It’s Not About The Money: 10 Benefits of Online Marketing
Why do you want to invest in online marketing? A common answer we hear is that it is a cheaper avenue for investment, which makes it easier for small businesses to compete. Though this answer is technically correct, it really misses the point of online marketing and the truly unique features it offers. Yes, you are able to enter some online avenues with a fairly limited budget, but the old saying still holds true: You get what you pay for. Instead of basing your decision on price alone, here are 10 great reasons to invest in online marketing. Your strategy will be far more successful if you focus on maximizing on these benefits rather than simply reducing cost.
Online marketing gives you the ability to market directly to your customers because you have full control over where and when your ad will be placed, and in front of whom. Though you can pick targeted avenues with traditional media, they are incomparable to the amount of targeting available thanks to big data and digital marketing.
We, as modern marketers, are spoiled by the amount of data available to us today. Thanks to online marketing we can track who interacted with our campaign, to what degree, at what time, on what device, from what source, and from where. Some resources even allow us to learn the online habits and personality of the people responding to our ads. This tracking only improves over time; as the number of campaigns you send out increases, the more accurate your data will be.
Online media has far more reliable measurement tools than traditional media, as costs are measured based on actual interactions with ads instead of estimated reach. Payment models such as Cost-Per-Click and Cost-Per-Visit mean that you can directly associate costs with revenue, and have a far more accurate ROI than previously possible. However, some margin of error still exists, as a consumer may purchase your product as a result of years of advertising, though not directly associated with a campaign.
Digital Media allows you to post customized ads that are targeted to different audiences, search results, and topics, meaning that the consumers are seeing ads that are more tailored to them, and are more likely to convert. Many ad venues allow for ads with variable fields allowing you to input specific search terms, or even the consumer’s name into your ads.
At some point in every person’s life, their parents will tell them not to play with their food: this is because everyone loves to play, engage and interact with what’s in front of them! Online marketing allows marketers to send interactive and engaging ads to their clients. It can be something as simple a click, or as complex as a mobile app.
Online advertising does not need to be static; it can be a dynamic video, or even a photo with subtle background movement. In this day and age, we often take the value of motion for granted, but it is an extremely useful tool to draw the attention of consumers. It also allows for more detailed information to be provided while still being easily consumed.
Automation not only makes your job easier, but it also allows you to immediately respond to customer interactions. Many marketing automation softwares allow you to track your website traffic and send emails to your customers immediately after a certain interaction, providing them with more information about a product, reminding them to complete a purchase, or to even sign up for a webinar on a relevant topic. Automation also helps you manage long term interactions with a customer, thanks to long term rules, such as calls-to-action set 3 months after a certain interaction.
It is very simple to update graphics and messages on online channels, and very quick to set up new campaigns. This allows you to take advantage of AB testing, and respond to cultural phenomena in a hurry. Is there a big snowstorm on the way? Start promoting your winter boots. Did a no-name athlete just break a world record? Promote their memorabilia right away!
The internet allows you to reach more customers than ever before. It doesn’t matter where your business is located, you can access consumers from around the world! With traditional media, the consumer has to come to you, but online marketing allows you to go to your consumer.
This point may seem like it’s referring to online marketing being less costly, but look deeper. CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) for online marketing is far cheaper than traditional media, which is great if you are just concerned with quantity. But there is a reason it is cheaper; the quality of the view is inferior to that of traditional media. There are various reasons for this, a few being that consumers may question the legitimacy of the online ads and so disregard them, conversion rates are lower for certain channels, and some channels calculate views ineffectively. So a lower CPM doesn’t mean you save money, it means you get a bigger reach with the same investment. Invest a healthy budget in online marketing and reach a wider audience than you would otherwise achieve.
Are you interested in improving your online marketing initiatives? BTI’s new subsidiary, Web Toaster, has great online marketing packages for any budget or business. Take advantage of these great benefits, and start developing an online marketing strategy today!
