Businesses these days need to have an online presence to be competitive. However, having a website or a social media account is not enough; they also need to have digital marketing strategies put into place in order to maximize the potential for conversion.
What is Digital Marketing?
Marketing has four Ps: the product (what the business is selling); the place (where it is distributed: online, a brick-and-mortar store, or both); the price (how much it costs), and promotion (how the business is disseminating information about the product).
Digital marketing likewise involves these, but the activities for promoting services and products happen online. Some of the strategies include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Content Marketing, Email Marketing, among others.
Why Digital Marketing is Important for Businesses
There are several reasons why businesses need digital marketing strategies, including the following:
- It helps clarify goal The first thing that a business does when setting up strategies and campaigns is to identify what it wants to achieve. In general, it is to increase sales, but the focus could be on any step in the sales funnel. For instance, it can be on generating leads, increasing conversion, or decreasing dropped shopping carts. Tools and metrics also provide information on how the company is progressing toward those goals.
- It helps in putting resources where they are needed. When a business has a clear goal, it can distribute its resources accordingly. This means investing time, effort, and money in the most effective channel. If a business wants to improve its website’s ranking in Search Engine Results Pages, for example, then SEO would be a good tactic, and if it wants to increase brand awareness, then SMM can help.
- It helps in targeting the desired audience. Digital marketing allows a business to address its target market, which means that it can create and show ads and posts that are relevant to people who are more likely to need and want the product. SEM, for instance, is putting targeted ads in a person’s search engine results. This means that the people who get see the paid ads are the ones who have, in one way or another, shown interest in what the company is offering.
- It is cost effective. Digital marketing includes assets like websites, social media channels, emails, and eBooks, which can be used to promote a brand. These are less costly to use than traditional media channels like television and radio ads. For instance, with SEM and PPC advertising, one only needs to pay when a user clicks on the ad.
- It is flexible. Digital marketing reaches people who are using desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones – in short, it has the potential to be seen anytime and just about anywhere. It also offers a lot of room for creativity using different approaches such videos, photos with accompanying memes, interactive features, infographics, and so on.
- It offers a way to interact with customers. Consumers like to feel special, and digital marketing allows a business to connect with them. SMM can be used for responding to customers, encouraging them to “like” and share posts, and, in general, making them feel welcome. Moreover, digital marketing allows a company to monitor and gauge the behavior of its current and potential customers through analytics, polls, and surveys.
- It builds a business’s reputation. People often do their research online before paying for a product or service. With digital marketing, a business can build its reputation by gathering positive feedback from customers, by being visible through its website and social media channels, and by posting authoritative content on its blog.
- It can generate more sales. With lower advertising costs, wider reach, ability to be seen by mobile consumers, and more customer engagement, a business is more likely to earn higher revenues and see a return on investment sooner.
Digital marketing like SEO and Native Advertising can be utilized by both big companies and small- to medium-sized businesses. This means that even with a limited budget, a startup can compete with large corporations and entice their share of customers. It does require careful attention and knowledge, so a business that wants to make the most of its online presence can seek the assistance of experts in the internet marketing industry.
Subzero Lab Pte Ltd is one of the leading web design company in Singapore. It is experienced in meeting internet and digital marketing needs such SEO, SMM, and SEM so that a client’s business can become more visible to potential customers, which can then increase conversion and sales.
