Digital marketing revenues reached $57.9 billion in the U.S. during the first six months of 2019 alone. Yet despite these numbers, there are still more than a few hold-outs. Some say, “Digital marketing is a passing trend.” “It’s too difficult to adopt.” “It’s too expensive.” “It’s too risky.” “There’s no significant ROI”. “We don’t understand it.” “Our business doesn’t need it.” These are all the types of excuses I’ve heard time and time again.
And nothing could be further from the truth.
Digital marketing is hardly the complex beast that its detractors assume it is. Yes, it’s still a relatively young phenomenon compared to traditional advertising. But we live in a digital age, and marketing relies on adaptation to a changing market. Yes, there may be risks involved. There are risks involved in any investment. The question is: In an increasingly connected world, can your business survive without it?
If you’re going to connect with your target audience in any meaningful way, your media needs to be as strong as your message. And for some 4.4 billion people — close to 60 percent of the global population, and growing — that means you need to reach your audience digitally. Let’s look at some of the ways that digital marketing can help your business reach a wider audience.

Social Media And Your Business Investment

Remember when I said earlier that 4.4 billion people are online at any given time? 3.49 billion of them are social media users, with an average of roughly seven accounts per user. Thirty-seven percent of their time is spent interacting with their favorite brands and companies.
Forty-eight percent of the 2.32 billion Facebook users indicated their last purchase was influenced by a Facebook ad. Yet only 45 percent of companies have indicated they were satisfied with their current social media marketing strategies. The problem isn’t that there’s no ROI for social media marketing. It’s just that many agencies don’t understand how necessary it is to keep up with trends and changes in social media — trends and changes which can occur on nearly a weekly basis.

Small Business And Digital Marketing

Chances are you don’t have the advertising budget of Amazon. And chances are, you’re not going to be able to compete with the likes of Amazon. But did you know that some 93 percent of consumers actually prefer shopping with small retailers over big box chains?
The answer to “Why?” is simple — personalization. Consumers want a personal connection with their brands. And this is why larger brands frequently fail when it comes to digital marketing campaigns. They simply don’t have the time to interact with customers. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, do. If you operate a brick and mortar location, you know the value of customer loyalty to their brand. That same value extends to customers’ digital interactions. Loyalty is critical for any business, and loyalty always means conversion. Even if you’re never going to have the revenue of Amazon.

Your Target Audience And Digital Marketing

One of the ways in which digital marketing has an advantage over traditional advertising is by generating relevant content to key demographics. Where traditional marketing campaigns are tailored to focus on a fairly broad segment of the general population, digital marketing campaigns can be optimized to target specific demographics. It’s no longer enough to simply second-guess the age group or household income of your audience. You need to be in tune with their backgrounds, their likes and dislikes, their shopping habits, which websites they visit, and their personal interests. Digital marketing can teach you precisely who your ideal customers are and the best way to reach them. By monitoring, tracking and analyzing your campaign, you’ll get a much clearer picture of exactly who your target audience is — making your campaigns precise, focused and with a guaranteed success rate.

Today’s Consumers Are Digitally Savvy — Even If Your Business Isn’t

Ninety-five percent of shoppers surveyed in a recent poll from Northwestern University have indicated that online reviews played a significant role in their purchasing decisions. Not only that, but it’s been estimated that retail e-commerce sales will reach in excess of $203 billion by the end of 2019 alone. If your business isn’t paying attention to these trends, you’re missing out on a substantial part of your potential customer base. However, it’s not enough to simply offer a mobile optimized website. Your entire marketing campaign should be entirely aligned with the mobile shopping experience. Digital marketing isn’t simply about offering an attractive website or maintaining a social media presence. It’s about adapting to the frequently changing digital landscape. That means adapting to customer demands — whether you’re prepared to or not.

The Best ROI For Your Business?

Email marketing alone has been known to generate up to $38 for every $1 spent. In terms of your ROI, that’s approximately 3800 percent. On email alone. PPC through Google AdWords has an average return of $2 for every $1 spent. That’s a return of 200 percent, with a 50 percent higher conversion rate than organic web traffic. This encompasses  48 percent of users, and those are just two aspects of digital marketing. This doesn’t address aspects like content marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing, responsive design, And chat bots… all of which can be implemented for a fraction of the cost you’d find with traditional marketing — usually for less than $10,000.
But if it’s only ROI you’re concerned about, you’re missing the point. The key to the success of any business has been marketing and innovation. The question is: which side are you on?
For over a decade, I’ve been helping businesses leverage digital marketing strategies towards guaranteed success. I can help yours as well. Find out more at Michael Tasner.