Why do small business need digital marketing is a question we regularly get asked. Small business -with limited marketing budgets – are competing with national and international brands when it comes to marketing. In this ever-growing digital era, small businesses have no other options but to compete with corporations that have much larger marketing budgets. The online attribute required of companies demands that small business compete on a larger scale.
Everywhere you look today people are increasingly preoccupied with technology. Every business needs an online strategy to thrive today. But, unfortunately, most small business owners don’t have one.
Customer expectations have changed and almost everyone has access to and regularly uses the Internet. Most of us, when we hear of a business for the first time immediately look for a website or social media profile where we can find out more information. We don’t call into the store, or phone the company, instead we look it up and if you cannot find any evidence of the company online, chances are you will try somewhere that has a social presence.
Gain Exposure through Quality Content
Creating great content is the best way to create a viral effect. You can do this by posting great images, funny videos, memes or writing interesting, compelling blog posts. This is how you differentiate yourself from competitors – have your personality shine through.
The more content you produce, the more exposure you will get. And for small businesses, creating content is an extremely inexpensive way of marketing.
Direction
Companies without a digital strategy generally don’t have clear strategy goals for what they want to achieve online in terms of gaining new customers or building relationships with existing customers. And without a clear objective, you likely won’t put enough resources into reaching the goals and won’t be evaluating analytics. All of which can have massive impacts on your digital marketing efforts.
Cost Effective
Digital marketing is more cost-effective than traditional marketing. This is especially important for small businesses as they don’t have many resources or capital. New media can provide you with a cheaper and more effective advertising channel.
Higher ROI
By increasing your digital outreach you can potentially increase your revenue. The more exposure you can gain for your brand, the more leads you will generate. The more data you can extract from your outreach campaigns, the higher your ROI will be.
Get Ahead of Your Competition
Most businesses have already traded traditional advertising methods and are focusing on Google Adwords, SEO, Social Media or SMS. With so many competitors out there it is very difficult to market your small business and get ahead of the pack. Monitor what is working for you, what your current and potential customers are engaging with. Once you know what’s working for you, repeat.
We hope the above tips are helpful when you are thinking about your marketing strategy over the coming weeks and months. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog.