Digital marketing has been around since the 90s when the Internet became online and the Web 1.0 platform (the first step of World Wide Web evolution) was developed. Three decades later marketing on digital channels have dominated the advertising world.
It is no longer a luxury that you can opt to live without. It is a must-have for every business – including small businesses.
Entrepreneurship has evolved much like the way people communicated. Although advertising on traditional media still has its charms, digital marketing paves the way for your brand to reach a wider audience.
Everyone is online especially now that we have smartphones and WiFi. Facebook alone has over 2 billion active users. The likelihood of your target audience being one of its active users is quite high.
Statistics show that 62 percent of online seniors (aged 65+) are on Facebook.
So if your business is not online yet, you are losing a lot of opportunities.
H2: Why Digital Marketing is Important for Small Businesses?
Here are the top reasons why small businesses need an effective digital marketing strategy:
It’s Where We’re Heading
The internet is growing and it will continue to grow. It’s not going anywhere as we further rely on technology especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic. As governments implemented stay-at-home orders for cities and countries affected by the health crisis, businesses especially small ones can’t simply rely on foot traffic and walk-ins anymore. Entrepreneurs need to find ways to conduct business at home and online.
And even during the pre-pandemic, stats revealed more than 4 billion people go online on a daily basis, which is about 53% of the world’s population. Your customers are clearly online. If you have yet invested in a website or make any form of presence online like a Facebook Page or Instagram, you are losing valuable business opportunities.
Make Your Budget Work for You
Digital marketing makes it easy for small businesses to work with the budget that they have. Facebook is basically FREE! You just need the right team to execute a strategy with you.
The great thing about marketing on digital channels is that everything is tracked. You can find so many analytics tools that will provide you data about your audience, their behavior online and their interests, how they interact with your content. This allows you to create targeted campaigns and more specific content.
Creating content that your audience is likely to appreciate will generate organic brand following and shares (which is basically free advertising). Being able to narrow down the reach of your campaign to a more specific audience is likely to convert. This will help your business optimize the budget spent.
Easier to Track Your Advertising’s Performance
Analytics also allows businesses to monitor their campaign’s performance. If you notice that your ad is not meeting your expected returns, you can easily test variables like changing the message and images/videos uploaded with the ad. Or, simply reallocate the budget to another ad that’s bringing you returns.
Analytics makes it convenient for marketers to have a better understanding of what collaterals speak to their audience and how it affects their buying decisions.
Buying Behavior has Changed
The way we find and avail products/services have changed along with the way we communicate. Since the Internet made it easy to acquire information even while using a handheld gadget, most consumers are no longer convinced to buy a product just because you claimed it’s the best in town.
Consumers are smart. They go on research mode, check for online reviews, and learn about the product/services offered before finally deciding if they will buy or not. Most resources for online reviews are social media pages, forums, directories (like Yelp, Google My Business listings), video streaming platforms (like YouTube), blogs, and even forums.
Make Your Business Digital Marketing friendly
Unlike in brick and mortar stores wherein you have to have two to three sets of employees to keep the store accessible to customers 24/7, your website does the same for much less.
Websites are always live 24/7 whenever your audience wants to access it to learn about your business.
These are just some of the reasons why online marketing is essential for small businesses. Give your digital business a makeover or kickstart it by calling Digital Brand Experts – we are Chicago’s premier digital marketing agency providing small businesses with customized digital solutions.