What is digital Marketing?
You might be wondering why everyone is suddenly talking about digital marketing. Well, contrary to what most people believe, digital marking has been in existence for more than 100 years now. Although it is not a new term, it has gained popularity as a business strategy over the years, challenging traditional marketing as we know it. What comes to your mind when you hear the term? Possibly the word Internet is the first thing that pops up. Well you are right, however digital marketing is not only an online activity, it can occur offline too. The best way to unpack this is to define the term as simply as possible. The term basically means using digital channels to advertise. So, what are those channels? By digital channels we mean things such as radio adverts and social media. Yes! Facebook.
Digital marketing is any form of marketing of products or services which involves electronic devices, like a laptop or a mobile phone. Contrary to what it is known for in the 21st century, digital market does not only include marketing done through the internet only such as google ads or Facebook. It is much more than that and has been used as a strategy that is proving to work, not only for large businesses but also small and medium businesses. In a world full of disruptions, digital marketing offers an adaptation strategy that traditional marketing fails to do.
Why digital marketing matters
Today’s world is changing, and businesses need to keep up with the technological changes, new ways of doing things and most importantly, businesses need to adapt to these changes. This unfortunately, is sink or swim situation in which the technological disruption has made existing larger businesses vulnerable mainly due to the easy accessibility of products and services on the internet, giving medium and smaller businesses a chance to expand and grow. More businesses are opting for new ways of generating revenue and growing. What better ways to grow than explore the growing marketplace using digital marketing? Digital marketing tools provides businesses with advantages to surpass their competitors, a chance at survival and growth.
The following are some of the reasons why you need to use digital marketing strategy for your small business to grow
- Digital Marketing is more Cost-Effective than Traditional Marketing
Using digital marketing allows businesses to have resources to perform duties such as sales and marketing in a large scale with international audiences that were previously only accessible to large corporations. Previously, businesses survived through having a call center or a customer service department which dealt with the relationship between the customer and the business, but through digital marketing, a small business is able to function without a call center, can manage to engage effectively with multiple customers locally and internally, not limiting the reach of audiences to branches and physical locations of customers.
Most small businesses in South Africa are already struggling to make a profit, and do not have available resources for traditional marketing as is. In such instances where your business is struggling to make a profit, Digital Marketing can be the best solution to provide you with a cost-effective marketing strategy much needed for your business to grow. Small businesses do not necessarily need to have an expensive digital marketing strategy, Applications such as Whatsapp Business or Facebook marketing might just be a cheaper option.
- Conversation optimization and more revenue
Businesses can use different techniques such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), email marketing and social media marketing. These are the top 3 that generates quicker and effective interaction with audiences and deliver better rates. Unlike traditional marketing, Digital marketing offers businesses a form of measurement for their products and services success, for example using a website, one can track incoming traffic which may either generate leads, subscribers, or sales. The traffic however is not significant if there is no conversation generated, that is why its important for business owners to put out their marketing campaigns on the internet to get a bigger audience so they can optimize conversation. Studies show that businesses using suitable digital marketing strategies generate higher conversation rates and have a higher chance of profitability in their business and increased revenue.
- Brand Reputation
Branding in a business is particularly important for attracting and retaining customers. The advantage of digital marketing is the ability to attract targeted audience. Most of the audiences might already know about your business products and services and potential customers. Using digital marketing strategies to target your audience is more precise than using traditional method of advertising. It is easy to set specific perimeters to target the type of audience you want; you can also use cost-effective campaigns such as social media ad campaign to ensure that only the targeted audience see your ad. By delivering on your promises to your customers, it helps create a trust relationship with potential customers and could see them becoming regular customers. With digital marketing, tools such as websites, having reviews on your website page can create a brand’s reputation and convince potential customers into buying or using your services.
- Competitive advantage
Competition is one of the biggest challenges in running a small business. Moreover, if you are competing with bigger companies that have been in existence for many years. How can digital marketing help your business compete with other businesses? Many large businesses already have digital marketing strategies and that is why your small business should use it to upgrade to their competitor’s level. If your business is positioned like bigger businesses, then you have a chance to grow and be in competition with them. The traffic that your competitors currently have on their website could be yours, if you position yourself as an option to customers then the traffic might be directed to you and generate leads, and/or potential paying customers.
- Better Return on Investment (ROI)
The right digital marketing strategy can allow your business to have a better return on investment. You need to choose what works for you and design your digital marketing strategy tailored to the needs of your business. By investing in these digital strategies, you will get a growing audience, traffic with increased conversation, increased revenue. With better branding and revenue, digital marketing can bring out the best in your products/services and showcase them to the world. There is no limitation in the digital world, more strategies are introduced every now and again, new software’s created, and Applications developed to help improve businesses thrive, something that traditional marketing does not provide. The other advantages of Digital Marketing are the accessibility of personal data which provides businesses with information such as contact information, preference, and the option of an easy purchase option.
Digital Marketing is an incredibly good option for small businesses to grow and explore potential markets online and offline. The strategies can be designed to suit your business needs and your budget. Having a basic website and a business email address is the first step towards integrating into the digital world. Kodeink Group provides digital marketing solutions for small and start-up businesses.