marketing provides, as compared to conventional TV, radio or newspaper advertisements, as well as reach. Digital marketing, for a minimal cost, connects you to the world, and that’s something unique to this marketing strategy. Digital marketing will enable small businesses to astronomically boost their numbers.
2.2 Let the customers come to you:
Nothing beats accessibility like digital marketing. Whether your customer lives in the city that never sleeps, or in the remotest corner of the world, digital marketing has got your back. It’s the most minimum-effort form of marketing, and by that, we mean to mention the effort of the company as well as the customer.
The customer doesn’t need a local newspaper subscription, or a TV with the channel you are displaying your advertisement on, or tune into the radio station airing your advertisement.
In this day and age, everyone has a cell phone and access to the internet, and anyone with said requirements, anywhere in the world, will be able to locate you. You can offer your services and products to a wider customer base at a fraction of the cost. Take a look at the effect of social media:
Jokes aside, a strong web presence is pivotal as it enables you to keep your business open day and night, not take special efforts to acquire customers according to the locality or the time for acquisition. You can also easily sell products and services while lifting the conventional physical restrictions and problems like disability, transportation, or too far a distance.
The scope of your business will expand from within four walls to the entirety of the globe.
2.3 Your competitors are online:
While digital marketing can do wonders for you, it’s essential to note that it does the same for your competitors as well. The phrase “keep your friends close and enemies closer” hasn’t been truer.
It’s very important to be up to date with the strategies and schemes that your competitors are employing, to remain at par with them, for the sake of your brand. You need to survey what kind of branding they’re doing.
Do they have a blog which is regularly updated, or post interactive content, do they use a lot of graphics, or post frequent videos? All of these questions need to be addressed. You need to understand how they put forth and represent their brand to the world, and you just need to assess whether or not you’re doing just as well and can you do better.
The strategies they are using to capture audiences should also be analyzed. You shouldn’t think of competitors only as competitors, but also as educators, as you can learn a lot from them. Learning and improving your strategies is the way to success.
If you search for a product you provide and the customers can reach your competitors’ but not your website, that’s the indication to bring changes in your approach, and gain an edge over others. This strategy can turn tables over and proves the importance of digital marketing.
2.4 Mobile access:
Statistically, around 77 percent of American adults own a smartphone. With the phone industry booming and high internet speeds becoming more and more accessible and affordable, the mobile interface is the most in-demand platform.
People use mobiles for almost everything, from entertainment to news to social media, among other activities, and digital marketing creates a pathway to reach out to these users while they’re using the phones for said activities.
Text messages, emails, pop up advertisements, remarketing ads, backlinks, etc. are all the different ways in which you can ensure that you and your brand is in front of all the people who are using phones for these various purposes.
Through digital marketing, you can reach the customers through mobiles. Social media platforms, emails, etc are accessed by users on these devices and you can easily target them there. In this respect, digital marketing for small business is crucial because you will be able to build your audience base in a quick way.
2.5 Multimedia:
Users can relate a lot with media. Be it pictures, videos or audio. It is easier to market your content and relate with the customers when you leverage media in the right way. The appeal is because of the ease of understanding. With pictures and videos, it’s easier to make an appealing call to the customers.
We have all searched for pictures or videos to understand something better. The same is the case with the customers. Using digital marketing, you can easily incorporate media. And this is another reason why digital marketing is important for you.
For example, take a look at how easy it is to understand the concept through one single photograph:
2.6 Tracking:
Now, stressing on the fact that identifying and targeting your target audience is never enough. To identify your target audience, you need to monitor and track the activities of your audience.
Getting to know your audience, testing various methods, and improving your perspective via trial and error enables you to capture your prospects in a much easier way. And digital marketing can help you out a lot when it comes to this. You can easily monitor the ads and the content they like based on their activities.
Their likes and dislikes, their preferences, etc. can be noted and the strategies can be made accordingly. The type of content is also an important parameter. Not everyone likes every type of content.
