Let’s start by defining, what is digital marketing?
Simply put, digital marketing refers to marketing through an electronic device or the internet. That is internet marketing. Today, many companies are engaged in digital marketing, as it is easier and more profitable for them to reach large numbers of people in this way.
There are many digital marketing tactics, some of which are:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Paid search
- Show ad
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Junk mail
- Influence Marketing
Traditionally, companies reached their target audience using channels such as television, radio, magazines, events, and direct mail. Now, as people spend more time online, companies are trying to reach potential buyers through digital channels. After all, marketers must go where the people are. So, let’s dive into the main benefits of digital marketing:
It costs more to attract and convert new customers than it does to retain existing customers. Customer loyalty can be difficult to establish, but it is worth your efforts.
It’s great to end a sale with your customers, but it’s even better to retain those customers after the sale. A retained customer can make another purchase or recommend your brand to others, which helps increase sales. To retain customers, you have to stay in touch with them and digital marketing makes it even easier. Some tactics include:
Personalized email offers: As you get to know your customers, you can send them personalized offers such as seasonal discount codes for related products or exclusive access to new product launches. This not only makes the customer feel valued, but it will also lead to more repeat sales.
Social Media Engagement: Encourage customers to follow you on social media. When they do, stay engaged with useful and relevant content that encourages them to engage with your brand. Whenever they need your service or product again, they will be more willing to buy from your business.
Involve the customer at each stage of purchase
Before digital marketing became popular, a lot of people didn’t talk about the customer journey, mainly because it was difficult to understand and analyze. Most of the time, a customer would go to a physical store after seeing an ad on television or in the newspaper, making a decision, and paying for the product or service within the store. However, in digital marketing, we can keep track of every step a customer takes, often from the moment they jump in to find a solution or product.
These days, it is common for a consumer to see an ad online, search and compare prices on different websites, then go to a store to test the product or buy from an online store. Mobile apps provide shoppers with special offers and coupons, customer support, and comparison tools, which enhance our understanding of the buying process. With digital marketing, a salesperson can follow the customer’s entire purchase journey.
Target the right audience:
It’s now easier than ever to segment audiences as many digital marketing platforms allow you to target a specific audience. We have access to online tools that track an individual’s online activities and demographic information. Digital marketers may use this data to offer users specific products or services that may be of interest to them. For example, once a visitor clicks on a brand’s ad, either on social media or through a search engine, the brand can target that visitor with subsequent and related ads. If the content a visitor receives is based on their interests and behaviors online, it creates positive reinforcement and makes shopping easier and more satisfying.
You can also target your audience with content and offers based on where they are in the purchase path. For example, email marketing can be used to nurture a potential customer until they are ready to make a purchase. Maybe they subscribed to your blog and are constantly opening your update emails. After several months, they visit your web pages about your service. At this point, you should send them a targeted email with an exclusive offer.
Generate sales funnel
Creating your “sales funnel” is ultimately the main goal of digital marketing. A sales funnel is basically a system for generating consistent leads and sales from traffic. In other words, convert traffic into brand enthusiasts.
It may interest you: Benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency.
Optimize and get better conversion rates
Unlike traditional marketing, which includes expensive television, radio, or print ads, online advertising platforms are much more affordable. It can also improve your ad conversion rate more conveniently than with traditional advertising. With print ads, it’s often difficult to keep track of conversion rates, as everything happens offline. How do you know if someone saw your ad in a magazine and then went to the store? If you can’t track your ad performance, how can you optimize it?
Digital advertising makes it easy as every interaction is tracked. You instantly know how many people are seeing your ad and what actions they take.
Most online advertising platforms include some level of reporting, which you can use for targeting, copying, and design of your ad.
With digital marketing, you can measure everything from when the ad is clicked to when the visitor leaves the page. All! You can determine how many people saw your ad, how many sales resulted from the ad, and ultimately your return on investment (ROI). Metrics from data analysis software (like Google Analytics) and social media or ad platforms (like Facebook Ads and Google Ads) make this monitoring or measurement possible.
Build brand credibility
If any brand wants to gain credibility quickly and sustainably, it would be through the Internet. Content marketing studies show that digitally active brands tend to have the highest credibility. Through your content, a business can address customer concerns, clarify important concepts, and demonstrate that it understands what is driving its market.
Useful and engaging content helps a business gain the trust of its customers, as well as that of industry experts. It can be effective to the extent that competitors start citing your content as well.
Better profitability in your ads
Many business owners may think that they have to save a lot of money to benefit from digital marketing. But this is not entirely true. Digital marketing can be very affordable and can generate high ROI. A small business, for example, can reach customers early and start to scale quickly. ROI is also easier to measure at different stages of the funnel.
Digital marketing is about building an online presence. Even if you don’t have the budget for SEO or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, a business can still use digital marketing to build and connect with its audience. Social media is a profitable digital marketing tactic that requires little costs, aside from your time. Email marketing is also very affordable.
As we already mentioned, any company regardless of its size or industry can benefit from digital marketing. If you want to know more about this world, we invite you to click here.
