Did you know that the number of people using the internet increases every day? Even with how accessible the internet is today, the number of people who go online every single day went up by 5% in the last 3 years! Through the pandemic we have all seen a change in people’s shopping habits, with Amazon increasing their number of deliveries on a huge scale when people were stuck at home and high street stores shutting down en-mass. This all means that offline marketing isn’t as effective as it used to be.
Marketing has and always will be about connecting with your audience: doing that in the right place and at the right time, is what produces the sale. Today, that means you need to meet them where they are already spending a lot of time – on the internet. Hence, digital marketing comes into it’s own!
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is basically all marketing efforts that use the internet or an electronic device. Businesses can utilise digital channels such as social media, email, text messaging, search engines and websites to connect with current and prospective customers.
Why use digital marketing?
With many people spending several hours a day online, the real reason should be why not! Digital marketing helps you reach a larger audience than you could through the traditional methods. You can target prospects who are most likely to buy your product or service through analytics and setting targets on your campaigns. It’s also often more cost-effective than traditional advertising, and enables you to measure success on a daily basis and alter your campaigns as you see fit.
What role can digital marketing play in your marketing?
There are far more possibilities for companies to reach customers through digital marketing: from email and websites to video, social media, and search engines. In a landscape where consumers Google a business before getting in touch with them, digital marketing is vital for your business and brand awareness. Think about that time you were looking for a local plumber… let us guess, you either Googled it or asked for Recommendations on your local Facebook group? And for nearly all the companies you considered using, you visited their website first? That is exactly why you should utilise digital marketing: it is so commonly used that consumers now expect and rely on it as a way to learn about brands.
To cut a long story short, to be competitive as a business, you’ll need to embrace some aspects of digital marketing if your customers are likely to be online!