As the internet becomes more and more saturated with businesses, it’s no longer enough to just put up a website. You need to advertise on digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. in order to compete for attention against larger companies that have higher budgets for digital marketing and implement in their digital advertising strategy.
For businesses like yours, the internet has radically changed how you do business. You can’t afford to be left behind in this digital revolution. And yet many small businesses are still refusing to take advantage of their biggest opportunity: the many types of digital advertising or digital marketing.
But if you don’t start using these services soon, it will only get harder for your company to compete with those who have already embraced them.
Here’s what you need to know about why more and more companies are turning away from traditional marketing methods and embracing the benefits of digital advertising instead.
Your Buyers Are Constantly on Digital Channels
Traditional marketing methods might work if your buyers were still limited to seeing your ad on, say, a billboard or the side of a bus.
But they aren’t.
Your customers are constantly online with their eyes glued to their smartphones, computers, and tablets. They are looking at lots of digital media advertising. And few things catch people’s attention like ads they see on digital channels like Facebook or YouTube.
So if you’re not advertising there, you’re leaving a huge chunk of your target market behind.
Your Competitors Are Advertising on Digital Channels
You might be the best barber in town and think that people will come to you regardless of whether or not you advertise. And for some businesses, that may be true.
But as digital advertising becomes increasingly popular, more and more businesses are starting to advertise on those platforms as well.
If even one of your competitors is doing it successfully, they’re essentially highlighting the benefits of their service over yours using someone else’s ad budget. If you don’t start using digital ads soon, people who would’ve bought from you end up going to them instead.
Digital Lets You Target the Buyers Who Matter
One of the most frustrating aspects of advertising is that you have no idea whether your efforts are paying off or not.
How do you know whether or not people are actually seeing that billboard? Or even worse, how can you tell if anyone cares about it? With traditional marketing methods, there’s just no way to ever really find out.
Digital ads provide a solution to this problem because you can target these ads very precisely on Facebook and other platforms, allowing you to spend your budget on the people who care about it most.
And with some digital advertising, you can even track how many of those people took action as a result of seeing your ad, letting you see exactly how well your ads are performing.
Another problem with traditional marketing methods is that you waste a lot of money on impulse buys. Some people like to drive around and look at billboards, but plenty more would rather not see them at all because the timing isn’t right for them to make a purchase.
With digital marketing services, you can target ads specifically to people who you know are already looking for what you’re selling.
Provides Flexibility Across Channels
Another advantage is that you can advertise on various platforms with one successful digital marketing campaign.
In the past, if you wanted to run an online ad campaign, for example, you’d need to hire a social media advertising manager and then depend on them to use your company’s money wisely and fit it into your existing workflows.
But with some digital advertising, you can create your campaigns yourself and manage them yourself as well. This lets you put all of your ads into one system so it’s easier to track their performance.
If you want to add a billboard ad in the future, for example, you could easily do that from within the same platform without needing to recreate your entire ad or hiring someone new to manage it.
This also makes it easy for you to pull data from various channels into one place. So if you want to see how people are responding to your Instagram ads, for example, instead of having to log into several different accounts, all of that information could be in the same system.
Encourage Mobile Engagement
Mobile consumerism is here to stay, and people are checking their phones an average of 63 times a day.
With this in mind, it’s becoming more and more important for businesses to be able to market their products through mobile devices. Digital ads give you the option to create engaging ads that display well on any size screen. And with some ads, you can even have people click directly to your website.
Prominent Ad Placement
Another thing that many traditional businesses are starting to realize is that one billboard or magazine ad isn’t always enough to get the word out there. That’s why some digital advertising offers prominent ad placement on websites and apps. This lets you increase your visibility to people surfing the internet.
Faster to Market
If you’re a small business, you may not have a lot of money to spend on your marketing efforts. Or maybe you don’t have the time to dedicate to creating unique content every week or month for your ads.
In other words, if you want to get in front of people’s eyes, it could take weeks before you see the benefits.
Digital ads, on the other hand, can be up and running in a matter of hours from start to finish. Digital advertising makes it easy for you to get ads out there with limited resources or time constraints.
And because this kind of marketing doesn’t require a lot of upkeep, if you decide to add new products to your line or stop selling one of your items, you can quickly change up your ads to match that shift in marketing strategy without throwing out the entire campaign.
You Get to Build Your Own Brand
An important part of working with digital advertising is having control over what kind of brand you present to the public.
If your business is all about luxury, for example, you may want to use ads that are geared toward professionals with a lot of money. Or if your company is more laid back, something like Instagram ads may be better suited for you.
These services also let you control the kind of language that’s being used in your ad campaigns, which can help match your message to the right audience.
Easily Measurable
Because digital ads are so streamlined, you have the ability to easily track your ad’s performance.
You can keep track of how many people clicked through your links, for example, or see how many people visited your retail location after seeing an ad online. Some advertising services even let you track which social media platforms are most effective for driving traffic to your site.
By being able to measure your digital marketing campaigns’ success or lack thereof, you can adjust expenses or revamp ads as needed so that they’re on track for a positive ROI.
Maintains Top-of-Mind Awareness
Last but certainly not least, these ads help keep your business top of mind for your audience.
Even if someone doesn’t click to see your website, they’ll still feel like they know what you’re up to. And that means that when they’re finally ready to make a purchase or improve their lives in some way, whether it’s getting a massage or buying a new car, they’ll think of you.
Successfully running your business requires maintaining visibility in front of your customers. Digital advertising helps you accomplish this goal easily and affordably by getting your ads out there to the people who are most likely to respond to them.
In Conclusion
This ultimately means that no matter what size your company is, or how much time or money you have to invest in marketing, online advertising is a great way to get your brand’s voice out there so that people know what you’re all about.
If you are looking to grow your small business, you should look at our digital advertising services.
At our digital marketing agency DF Studios, we create custom digital advertising campaigns to help you achieve your unique goals.
Let us show you how our experienced marketers can help you increase brand awareness and drive more traffic to your website. Contact us today for more information.
