Marketing and advertising techniques have evolved tremendously over the past five years. We’ve seen more businesses moving away from traditional forms of media (billboards, radio/TV/ newspaper ads, flyers) and they are gravitating to digital media (online advertising, Google ads, social media) to get their messages out to consumers.
The challenge most businesses face is understanding digital marketing and how to take full advantage of the new technologies since they’re more used to traditional forms of media, and are often resistant to change.
Nowadays, consumers are gravitating towards online media to obtain information, whether it be for research, education, entertainment or news. The internet is where they are gathering and businesses should always be where consumers congregate.
Consumers are watching television and listening to radio less. Due to the introduction of lightweight laptops, tablets and cheap data plans, not to mention low-end smartphones by popular telecommunication providers, consumers have 24-hour access to the internet and are now constantly online.
Here are five facts you should know about Digital Marketing:
Cost Effective
The digital marketing budget on average is 25% that of traditional forms of marketing. This means you gain huge savings for your business and a huge return on investment once the marketing campaign is successful.
Engaging
Consumers can be encouraged to visit your business establishment through tempting call-to-action online ad campaigns. These campaigns can also direct them to product/service pages on the business’s website where more information is displayed. This can lead to a prospective sale.
Digital marketing can also encourage feedback and comments on various products and services. This is a good way for the business to interact with consumers and provide good customer service.
Easy to Track
Online marketing is measurable. You can track every click through, its geographical origin and which website the referred click-through originated. This information is in real time and can be generated daily, weekly and monthly; something you can’t get with traditional marketing methods.
Brand Development
Online marketing is not only restricted to Google ads. It extends to social media, email and websites. You can win your customers’ hearts by having a presence on these platforms. We must remember that content is king, therefore a well maintained website and social media page add value, which can increase lead generation opportunities.
Going Viral
Once the content on your online medium is informative and interesting, consumers will share it. The consumer is now advertising for you and your message will have a wider reach, and give the product/ service and the business far greater exposure. All social media platforms contain a share button which allows the consumer to instantly share the business’s content on their newsfeed. This means the friends of your customer who may not be your customers are now being exposed to your product/service. This can potentially lead to sales.
Some websites also contain share buttons which allow the consumer to share content. If the website does not contain a share button, the website’s URL can easily be posted in various online mediums such as email and social media.
