Would you believe me if I told you that the number of people who go online increases every day? Hard to imagine that’s possible considering how engulfed society has already become by the Internet. And yet, there are still newcomers making their way online, and that means your target audience grows along with it. The pool of possible customers for you to engage with and convert is always expanding – but only if you use the Internet to your advantage.
Wikipedia defines digital marketing as the marketing of products or services using digital technologies on the Internet, including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. Simply put, it’s any business promotion you see online. With e-commerce growing 3x faster than traditional retail, and the near constant use and connection to the Internet, online marketing has quickly become a non-negotiable for any business. But how does it compare to traditional advertising? In this article we’ll explore the benefits of digital marketing, showing where traditional marketing alone may fall short for your small business.
Digital vs. Traditional
You’re probably most familiar with traditional marketing and may just know it as marketing, with “traditional” only being added in light of the digital revolution. It’s conventional and allows you to promote your business to a semi-targeted audience through offline methods; magazines, newspapers, billboards, radio, postcards, or even telemarketing.
Traditional Misses the Mark
Traditional marketing has its merit, but it is certainly not the only nor the best way to reach your customers. In comparison to digital, it is a very one-sided way to market your small business. Your customer cannot engage with this form of marketing, and it is often left up to chance whether or not it will reach the right customer at the right time.
There is also the issue of permanence and the lack of flexibility in your efforts if you opt against digital marketing. With online marketing, you have the ability to change an advertisement based on performance, product updates, or any other reason you deem suitable and worthy of a change. You have the power to change your marketing plan almost as quickly as you have the thought to do it! If you’ve printed an ad and realize after there is a typo, misprint, or any other unforeseen hiccup, you’ve wasted your time, money, and effort – possibly even damaging your reputation.
You want to engage with those who are actually interested in what you do, right? If you are in auto sales, for instance, it would serve you to target your audience. According to Automotive News, the average car buyer is in their 50s. With online marketing you can specify age range, gender, location and even target a specific product to ensure that you will reach relevant customers.
You’ve heard the saying, “knowledge is power” and that belief is no exception in the world of marketing. Additionally, isn’t it better to learn more, faster? With digital marketing you can measure your campaigns success in realtime with analytics software. Perhaps the most valuable perk of digital marketing is the opportunity to learn your business trends quickly and in turn act on the information, be it a course-correction or a surprising business win.
Additionally, you must take into consideration the sheer difference in numbers you are able to reach with online versus traditional marketing. A greater reach creates more opportunity and more dollars for your business. You could invest the same budget into traditional marketing and not reach half of those you could on the Internet. That’s not taking into account the fingers-crossed factor of it reaching the right customer at the right time. With digital marketing, you don’t have to hope your message will find its way to a customer in your market and instead you can trust that they will find your business instead.
Digital for the Win
Whether it is through real-time data, targeted advertisements, local marketing, or any other form of digital marketing, this method has the clear advantage over traditional marketing efforts. At Outreach Digital Marketing we are a group of marketing strategists who help you work smarter, not harder. We eat, sleep, and breathe online marketing and do whatever it takes to significantly grow your business no matter your budget. Take advantage of our free marketing checkup to see where your business stands online. Let us give you our observations and offer our solutions.