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Benefits of Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

September 09, 2022
Benefits of digital marketing for small businesses

As a small business owner, your #1 instinct is to get your first customers through the door and create profit to keep your business afloat. 

Since the internet has become an unavoidable part of day-to-day life, digital marketing has become more competitive and requires more intelligent marketing strategies to grow your new business venture. 

Often digital marketing can be viewed as expensive or unnecessary for small businesses; however, you should choose the most profitable and cost-effective digital marketing strategies to meet marketing goals and promote your product/service to a broader audience. 

In today’s technologically and digitally focused world, connecting with potential customers online has never been more critical. 

What is digital marketing? 

Digital marketing, also called online marketing, refers to all marketing efforts on the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers. This also includes communication through text or multimedia messages. 

What are the different types of digital marketing? 

  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 
  • Content Marketing 
  • Pay Per Click (PPC) 
  • Social Media Marketing 
  • Email Marketing 
  • Online Public Relations (PR) 
  • Affiliate Marketing 
  • Inbound Marketing 

+ so much more! 

What are the benefits of digital marketing for small businesses? 

Making the switch to digital marketing over traditional methods can be scary, especially if you have a tried and tested method which is no longer working the same so let us tell you a few of the many benefits of digital marketing:  

1. DIGITAL MARKETING WILL GET YOUR BUSINESS FOUND ONLINE 

It’s simple. If you’re existing or potential customers can’t easily find you online, they will likely go with another business! This makes investing in digital marketing services crucial for your business! 

This is the nature of business today. If someone wants to learn more about your brand and business, their first port of call will be to search for you online. They may be looking for business reviews, your business morals or how long your business has been operating. 

Customers want to ensure your company is a perfect fit! 

Did you know that, as of last year, around 36% of small businesses were operating without a website? Crazy. 

If you do not have a website, potential customers may think you are untrustworthy or not a serious business, especially if you are a small, unknown business. This can result in your potential customers choosing another company instead. 

Digital marketing helps small businesses compete with well-known brands in a way that is impossible without digital marketing. Customers have different expectations in this digital world. You NEED to be found online to meet these expectations, primarily if your business is geared towards a younger, tech-savvy audience. 

2. BROAD REACH 

Digital marketing allows you to reach out to a broad audience quickly. People constantly spend more and more time on screens, and digital advertisements are on almost every website we visit. By investing in digital marketing, you’ll be showcasing your brand in front of people instantly. 

Think of posting a flyer through a door. That piece of information is only able to be viewed by the people in that house. 

Now imagine posting an ad on Facebook using the same information. Which will be seen by more people? Marketing your business digitally also enables your customers to share your business with others with ease. If you know your business relies on referrals, then digital is the way to go.  

3. TRACKABLE, MEASURABLE RESULTS 

One way digital marketing excels over traditional marketing is that you can measure digital marketing in real time! You don’t have to wait until your campaign ends to gather the data and analyse the results! 

You can easily track metrics such as how many people open your email campaign, who clicked on what, how many people purchased your product on any given day, where people have landed on your website, conversions, and so much more. 

This enables you to adapt your marketing strategy as and when needed to get maximum results (and the best bang for your buck). 

4. IT’S COST-EFFECTIVE 

Many small businesses don’t have the budget to utilise costly traditional marketing services such as TV and billboard adverts, putting them at a distinct disadvantage to competitors with larger marketing budgets. 

However, many can afford digital marketing techniques to reach out and engage with ideal audiences. Digital marketing is an affordable and cost-effective option for all businesses. 

Free, organic search still dominates web traffic ahead of traffic driven by paid campaigns. Did you know that organic search drives 53% of website traffic, while paid search drives only 27%? 

For example, claiming and optimising a free Google Business Profile will: 

  • Boost your local SEO search visibility 
  • Increase foot traffic if you are a local business, especially from smartphone users 
  • Positive GBP reviews help improve a business’s online reputation free of charge. 

5. DIGITAL MARKETING BUILDS BRAND AWARENESS 

Digital marketing has become an incredibly effective tool for building trust and fostering long-term relationships. It’s essential to take advantage of social media platforms when it comes to connecting with your audience. 

By posting regularly, answering questions and queries quickly, and responding to reviews and comments – positive and negative – you are fundamentally improving brand loyalty and therefore increasing brand awareness. You are showing customers that you care about what they say and think. 

Building a community is a surefire way to keep existing customers happy and invite new customers in. 

You can also improve brand awareness through strategically planned content marketing that reflects your brand’s personality and motivations. 

Content created with your target audience in mind can ensure that your brand is reliable and approachable. Writing articles and blog posts that reflect and address their interests and pain points will encourage more engagement and highlight you as an expert within your industry. 

6. PERSONALISATION 

You can’t personalise a billboard, but you can personalise an email campaign! No matter the size of your business, you want your customers to feel important and valued, and the best way to do this is through personalisation. 

Simply including your customer’s name in an email campaign shows that thought has gone into that content to tailor it to that audience. 

Additionally, if your customer database is linked to your website, you can greet them with targeted offers whenever someone visits the site. The more they buy from you, the more you can refine your customer profile and market effectively to them. 

Everyone wants to feel valued as a customer. Whether from a small or large business, if you can make your customers feel special, they are more likely to stick around. 

Who are CREATIVE in TiME?  

We are a digital marketing and business advice agency. We audit, advise, mentor, and manage your marketing requirements underpinned with business advice and support capabilities. CREATIVE in TiMEspecialise inSEO (search engine optimisation) and expert business advice.  

We specialise in being your partner on your business journey, and our customers appreciate having access to director level, manager level and team level expertise in business and marketing without the need to employ all levels at significant cost to your company.  

If you want to learn more about the individuals at CREATIVE in TiME,  clickhere to see what our team is all about and put some faces to this work! 

By Andrea Warner

Award Winning Business builder, Marketing guru, franchise creator, 20 years of business experience in B2C and B2B, Networking Queen. Brings humour and laughter to every meeting. Why wouldn’t you?

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