Wide Reach
Billions of people use the internet every day. From Baby Boomers to Millennials, you can reach any generation by promoting your brand online. While TV commercials and billboard ads can reach millions of people at a time, research has proven that people are more likely to search for local businesses online. By marketing online, your business has the benefit of reaching consumers who’ve already made up in their mind that they need to spend money on a product or service you offer.
Low Cost
Marketing and advertising costs are one of the largest financial obstacles for an organization. While big businesses may have no problem spending millions of dollars on TV commercials, billboard ads, and print ads, this is nearly impossible for small businesses. For a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising, you can develop a digital marketing strategy that is just as impactful. In addition, email marketing and social media advertising (Facebook Ads) are relatively inexpensive and you can get started with just a few bucks per month.
High Return on Investment
Nothing matters more to a business than what they can get back for what they plan to spend. Rightfully so, marketing isn’t cheap, and you’ll ideally want to receive back more than what you spend on any strategy. Fortunately, many digital marketing strategies are designed to be cost-effective, while giving you a high return on your investment.
SEO, for example, is a long-term digital marketing initiative in which a business can increase their online ranking. While it can cost several thousand dollars to do so, the top search result on Google receives 33% of the search engine’s traffic. Considering that billions of people use Google every day, the return is much greater than the investment if you prioritize creating an SEO strategy.
Easy to Measure
The progress of a digital marketing campaign can be easily ascertained. Compared to traditional marketing where you have to wait months to measure your progress, with a digital campaign you can know immediately how your ads are performing. There are countless online tools that allow users to measure website and SEO analytics. Also, with an email marketing campaign, you can even see which of your subscribers opened and read your emails to formulate solutions accordingly.
Easy to Adjust
Knowing how well your campaign is performing will help you understand how to proceed. With a digital marketing strategy, you can effortlessly decide to invest more money into a successful campaign, or adjust a campaign that needs a bit of work. Traditional marketing campaigns often require a mountain of paperwork if you want to adjust your ads. This means that even if you’ve determined that you aren’t getting an optimal return from your ads, you’ll have to wait until your agreement is over before you can adjust or pull them entirely.
Brand Development
Businesses can rely on their digital platforms to not only promote their brand but to establish it as well. A well-developed website, a blog featuring useful and quality content, and an interactive social media channel are some of the ways a business can build its brand online.
Easy to Share
Many digital marketing channels have the capability of being shared across the internet. This helps create a multiplier effect, increasing your chances of improving your sales.
Precise Targeting
The traditional means of marketing uses a technique known as “spray and pray”. This process entails creating an ad or promotion that captures as much interest as possible. On the contrary, digital marketing is much more precise, allowing you to customize your strategies to a granular level. This way you can receive a much higher return on your investment with an efficient campaign.
Global Reach
By digitalization, the world has transformed into a global village. Accordingly, digital marketing campaigns can be visible in any part of the world. This presents start-ups with the unique opportunity to establish a global brand and clientele. The internet abounds of success stories of start-ups that became wildly successful over a small period of time, thanks to the immense exposure many digital marketing strategies provide. For a fraction of the cost you would spend making a traditional marketing campaign global, you can reach millions of people with lesser effort.
Segmentation
Not only does marketing over digital platforms permit campaigns to be targeted to specific prospects, but it also allows for segmentation. Segmentation is the process of breaking down large customer groups into smaller ones based on specific classifications. Segmentation regularly increases sales opportunities while cutting down on marketing costs. Take, for instance, an e-commerce retailer that has created new promotions for men’s clothing. Using email marketing, users can send promotional emails to only men alone. Also, if the promotion is available in certain regions, residents in that particular area will be the only ones that receive an email.
Greater Engagement
Brands who engage with potential customers are more successful at converting them to paying customers. The downside to traditional marketing is that brands only have one attempt at turning a lead. Consumers who have questions, concerns, or would like to learn more about your business are often not able to do so after merely peeking at a billboard ad. A digital marketing campaign ensures that your prospects can view your website, where their questions will be thoroughly answered. This results in more quality leads that will smoothly transition inside your sales funnel. While digital campaigns are not personal like traditional campaigns, they lead to greater engagement.