Is it possible to have a business in 2021 without some sort of digital presence? Be it a website, social media pages, online ads, or simply a review posted on Google Maps, being online is almost an essential form of acknowledgment to the world that your venture exists.
But to thrive in this competitive arena, you have to retain an edge. There has to be something that differentiates you, that makes your company unique and deserving of the attention of an ever-growing audience.
To be successful online, you need a plan.
And which better way to develop a plan than to reach out to your friendly digital agency Webbiz? We’ve already shared our top tips on establishing an online business and tracking every possible metric. Now our amazing team has something else brewing: in this blog, we will talk about the importance of having a digital marketing strategy for the crazy year that has been 2021 (so far).
Want to know more? Read on:
1- Meet Your Audience Where It Is
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past fifteen years, we do not need to explain the importance of a little up-and-coming technology called “internet”. Even before a global pandemic locked us all in our houses, the barriers between online and offline were virtually non-existent. Currently, the only way to work, socialise, entertain, and study without health risks is essentially online.
Despite everything, the COVID-19 pandemic has had the slightest of bright spots: it has forced old school companies to rethink their relationship with the internet. Even the most conservative ventures had to come up with a solution that made it possible for their clients to consume their products and services without personal contact.
If health concerns are not enough to motivate your digital plans, what about your potential audience? According to a survey by WeAreSocial, 87% of Ireland is connected to the internet. If you cannot open your store to presential customers, a potential clientele of 4.27 million users is available for you digitally.
There is no rule more basic than “advertise where your audience is looking”, and if your audience is online, you need to follow suit.
2- A Fair Playing Field
Big corporations are everywhere nowadays. From McDonald’s to Amazon, it is practically impossible to avoid them. While the same can be said for online spaces, they are not as omnipresent as they are in the real world. And that’s a huge opportunity for small businesses.
In a digital environment, ranking is king. If you appear as the first option in a query, you can be practically sure that you have a sale in your books. By implementing a savvy digital strategy, entrepreneurs and small ventures can rank ahead of the juggernauts that can typically buy more advertising space in real life.
We will get back to this later in this blog, but suffice to say that even with a small budget, it is possible to develop a very efficient strategy that will win leads and help your company to thrive online.
3- Laser-Focused Targeting
Advertising requires targeting. To reach potential customers through traditional means, you need to pin down their habits – what they like, dislike, and, most importantly, what they spend their time and money on.
While this is true for online marketing as well, the consumer targeting potential is in a completely different league for digital marketers. You can focus your investment on the candidates that are most likely to engage with your offerings and make a personalised offer that your potential customers cannot refuse.
While the investment required for a marketing campaign is always a crucial issue, online marketing ensures that your advertising funds are used more efficiently than ever. Since you can concentrate efforts on the audience that is more likely to respond positively, you don’t need huge stacks of cash to make the most of your online ad campaign.
The post-campaign research (a fundamental component to make campaigns even more efficient) is also more naturally tuned for online platforms. Even before you create your first SEO campaign, you will be able to learn more about your public than you would ever dream of through traditional media research.
The efficiency of digital marketing ensures the best ROI possible for every cent spent on marketing. Whether you are looking for a scaled-down version of a campaign or if you are steamrolling a new product with a massive ad effort, digital is the best solution you could go for.
4- Power to the People
Another incredible advantage that digital marketing has in spades is the capacity to turn every satisfied customer into a potential ambassador for your brand, product, or service. Through comments, opinions, and reviews, the internet gave every user a distinct voice.
Extensive evidence highlights the audience’s power to endorse and spread the word about your company. Left alone, these tools can lead you down a slippery slope – a bad review can damage your reputation. The best solution in this scenario is to get ahead of the curve – instead of being passive and waiting for feedback, make opinions work for your company.
By incentivizing people’s feedback, you can create a framework for positive opinions that in turn help you to attract new customers. Word of mouth has always been a good strategy for new brands, and online it is not different.
This is why over the past couple of years the figure of the digital influencer came into being – a person with a follower base that will advertise your company and make organic traffic flow even more easily.
5- Adapt, Evolve, Conquer
The internet is, more than ever the best tool that business owners can rely on to create leads and sales. Now, more than ever is the time to exploit its features to make the most of the new normal we are living through and tune your strategy to this new reality.
With the proper tools and the right team, your company will get through these hard times and emerge on the other side as an even more efficient venture.