Effective marketing allows businesses to stay competitive and relevant by engaging with customers. 

In today’s digital world, connecting and engaging with your customers online is the best way to develop your business. With the internet being woven into almost every aspect of our lives, the competitive marketplace of 2020 requires a strategic digital marketing strategy for every business. 

Small businesses are no exception. 

We get it, we are a small business too. We all wear many different hats and it can be difficult to find the time to slow down and focus on strategic planning. Here a few reasons why you should make a powerful digital presence one of your top priorities: 

Finding the right customers

As a small business owner, you are always looking for the most qualified customers. With digital marketing, you can do just that. 

We recommend creating a digital strategy that allows you to focus your efforts on the most important people. For example: 

  • Regular email campaigns targeted to past customers with up-sell/cross-sell opportunities
  • Facebook campaigns targeted to lookalike lists, a customer list made up of the 1% of the population that most closely resembles your existing customers
  • Review campaigns to ensure you have a 5 star rating on Google when someone researches your company

To have an effective marketing campaign, you must reach the right people. Out of all the perks we have identified in this blog post, we feel the most significant advantage of digital marketing is the ability to target people specifically.

Easy to measure

The success or otherwise of a digital campaign can easily be ascertained. Especially when compared to traditional methods where you have to wait weeks or months to evaluate a campaign. With digital marketing, you know the outcome almost immediately.

Be where your customers are – social media

Social media shapes your customers’ lives. At any moment, your customer could be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest or LinkedIn. Regardless of your product or service, there is an opportunity to use these platforms to get in front of the right people. 

In addition to taking advantage of social media because you know your customers are there – you should also take advantage of the low cost per clicks. One of the biggest benefits of social media marketing is that it is cost-effective. Facebook campaigns can generate clicks at a very efficient rate, allowing you to gain both awareness and quality leads with a small budget!

Pivot

Because digital marketing comes with quick and easy reporting, you have the ability to make a change very easily when something isn’t working. You also have the ability to  try several different things, and measure which one worked best. 

We love a good “test and measure” strategy, and digital is a great way to do just that. 

Your competition is doing it

The right digital marketing strategy begins with a competitive audit. Taking a look into where your competition is spending their money is a great way to see where you need to ramp up as well. 

Did you Google your competition? If so, look at their rankings. Look at their review score. See if they are running ads on Facebook. Click on their website and watch for retargeting ads over the next few days. Stay in the game!

Have we convinced you to take advantage of digital marketing yet? 

The right digital strategy will maximize brand awareness, qualified leads and overall profit. If you need help crafting or implementing a digital strategy, give us a call.