Digital marketing is completely taking over the way we consume advertisements as consumers of products. That is certainly no secret. Over time we are seeing more and more companies integrating a digital marketing strategy into their plans going forward, but why is that?
What is it about digital marketing that draws attention? I’ve included a variety of reasons why you and your business may want to stay utilizing the digital space to get attention.
Run to the Money
A huge percentage of adults are on social media every day, and the younger generations are turning away from traditional means of entertainment altogether. Social media is integrated into everything younger people are doing, and it’s where the people are. Why would you want to advertise anywhere else?
The one challenge that a lot of businesses face with social media advertising is grabbing people's attention. It’s much easier to reach people on platforms like Facebook, but it’s not always easy to see an ROI.
Even when you put all the numbers and business lingo aside, you still have a tremendous amount of platforms where all your customers are hanging out. Use them to your advantage.
Targeting Like Never Before
Part of the reason why digital marketing is so successful is because of all the data the internet collects on its users every day. This is obviously a good and a bad thing. Some people hate that the internet is tracking everything, but for businesses, this is the icing on the cake.
For example, when you use a billboard advertisement; the person who sold you the ad probably told you that the specific area had a certain number of impressions per month. Out of those impressions, how many are actually your target demographic? You would have no way of ever knowing that.
With digital marketing, you can know that. Facebook, for example, has advanced targeting that allows you to display your ad in front of the exact people you need to see them.
As another example, if you’re company sells equipment for the elderly and home modifications for senior citizens to remain in their home, you have a specific demographic right? You might want to show the ad to caregivers, adults with elderly parents, and senior citizens. Digital marketing allows you to show your ad to that exact demographic.
Personalization
In addition to targeting you also can make advertisements more personal than ever. How many times have you received an email that said something like, “hey there or hey (anything other than your name)?” Would you feel more inclined to open the email if it was addressed to you by name? You probably would.
This is called segmentation, and you can target people on an individual level. If you’re building an email list, you can send follow-up emails with specific names and conversation points that only that person would recognize. This makes the emails seem incredibly personal, and developing relationships is one of the most powerful means of selling something.
That’s a far cry from an expensive radio advertisement that spans hundreds of miles in each direction and addresses no one in particular.
Advanced Data
Do you want to know how well that radio advertisement worked and what kind of ROI it generated for you? Good luck. You can do it with specific promo codes or referrals, but it’s difficult to gauge the success of old school marketing methods.
Radio and TV are things that are often happening in the background, so you don’t know if people are even listening or acting based on your ads. With digital marketing, you can know the following:
● If they saw it
● If they interacted
● If they liked it
● If they shared it
● If they converted to a sale
Through the use of Google Analytics and Facebook Pixels, we can track every single eyeball that lands on your ad. You can track how long they looked at it and what they did afterward.
All the while, Facebook and Google are collecting data about that person who interacted with your ad. If they stuck around for a while and clicked on the ad, Facebook may consider that person someone likely to buy from you, and they’ll show the ad to more people like that.
You cannot get this type of intelligence and functionality anywhere else. Digital marketing allows you to learn so much about your customers without having to do much of the learning yourself.
Simple to Grow
We’re not saying you’re going to throw together a Facebook ad and become a millionaire overnight, but if you take it step by step and implement the right strategy, you’ll have no problem generating an ROI that is clear and concise.
Another reason why digital marketing is so powerful is because of the scalability of the ads. If you find that you hit the jackpot and created a successful ad, all you need to do is pour more money into it. You can continue to display that ad to as many people as you want until the profitability starts to wear down.
On the flip side, if you’re ads aren’t going well you’re not locked into any kind of contract, you can stop it immediately. You also can make small tweaks if they are performing but not as well as you would like.
Plus, you’ll have all that incredible data we talked about to make those changes. If you find that many people are stopping on your ad but scrolling away after a few seconds that might mean you need to make the visuals more engaging.
You have the power!
Marketing of the Future
The bottom line to think about as a business owner is:
Do you want to be part of something that is growing, or do you want to stick with the old school strategies that are dying off?
Everyone knows that digital marketing is the future, and TV, print, radio, and billboard ads are losing steam. It’s still not too late to consider yourself an early adopter.
Businesses need digital marketing to compete, and the internet is where your customers are. Go get them!