If you run your own business, then the chances are that you’ve already invested in a marketing strategy. Whether that’s printing leaflets to post around town, taking to Twitter to engage with your audience or handing out business cards at networking events – every little marketing technique can help your business reach new customers. But when it comes to digital marketing – which ranges from social media and pay-per-click advertising to video blogging and PR campaigns – it can be difficult to know where to begin. Indeed, you may even think that it’s not worth splashing the cash on the internet. Here’s a lowdown on the pros and cons of doing so.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is the process of promoting your product or service through the internet. You can use a variety of electronic channels – like advertising, social media and content creation – to market your brand online, and many businesses choose to mix their marketing across different channels for maximum effect. You may, for example, want to run a blog, and then promote your content on social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
Does your small business have a strong digital presence?
Almost every business has an online presence now, but that doesn’t mean your brand is actually ‘online’. Unless you sell products and services online or at least offer a way for customers to purchase through you, you may be better off avoiding a digital marketing strategy. There’s little point in driving traffic to your website if you can’t convert your visitors into customers.
One of the best ways to fix this is to open an online store. Whether you go through a reputable web designer or rely on a service such as WooCommerce or Shopify, it’s easy to post your goods and services online and rank on search engines and social media.
Do you have the budget to invest in digital marketing?
Let’s face it – small businesses have less money to spend on marketing than their larger competitors. Before embarking on a digital marketing strategy, you should consider whether or not you can realistically afford it. One of the best ways to decide whether digital marketing is right for you is to experiment.
Take a month off of advertising in the local newspaper, or cut back on the number of flyers you print, and use that money to invest in social media marketing. Marketing on your own is all about trial and error – play around with different techniques to find one that works for your business.
Can you keep up with the latest digital marketing trends?
Getting to grips with the latest technologies and innovations in the digital sphere isn’t easy. We’re all capable of setting up a social media account and writing a blog post, but do you have the time to follow the trends and research into your industry on a regular basis? If not, you may decide that digital marketing isn’t for you – or you may want to hand over the responsibility of your marketing to a third party digital marketing agency. That way, you’ll be working with an accountable team that has experience and has the responsibility of delivering results to keep you happy.
Do you have a strategy for growth?
If you’re hungry for growth and development, you need to rely on digital marketing to propel your company into the future. Whether you want to increase profit margins, boost sales or just improve brand awareness, promoting your business online can help you reach more customers – not only in the United Kingdom, but also around the world.
With a strong digital marketing strategy, it’s easy to outrank the big guns such as Amazon and eBay. If you’d like to work with a reliable and time-served digital marketing agency, contact the team at JAK. Get in touch on sales@jakinc.uk, call us on 0191 3882 698 or click here to visit our website.