As there is a huge digital shift, there are more people on social media platforms and other online sites than there ever have been and there are no signs of it slowing down in the near future - meaning that there are immense opportunities out there if you’re willing to listen and take them.
Businesses are slowly learning that their old ways of traditional marketing are no longer working and even relatively new forms of online digital marketing are pivoting to new beginnings that we have to adapt to.
Want to learn more about why digital marketing is important for businesses? Carry on reading and hopefully, we’ll open your eyes to why you should start implementing a digital strategy within your own firm.
- What is Digital Marketing
- Why Digital Marketing is Important for Businesses
- How Much Will Digital Marketing Cost Your Business?
What is Digital Marketing?
So, what is digital marketing if you’ve never heard of it before? Well, you may know it as online or content marketing, but it is a way of articulating your business's vision through online media to potential prospects or customers that can be converted and become loyal members of your mission.
It is not just social media that you can benefit from when using digital marketing strategies, but also email marketing campaigns, SMS (sending marketing messages) and website marketing too - among many other digital marketing channels.
Through the various outlets you can advertise and provide value to your fanbase, it permits users to formulate an opinion on what your business will deliver to them in order for them to gain something from it - whether that be a solution to their problem, a product or service with a ‘wow factor’ and many other reasons.
Why Digital Marketing is Important For Businesses
In regards to why digital marketing is important for businesses, there is no denying that because of the digital revolution - you will be able to reach a vast audience that has tailored interests to what you’re offering. Whereas conventional marketing such as radio or newspapers doesn’t get nearly the same amount of attention anymore.
No matter if it is paid media or free organic forms of digital marketing, there are a multitude of benefits that go along with each of these… if you implement a killer marketing strategy. Below, we will walk through some of the additional reasons why digital marketing is pivotal to businesses in this new generation.
Customers Are Online… All the Time
Due to the accessibility and obsession with phones, laptops and other devices nowadays, there is an overload of ways that you can be a consumer of online content. Therefore, tailoring your content in a specific way so your target audience enjoys it will ensure that you get more traffic and conversions on your website or landing page.
Posting relevant content and firing ad spend out consistently will be a digital marketing campaign that will most likely perform well. However, once you begin to analyse your target audience, re-optimising your ads to a bespoke audience and track your performance (seeing what does and doesn’t work) - this is when you will begin to see your online marketing skyrocket.
Your audience will always be there, it’s just a case of using the correct marketing methods to fulfil the maximum potential within your company’s spending budget and timescale.
Engagement + Retention
Once all of your campaigns have been finalised and ready to be sent out, if you’ve put time and thought into your marketing efforts - you will begin seeing traction from your paid and organic media.
Once you’ve built a base, if you have the right digital marketing strategy in place with professional social media posts, tailored email marketing campaigns, optimised advertisement strategy and many other ingredients to a successful online marketing plan - the way you engage with your customers/clients will decide whether they come back again.
Or, if you’ve managed to convert many customers/clients, then you will have to work on building relationships and providing elite customer service - thus, you will form longer relationships with more money being spent on your products or services.
This cycle of engagement and retention will be a common theme if your digital marketing strategy is worked on consistently, so assuring that you deal with it by putting customers/clients first will reap the finest rewards.
Return on Investment (ROI) is High… if Done Correctly
Allocating time towards a game plan and learning the skills required for optimal digital marketing will ensure that you won’t have to worry about knowing whether your strategy will perform well or not.
In this case, the investment could be the amount of time you spend completing the strategy/task or the amount of money you put towards an advertising campaign. Consequently, ensuring that it is cost-effective and will reap an excellent return is paramount.
Whether this is search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), Facebook advertising, etc - you will be able to see traffic and conversions flooding in with the correct digital marketing strategy - ultimately leading to a snowball effect of additional customers/clients viewing and purchasing what you have to offer.
How Much Will Digital Marketing Cost Your Business?
How much will digital marketing cost your business? Well, this relies heavily on two factors. One is how much you’re willing to spend and two is how competitive your niche is. If you have a set budget you want to spend on paid media and have a competitive niche, you may have to spend more than the average business.
However, even if you’re in a competitive niche, don’t let that tamper with your original budget that your business can afford. If you try to compete with the big brands despite not having the funds to replace an unsuccessful strategy, then your business could suffer heavily and even file for bankruptcy.
Hence, it would be our best advice to go with what your business can afford or risk only a little more than you can afford to reap the highest rewards (especially if you’re confident in your digital marketing tactics or the team you’ve hired).
As a business owner, you have to make these decisions as the importance of digital marketing continues to surge - thus, being clever though willing to take a risk is what you need to see a successful business.
