As a business owner, you might think you have your marketing covered but did you know that in this era, digital marketing is key to running a successful business? Best of all, it’s a LOT cheaper than traditional forms of marketing.
As entrepreneurship becomes increasingly popular it can be challenging to get the word out about your products and services.
In this post we want to show you:
- why you need to take your marketing efforts digital a.s.a.p
- what people really want to see from advertisers when they’re scrolling on their phones
- how things have changed and why your marketing game needs to as well
The platforms are ever-evolving and we believe that’s why digital marketing is important for your business.
We want to help you implement it into your overall marketing plan as painlessly as possible and most importantly, see results from your efforts.
What Digital Marketing is Not
Before we dive into what digital marketing looks like today, it’s worthwhile to explain what digital marketing is not.
Digital marketing is not simply posting a picture on Instagram and hoping that complete strangers will suddenly start buying your products.
It’s a sad reality that many companies (and the expensive advertising agencies they hire!) still rely on age-old advertising strategies, and as such, they attempt to use digital marketing exactly the same way as they would print advertising.
Think about it for a minute.
Consider the numerous flyers you get in the mail from companies selling televisions, furniture, toiletries and services. This is called direct-mail advertising and was wildly successful a few decades ago.
Now don’t get us wrong. If you happen to be in the market for a new refrigerator or patio set, some of the flyers might get closer attention from you.
However, any flyers or brochures that you deem irrelevant will likely remain unopened or simply discarded in the recycling bin without a second glance.
Similarly, the advertising you see on your television or hear on the radio works much the same way.
Not only is television and radio extremely expensive, but it’s also almost impossible to get statistics on how well these ads actually work to generate sales.
Practically zero targeting
Even worse, it’s practically impossible to target your ideal customer on these mediums.
This is like being blindfolded and throwing a dart at a dartboard. You have no idea if you’ll hit the bullseye, but you throw the dart anyway and “hope” you hit your mark.
The problem is, this strategy can get expensive very quickly and often with no results to show for it.
We’ll give you a quick example:
You might run an expensive television ad for a lawnmower that’s intended to reach male homeowners.
You show your ad at 7pm but guess what?
In addition to some male homeowners who might be watching that channel at that precise time, your ad is shown to 16-year-old girls, people who don’t own property or a lawn, people who live in complexes who have garden service.
In other words, your ad is played to thousands of people who won’t even look up from their cell phones while your ad is playing.
This model is extremely wasteful in terms of cost for the advertiser (you!), and often evokes considerable irritation on behalf of the unintended consumer, because you are wasting their time by showing them ads that are completely irrelevant to them.
One of the reasons why digital marketing is important for your business is due to the immense data that Google and Facebook have on us.
This means that (at this point in time) we can target:
- age
- gender
- area
- interests
- jobs
- relationship status (convenient if you sell wedding dresses because you can advertise to people who have recently gotten engaged!)
And many, many more.
Another habit of traditional advertising is that it’s really obvious that they are just trying to make sales.
They don’t offer any value for the consumer it’s just “Hey, we’ve got this thing. Please buy it from us.”
Now the problem comes in when companies or more “traditional” marketing agencies think that digital marketing works the same way.
They think that digital marketing is nothing more than placing a picture and price of what they are trying to sell onto social media, and expecting that people will flock to buy it.
We are here to tell you that this is the quickest way to lose money, alienate your followers and see minimal results.
So why is digital marketing different?
The game has changed considerably in the last few decades. Remember when adverts were basically an image of the item, plus a list of the features and the price?
Nowadays, unless someone is deliberately shopping for that specific item, this strategy is no longer effective.
Consumers are way smarter today.
Consumers are more discerning than ever when it comes to advertising.
So let’s make it clear that digital marketing is definitely not randomly placing ads to the entire country nor is it the process of “boosting” posts from your Facebook page.
Gosh, we hate it when we see small businesses boosting posts and thinking they’re marketing their business.
We wrote an entire blog about why this is a bad idea. Read it here.
