In today’s world, in which almost any consumer is making decisions using the internet as an indispensable tool at least three hours a day on average, it is no longer a question of whether digital marketing is necessary but how can you effectively reach your target audience by making the internet work with and for you and your business.
Regardless of the size or the type of your business, digital marketing is critical for you in today’s environment in which, according to 2021 data, global retail e-commerce sales were expected to surpass 4.7 billion US dollars.
Proving that it is becoming an increasingly lucrative option for businesses, global e-commerce sales came to a total of $4.9 trillion worldwide in 2021 but it is expected to continue growing over the next few years and exceed $7.3 trillion by 2025.
Bringing Down the Myths
Despite all the things said above, many small business owners believe they don’t need to worry about engaging with their customers digitally but that is a myth that needs to go into history considering the pace at which marketing technology is changing.
Whether you’re selling your product or service online or not, it is a fact that your target audience spends some time online every day so being agile and updating your digital skill set and go-to-market strategies are a must if expecting success.
One must be aware that in this age of digital transformation, the competition for audience attention is becoming fierce so no wonder entrepreneurs are trying to leverage digital marketing along with other key business strategies.
Tailored marketing efforts and digital marketing tools’ use
The key step toward building your brand or company profile in the digital world would be to implement and manage effectively the digital marketing strategy in order to reach your target audience with the right message, at the right place, and at the right time.
The first sound advice you’ll get from the marketing experts is to deploy social media marketing, email marketing as well as digital display advertising, all of which are effective but require the same marketing knowledge base, and there are also other marketing channels, such as SEO, for example, you can tailor to meet specific needs and reach everybody’s attention by casting a wider net.
However, there are also some self-service tools available that allow novice, small business owners to take advantage of some powerful tools.
What’s important when it comes to digital marketing is to be selective for the sake of clarity and effectiveness since not all social media channels are right for every business model and for the different groups of people it’s trying to reach.
Rely on your knowledge and skills
Having in mind the number of existing digital marketing tactics to learn, set a budget for, and spare efforts you sometimes don’t have much time for, it often makes more sense to consult an agency, which isn’t always affordable, or simply keep the focus on your business instead.
One of the options you still have at hand if you don’t have the time or the desire to learn all the digital marketing platforms or enough money to hire an agency is to only use one digital marketing tool, such as audience targeting, for example, that will help you create targeted digital campaign that will lead you toward the specific ideal customer and demographic for your product or service
Your audience is out there waiting for you to reach them, so you can also consider taking advantage of the ability to self-direct your campaigns, messaging, and budget.