Along with this, you can check the status of the current strategy. More importantly, you can modify it according to the reports which is highly beneficial. This is another striking proof of the importance of digital marketing for small businesses.
2.7 Influence and authorization:
Using digital marketing, you can easily use various platforms to represent your business.
This is an important step as you are just starting. You need to make a mark and state your claim! For this, you can use digital platforms to make a brand. Digital marketing provides a simple and efficient platform to engage with your prospective customers.
With this approach, the origin of a relationship between the customer and the brand begins. Keeping up to date with the happenings of the world can help a lot. Keeping your existing audience engaged via interesting posts and interactive advertising will ensure the loyalty of existing customers.
The same process will also facilitate the acquisition of a new batch of prospective customers, who are bound to take notice. Commenting on various issues related to your business can also make you an expert in the eyes of your user.
2.8 Influencer engagement:
According to statistics, 85% of people rely on reviews while shopping. Recommendations from friends or close ones are 42% more effective than ads.
Thus, reviews about your product/service can decide how much traffic or conversion rates you are going to experience. Now, this effect is heightened if the product/service is being reviewed by an influencer.
Through their social media platforms, they can easily reach out to thousands and millions of users. Thus, digital marketing also opens up the door to thousands of users through this approach.
Especially since you are starting, you need this kind of reach to form a strong and loyal audience base.
2.9 SEO and local SEO helps you reach more qualified buyers online:
SEO took the digital world by storm a few years ago. By optimizing your site concerning SEO, you can reach a wider audience.
On top of this, the reach is also of high quality. Meaning, they have a greater chance of a conversion. Thus, invest quite a bit when it comes to SEO.
Keep in mind to use relevant and high-quality keywords. The number of users searching on various search engines is increasing day by day. SEO can make or break your business. Thus, creating a strong presence from the beginning.
3. How to use digital marketing services?
Digital marketing comprises all those strategies which make use of electronic devices or the internet. It uses digital media and technology to deliver advertising through digital channels.
Digital marketing has no bounds or limits. There are various ways to leverage these digital marketing services. Various channels which can be exploited are:
- Social media platforms
- Mobile platforms
- Web applications
- Search engines
- Websites
To implement digital marketing services in the best way, focus on:
- Search Marketing
- Email marketing
- Mobile Marketing
For perfect results, stick to these steps:
- Define your goals and your target audience. With digital marketing, you are presented with the convenience to round in on your target audience and target them specifically. This way of marketing leads to higher conversion rates.
- Create a buyer persona for your business and brand. A detailed report will help you out a lot.
- Then move on to the budget. Don’t ever forget to plan it out concerning money.
- Choose the different platforms and channels you want to use. Pay a lot of attention to this. Some channels are paid and some are not. Thus, depending on your target audience and budget, choose the perfect platform for you.
- Perform detailed keyword research for SEO and PPC. SEO is an essential part of digital marketing and should be focused on.
- Set up ads on various social media platforms. As mentioned earlier, social media marketing is very trending, and investing in this will take your company to new heights.
- Then focus on email marketing. Email marketing is one of the most used marketing strategies and is of pivotal importance. You can easily adapt to the personalized approach and target users in that way.
4. To sum it up:
Now, did we convince you that digital marketing services are the holy grail of success?
If you want to make it big, all it requires is a smart plan which is centered around the nature of your business. You don’t need to throw your money into various high-end marketing strategies. Neither do you need to buy huge billboards to cause more accidents.
Jokes aside, take a look at the points mentioned above to understand the importance of digital marketing and form a perfect digital marketing strategy.
There you go! The best strategies and methods to shoot up your business. Try these methods out and do let us know about your experience. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and views with us!
We hope that this article has helped broaden as well as improve your perspective. We wish you the best, and root for your success!
D
The blog is very informative on the importance of Digital Marketing
A
Rich of Knowledge in these. I am sharing this with my friends to get them to know about SEO and digital marketing
G
In today’s modern world digital marketing is really important in business.