It also isn’t placing your adverts on every social media platform in existence without considering whether your prospect even spends time there.
Getting your client to see your ads
For most people, digital marketing is any advertising they encounter in a digital space. This could be in the form of emails they receive because they’re opted-in from an enticing lead magnet.
And of course, it comprises of the adverts they see as they scroll Instagram, Facebook and the rest. Social media adverts are no longer just static images but include carousels they can swipe through and interesting videos they can watch.
Videos are popular because they seem less “advertisey” and because of their immediacy and down-to-earth vibe. Plus some people enjoy watching rather than reading.
The best thing about video advertising is that it doesn’t need to be studio-perfect.
Someone talking to their phone as if speaking directly to the viewer has the power of attracting the right audience for their brand and make sales along the way.
Versatility and adaptability is key to why digital marketing is important for your business.
In short, consumer behaviour and preferences have evolved, and your marketing needs to keep up with them.
How people tend to view ads on social media
Some people would like all social media adverts to disappear completely, but that will likely never happen. Social media platforms may be free to use and enjoy, but above all, they are in business to make money.
And how do you think they earn money? That’s right. Through adverts on their platform.
Consider that Facebook’s “Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $45.24 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019.”
So we’re talking BIG money.
So as much as people might not like adverts in the feed, they at least want to feel like businesses are speaking to them, as individuals, and not just blatantly pushing products down their throats.
Why digital marketing is important
As digital marketers, we know that the immense popularity of social media platforms, most especially Facebook and Instagram, has provided incredible opportunity to advertise cheaply and effectively.
Globally, there are over 2.41 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of the second quarter of 2019 and 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram as of June 2018.
This provides an unprecedented opportunity to reach more people than ever before, and their secret data algorithms completely eclipse the power of print, television, billboard and radio advertising combined.
Furthermore, the precise targeting mechanisms available to digital marketers allows us to place ads in front of the people most likely to be interested in (and likely to purchase!) that particular product, brand or service.
Digital marketing today is above all adaptable and unafraid of change. Unlike traditional marketing, strategies that work well on a platform today might be old news tomorrow.
At all times we have to monitor the trends and test to see what is working.
We constantly ask the question: “What are people paying attention to? How can we get our message to resonate with them?”
Why digital marketing is your new best friend
It might sound like a contradiction, but digital marketing is often about not selling your product or service.
At least not obviously.
It is about creating conversation and a following of people interested in your brand and your mission.
The best way to gain traction is to show your prospects what your company stands for. It is about gaining their trust, often over a long period of time, and giving loads of valuable information before expecting to get purchases.
The days of saying: “Hey there, you should buy this” are long over.
A better approach is now: “How can we help you improve your life? How can we solve your problem?”
If you are inflexible and unwilling to change your message or approach when advertising, then you might not see the results you’re hoping to achieve.
So one of the key reasons why digital marketing is important is because it encourages continual investment into the consumer.
It’s about making your customers feel like they are seen, heard and understood. That they matter.
In a world drowning in a sea of selfies, with billions of people endlessly sharing and posting all day long, people want to feel relevant and appreciated. Especially if you later ask them to part with their hard-earned cash.
Increasingly consumers want to do business with ethical companies. They are actively aware of the impact of ingredients and products on the environment.
Ignore these trends at your peril!
Or leverage them to take your business to new heights.
The Takeaway
Digital marketing continues to evolve and technology keeps getting better and better. We can use Facebook Lives, Instagram Stories and even IGTV to reach unprecedented numbers of people.
In years gone by, it would have cost a fortune to get the global reach you can obtain FOR FREE using social media.
When you combine branding, consistent posting on social media plus strategic paid adverts, you stand the best chance of having success using digital marketing.
We hope you have some new ideas to think about and that you feel inspired to level-up your marketing game. Above all, we hope you realise why digital marketing is important for your business.
We encourage you to think of marketing as an investment, and a great way to generate new business.
To that end, if you have no idea where to start when it comes to placing ads on Facebook, please click here.
