Why digital marketing is so important for small businesses
THERE ARE MORE MOBILE DEVICES IN THE WORLD THAN HUMANS — IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO PUT DIGITAL MARKETING AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR BUSINESS PLANS
Take note of how many devices are being used around you. People are using smartphones, tablets, and even watches to read the news and consume content. We're talking to friends on Facebook, having debates and discussions on Twitter, scrolling through beautifully-shot photos on Instagram, and consume all manner of information and entertainment. There’s a good chance you’re reading this very post on a device that fits in your pocket!
So it makes sense to hone your small business marketing plans and budgets towards digital marketing, and it’s fair to say that if you don’t have a strategy in place to promote what you do through online social platforms, you’re missing out on a massive amount of exposure, and losing potential customers to competitors who are miles ahead with their online strategies.
Digital marketing is also a more cost-effective way of promoting your services, products, events, or news, and there are even more benefits, too. I’ll lay some out here:
Cost-Effective
Digital marketing offers a huge cost advantage over printed media. Have you ever looked into the cost of placing an ad in a local newspaper? You’d be lucky to get a quarter- or half-page space on the grid for under £300.
Social media platforms like Facebook provide promotional opportunities we simply couldn’t have dreamed of a decade ago. You control the cost of your marketing campaigns through highly-accessible applications and digital toolkits.
You’ll also rest safe in the assurance that 100% of your budget is going straight towards promoting your business, instead of being ignored or thrown in the bin before your ad even has a chance to catch the eyes of potential clientele.
Targeted
You wouldn’t hand a flyer for dog products to someone who owns a cat. Digital marketing tools and social platforms allow you to tailor your campaigns so that they target the demographics who’ll have the most interest in what you’re promoting. From basic metrics like age ranges and geographical locations through to more intricate details such as hobbies and familial links, the whole spectrum of demographics is covered.
Instant Interaction
Unless you’re creeping up behind newspaper readers, you’ll be hard-pressed to spark up a conversation with someone viewing an ad placed in print! Social media — especially Twitter — is designed for instant global interaction. You’re never a few clicks or taps away from building relationships with new people and prospective clients. You can also find like-minded people and tailored demographics wherever you are, through searches and hashtags.
This is an extremely effective way to build up a rapport, network, and even set up meetings. We at Team Locals have started almost all of our business relationships by sending tweets to companies in our city. The results are remarkable.
Reining in the Results
Paper-based marketing is super-restrictive in the measurability of its effectiveness. You’re often limited to reading you how many papers or magazines were distributed, with no solid view on how many were actually read, or how many were returned unpurchased.
There’s also no way of telling who looked at your advert, what age they are, what their interests are, or if the ad led the viewer to action any further engagement. All of this important information is easily accessed through the dashboard of online social platforms.
This isn’t just skin-deep — you can use this data to shape your future marketing campaigns and to make vital decisions on the way you run your business, the services and products you offer, and how you direct your brand.
Speed of Delivery
Won an award? Launched a new product? Just want to share a life-affirming observation about the world? Digital marketing gives you the freedom to instantly spread your announcements and messages to your audience and the wider world in seconds. Plus, it’s all editable, so typos — unlike printing errors — can be instantly rectified. You can also, of course, include links to anywhere else on the Internet, allowing endless ways to engage potential customers.
How we can help you and your small business
Myself and the rest of us at Team Locals Media advise a diverse mix of digital marketing campaigns at the forefront of your strategy, complemented by other local media streams like radio, promo sites, and well-respected high-end magazines you’d be happy to read yourself.
We’d love to help you take control of your digital marketing plans and use your budgets to the maximum benefit of your business, so please do contact us with any enquiries you may have, over the phone on 0333 305 0178 or via email to info@teamlocals.co.uk.
Read more about creating digital media for your business in our blog post here: Learn what digital content to create for your business