Why Do I Need Digital Marketing

Choosing the right marketing opportunity can be daunting. With so many options to select from and so little time to dedicate to doing your own research, it’s no wonder many businesses stick to tried-and-true methods of traditional tactics. We work with many businesses that have been using traditional tactics for years, and when we ask why, it’s not uncommon for us to hear a version of the following question, “I’ve been doing traditional marketing for years. It’s working. Why should I change?”

Your traditional marketing tactics might be reaching a large audience, but is it the right audience?

If you’ve been using traditional tactics such as local billboards or radio ads, you’re probably getting your business information seen and heard by many people. That said, there’s not a great way to segment who is seeing the fruits of your efforts. This begs the question: Are you really reaching the right target audience for what you’re selling and where you’re selling it?

With digital marketing, not only can you reach a high number of people, but you can also target the audience you’re reaching. This sets you up for greater success because you’re paying for exposure to the consumers who are most likely to purchase from you. Digital tactics allow you to target your reach by many factors, including age, location, online search habits and online user preferences (such as which businesses to follow, which companies to “like” on Facebook, and more). This is powerful and reinforces that your dollars are well spent reaching the right folks.

Your traditional marketing tactics are out there for people to see and hear, but are you interacting with potential customers?

While traditional efforts, such as newspaper ads or TV commercials, are something that all people can relate to (the general public has been exposed to these channels for quite some time), are you relating to these customers and engaging them through these tactics? A key difference between traditional and digital is that business owners have the opportunity to engage and interact with their potential customers through digital. For example, through Facebook Advertising, you can view Facebook users that have liked, reacted to or commented on your ads. Through other paid digital media, such as Online Display Ads, you can easily see which ad creatives are driving the most visits to their landing pages — or resulting in the most leads. And speaking of leads…

Your traditional marketing tactics may be driving leads to your business, but are you receiving insight and in-depth reporting analytics on how your efforts are actually performing?

Best case scenario: You set up a call-tracking number on some of your traditional marketing efforts, such as newspaper ads or direct mail pieces, so you receive some information on which offers are driving customers to call your business.

Worst case scenario: You are spending marketing dollars on efforts, and you have zero insight into which tactics are driving people to your business. This is where digital wins.

Nearly any digital marketing tactic you participate in will provide you with some level of reporting on audience reach and engagement. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as impressions, clicks and leads are easily accessible to you through monthly reports and emails delivered straight to your inbox. Through these resources, you can receive clear insight into what your investment is generating. This is key information that traditional marketing efforts simply cannot provide.

So, what should you do next?

If you aren’t participating in digital marketing, it’s not too late. Now is the time to get started.

Not only will your efforts result in reaching many potential customers — but you’ll have more control over reaching the right type of prospect who is most likely to turn into an actual customer. Not only will you be reaching the right target audience, but you’ll also have the opportunity to connect with this audience and start building relationships early on. In addition, through the detailed reporting you’ll receive, you will finally get insight into that burning question we often hear from business owners like you: “How do I know this is working?”