Every single business out there should be using digital marketing, even the small ones. We know and understand that small businesses owners often believe that they don’t have the budget for it so, we decided to put together an article which explains why digital marketing should be at the top of your list of priorities.
The concept of marketing has always been around and has taken various forms over the years as it evolved. From standing on the street shouting out daily specials and printing advertisements in newspapers to handing out colourful pamphlets at traffic lights, billboard advertising, television adverts, and radio adverts, marketing has always adapted to the times.
Today, we have digital marketing, otherwise known as online marketing, which is by far the most effective, cost-efficient, convenient, and measurable form of marketing to date. We struggle to see how marketing can get any better from here.
Digital marketing is quite simply, leveraging digital assets and platforms to market your business digitally and online.
It comes in the forms such as:
Although it is possible to use only one or two of the above methods, it’s far more effective when you group a few of them together to create a single powerhouse of a marketing strategy.
Doing so requires careful planning, strategizing and thoughtful execution because a poorly executed marketing strategy can chase away your prospective customers (we call them prospects). Yes, online marketing is as delicate as it is powerful.
So now that we know a bit more about what digital marketing is, let’s look at why it’s important for your small business.
Everyone and their dog is using some form of digital device to surf the infinite waves of the world wide web and scroll through their favourite social media platforms. This is a fact. Whether they are using a desktop computer, a tablet, or their cell phone, it’s a fact that a huge portion of people are currently online.
This means that you can reach anyone at anytime and anywhere in the world. And no, this is not an exaggeration.
Consumers love being online, it’s how they connect with the world around them. They use online platforms for shopping, making bookings, education, and entertainment to name just a few. This means that they are constantly looking and waiting for a company to come along and provide them with what they want or need.
Enter digital marketing – a powerful tool that, when used properly, will place you right in front of your prospect with only a little bit of effort, a touch of time and patience, and a reasonable budget.
Gone are the days of flipping through the yellow pages to find the business, product, or service you are looking for. Today, when people need something, they are likely to begin their hunt with a Google (or other search engine) search.
How soon you appear on the search engine results pages (SERP) depends on how comprehensive your search engine optimization (SEO) strategies are. SEO is a fundamental and non-negotiable part of your overall digital marketing strategy. But we will talk about that in our next article.
For now, all you need to know is that a smart strategy combined with consistent effort is what will get you to the top, or at least on the first page. They say the best place to hide dead bodies is on the second page of Google. In case it’s not clear, that’s because (almost) nobody goes there, ever.
Having a strong online presence means that your customers can find you easily and effortlessly. The easier it is for them, the more pleasant their experience will be, the more likely they will become paying customers.
Fancy words aside, this simply means that you can adapt your efforts according to their outcomes. For the first time in advertising history, there are ways that we can measure the results of our marketing campaigns.
Digital marketing makes use of really smart analytics tools which can show you who showed interest in your business, how they interacted with your website, what age group clicked on your advert and what area these people live in.
Back in the day, when businesses advertised in magazines or on billboards, they had no way of knowing how many potential customers they reached through these channels. Maybe someone would phone in and say “I saw your advert in the magazine” but business owners still had no idea about this person’s interests.
Analytics gives us a detailed overview of who you should be targeting, when, and how. And it’s important to note that this may change as you go along, but the great news is that you will always have your finger on the pulse, and you can adjust your strategy to align with the changes you see.
You may feel like a small fish in a big pond swimming against a very strong current, but digital marketing can help you compete with the big dogs. But for this you will need a strong online presence and smart campaigning strategies which you may not get right the first or second time.
In today’s climate, many consumers are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and support small, local businesses and they can do both of these at once by buying your service or product. But they can only do this if they know you exist. Digital marketing makes this possible.
For the first time in history, your business or brand has the opportunity to connect directly with every single one of your audience members on a personal level. This is what people want.
As a society, we have moved away from simply just buying a product or service. What’s more important to consumers today is whether or not they can connect with a brand in a meaningful way.
Digital marketing allows you to do this which not only fosters connection but also builds a long-lasting, trusting relationship between you and your audience.
So, reply to your DM’s, like comments, answer questions, respond to emails and follow up (and we can’t stress this enough – in a non-spammy way) so that your customers can feel how important they are to you. This will also ensure that your existing customers refer you to their friends, families, and the guy they are walking passed in the street. Did anybody say free advertising?
We know that you may have a distant cousin who knows of this other guy who sometimes does online stuff, and you may think that this is a good way to save you money instead of using a digital marketing agency.
However, in our experience, this will only cost you in the long run. Unless, of course, that guy is a digital marketing professional who knows what’s what.
If he isn’t, it’s a good idea that you seek the assistance of a professional online marketing company to help you market your business.
There is a lot that goes into successful marketing using digital platforms, and a dedicated team will take you and your business far.
You do not necessarily need a massive budget, although this will produce results much sooner. With digital marketing, the outcome is hugely dependent on the budget you have, but any budget is better than no budget at all.
Plus, as your business grows, you can allocate more budget towards your digital marketing strategies to accelerate your momentum.
Although we are situated in the gorgeous mother city, we are able to provide our services to any business, anywhere in the world.
We have worked with both international and local businesses of all sorts. There really is no business that we cannot serve.
Freya Media is a proudly South African digital marketing agency which offers a full range of digital marketing services for your small business. Don’t be shy, get in touch.
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