Digital marketing is one of the most important tools a small business can use to grow and compete in today’s economy. Even though many small businesses still don’t have a website, or are not active on social media, those that do are seeing great results.
In fact, according to a Google study with IPSOS Hong Kong, businesses that are using digital marketing can expect to grow their revenue 2.8 times more than those that don’t.
So why is digital marketing so important for small businesses? Here are just a few reasons:
It’s affordable
With free platforms and tools offered by the likes of Google and Facebook, as well as low-cost e-commerce options like Shopify and WooCommerce, it has never been easier to get your small business online and develop a digital presence.
Even traditional advertising agencies are now starting to expand into offering digital marketing services to reclaim the small business market.
It’s measurable
Unlike newspaper or radio ads where it is difficult to precisely determine the return on investment, digital marketing offers small businesses the option to measure just about every aspect of their campaign. Did that ad on Facebook produce the number of sales you were hoping for? How many people clicked through to your website?
Because digital marketing involves identifying lead sources, attribution, and key performance indicators (KPIs), small business owners are easily able to track the success of their marketing efforts. You’ll even see what works and what doesn’t in real-time if you want to, and this level of granularity can enable you to manage your small business finances in a more efficient manner.
It can be done anytime
With the rise of mobile internet use, digital marketing has become an extremely flexible medium for small businesses. Whether you’re waiting in line at the post office, on the bus commuting to work, or in between meetings, you can quickly set up a new promotion or easily check your social media numbers and see how many people liked your latest post.
With the power of digital marketing, you don’t have to rely on sending flyers in the mail or dropping fliers around town hoping that someone will see them and give you a call. Now, with just a few clicks or swipes, you can reach thousands of potential customers.
It puts you ahead of everyone else
With digital marketing, small businesses can compete and even dominate their industry. It’s no longer just about being the biggest company locally or on a street corner, now you can reach out to your customers before they even know they need your product or service.
Betway is a great example of a company that got ahead of the competition by being ahead in the digital space. They were one of the first bookies to put up a live site, that allowed customers to place bets as the action was happening. This gave them a clear advantage over their competitors, who were at the time still trying to figure out what to do.
It’s personal
Small businesses can use digital marketing to create a personal connection with their customers. With social media, in particular, it’s much easier to engage with your audience in a more meaningful manner.
Nowadays, whether you’re a lawn mowing operator or an accountant, you can reach out directly to potential customers online to let them know how you can help them solve problems. Customers are no longer just looking for the company with the lowest prices; they’re looking for a company that can provide them with the service and support their needs.
Word-of-mouth recommendations, print, TV, and radio are always great, but no matter how much hard work you put into these channels, people will have a hard time finding you if your business phone number doesn’t even appear online when they do a simple search on Google.
After all, global internet penetration now stands at 59.5% according to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report, which means that over 4.66 billion people now use the internet every day.
So where are you going to be? As a small business, you shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity due to a simple lack of understanding of digital marketing.
But this is not to say that you should go about it haphazardly. You need to know what you’re doing if you want to succeed.
For starters, you need to define your target audience, find out who they are, where they spend their time online, and what they’re looking for. This way, you can create content that will resonate with them when they see it.
It’s also about finding a strategy that works
When creating a digital marketing strategy, it’s important to define the goals you hope to achieve. You’ll also need to develop buyer personas within your target audience. Once you get a good grasp of these things, you can then begin to develop targets, campaigns, content, or other tactics around your goals.
And just as people go out in search of a new home to buy or lease, after a while you should be able to determine which area of digital marketing would work best for your business.
Just as you might drive around your neighbourhood or town, checking out different homes, you should be trying out the different strategies and channels available to you. Find the one that allows you to reach the most customers, in a way that you can engage with them and maybe make money at the same time.
With this in mind, it’s vital that you take digital marketing seriously and manage your business’s digital presence on a regular basis, as this is how your customers will find out about you and learn more about you.
With a little bit of effort and motivation, you can make those crucial first steps in the digital marketing world. With the right strategy and enough time to put it into practice, your small business can become a leader in your industry.
