The online marketplace is extremely lucrative, with 96 percent of Americans making purchases on the internet. The majority of those shoppers prefer the internet for shopping over having to deal with crowds, lines, and product availability in brick-and-mortar stores. Average shoppers are also spending more time researching products online before they buy them, which means that if you own a small business, your web presence is now more important than ever.
Digital marketing can be a powerful force in driving traffic to your website and getting more people in the door to your physical location. If your business is only online, your marketing strategy will be to stand out and set yourself apart from your competitors online. Here are five reasons why digital marketing is important to your business, whether you’re online only or have a retail store location.
1. Digital Marketing is More Cost Effective
Small business owners know the struggle of trying to invest enough cash into their marketing strategy without knowing the guaranteed return. Radio and television advertisements are expensive, and with online streaming options for TV shows and music, your customers may not even be seeing the advertisements you are dedicating to these outlets. The cost per lead is much lower for digital marketing compared to other media. Blogs, SEO, email marketing, and social media is where the majority of the budget is spent for most companies’ online marketing.
2. Digital Marketing Delivers Sales
Online businesses that use digital marketing see increases in traffic to their websites, which results in more subscribers and sales. The top priorities digital marketers should be focused on for internet business are optimizing conversion, content marketing, social media advertising and presence, and branding. The top techniques that marketers employ for conversion are SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing.
3. Digital Marketing Allows You to Target Markets
You know who your ideal customer is, and if you’re a savvy business person, you will want to find ways to reach your market directly. Advertising through media such as print ads, radio, or television means that you have no control over the specific audience you are reaching. While a certain station may have a wide demographic that they broadcast to, you are getting more bang for your buck when you can target customers that you know will be interested in your product or service. Digital marketing allows you to customize who will see your ad based on demographics such as gender, age, location, employment, interests, and more. The return on investment is incredible.
4. Digital Marketing Calls Customers to Action
Digital marketers are pros at getting your customer to click, buy, and subscribe. Advertising online allows customers to be lead through actions to get them to an intended destination. Words like “Click to see more,” “Visit our blog for extra savings,” “Add to cart,” “Log in to access exclusive savings,” “Like our Facebook Page for today’s coupon,” etc., create a sense of urgency because you are telling them to do something and they are going to get something in return.
5. Digital Marketing Gains Customer Trust and Loyalty
Having a web presence is vital to small businesses. Ninety percent of shoppers say that they trust information about brands that come from people they know. This means that if their friend recommends a product, or shares a blog post from a certain company and says it’s great, they are more likely to check it out too. When you have social media pages and a website that customers can leave reviews on, your customers will be able to see that you can be trusted, you provide a high-quality product or service, and that you are a legitimate company. When your customers can see updates from your business on social media or receive emails, it also ensures that the shopper stays engaged and interested in your business.
The digital age is here and for marketing and advertising professionals; this means that online marketing is expanding quickly and becoming a strong force in the media industry. Nine out of every 10 businesses in the U.S. is now online and using social media for marketing, and 92 percent of employers use social media platforms for recruiting. Having a digital marketing campaign ensures you are staying up to date with industry trends and the best ways of growing your business.