Business owners hear about the importance of digital marketing all the time. With consumers moving online and whole generations of younger consumers now living behind their screens, the fact that every business needs a digital presence is old news. However, lack of knowledge about online platforms and confusion over the myriad of digital marketing techniques can remain an obstacle for many businesses.
The Importance of Being Earnest
When considering the value of digital marketing, the numbers speak for themselves. Fueled by pandemic lockdowns, online shopping activity has increased significantly in the last two years, with e-commerce expected to take a 22 percent share of global retail sales by 2023. In 2023, the annual e-commerce revenue in the United States alone is forecast to reach $740 billion. Therefore, e-commerce is a logical progression for brands with products or services that can be transacted online.
That said, a successful digital presence is not merely useful for e-commerce purposes. Consumers have grown attached to their mobile devices, which now account for more than half of the organic search numbers in the US. In addition, 59 percent of shoppers indicate that they do their research online before making purchases to ensure that they make the most informed choices, and 74 percent of brick-and-mortar shoppers use search engines to find information about stores near them.
This ability to reach consumers, near or far, is one of the greatest benefits of digital marketing. The online landscape has allowed small businesses to level the playing field as consumers become more open to supporting new brands and trying novel services. Digital marketing similarly allows businesses to target their exact consumer demographic, providing a much higher ROI than broad, conventional marketing.
Ads Are More Than Ads
Some businesses new to the digital marketing arena may think of digital marketing as simply taking out advertising, albeit in an online space. However, there is a lot more to the discipline than just the generic Google or Facebook ad. There is a massive difference between the numerous run-of-the-mill marketing companies with some online services and a top-notch digital marketing agency that will knock your socks off.
With consumers bombarded by advertising virtually (pun intended) everywhere they look, even a simple ad requires expert handling. An effective ad needs to reach your specific audience, grab their attention in a sea of distraction, and add to your brand image at the same time. And where the ad leads to is just as important, because while the ad may be the doorway to your business, the landing page is where the connection happens.
This is why a successful digital marketing strategy should involve your entire online presence. From your website and social media profiles to PPC (pay-per-click) ads and their landing pages, each piece of your online brand presence is essential to create the perfect conversion puzzle. And while ad campaigns may take some tracking and fine-tuning to get them exactly on the money, once your digital marketing is set up, it works for you 24/7, racking up impressive ROIs.
Traffic = Triumph
So, digital marketing is all about ads, right? Not exactly. Digital marketing is about traffic. Ads get attention, and good ads often turn into traffic, but there are other ways to generate leads for your business as well. Organic leads are the Holy Grail of digital marketing. Organic traffic occurs when consumers find their way to your brand on their own, without following any paid advertising links.
This type of traffic is the most profitable of sources because the consumer is practically knocking on your door asking to make a purchase. They have found your brand after searching for something specific that you make or do. But how does one go about getting all this organic traffic? The answer is a three-letter acronym that has been unfairly flogged to death by every marketer from here to San Francisco: SEO.
SEO or search engine optimization has become a digital marketing cult of sorts, with amateur agencies claiming to get your brand to the first place in the Google search engine results pages with a wave of their magic wand. Unfortunately, a lot of these SEO practices such as keyword stuffing and link spamming may work in the short term but can get your site blacklisted by Google. Hence, it is best to leave SEO to the bona fide experts.
In this era of mass digitization and mobile shopping, businesses that want to remain competitive should look to investing in bolstering their online presence. With the remarkable ROIs of digital marketing, even a small investment could make a huge difference. For brands who are already making profits online, why not embrace the potential to increase sales by a hundredfold through ramping up your marketing efforts?
The online consumer is ready and willing to spend. By choosing a quality digital marketing agency, businesses can effectively harness their audience’s attention and skyrocket their revenue into the stratosphere.