Growing your business these days means investing in digital marketing. There are no ifs or buts. There is no in-between. Without digital marketing, you are doomed to fail. And yet, many businesses still fall into the same trap. They think that digital marketing isn’t for their audience or that small businesses don’t need one. But it’s 2021. It’s about time small businesses focus on competing with the biggest companies in the world with only a sound digital marketing strategy as their weapon.
But before small businesses can do that, they have to focus first on debunking some marketing myths that still hound the industry. These myths, when left to cultivate on their own, can become the poison that kills a company’s chances. The single-worst thing any business owner can do is deny that these marketing myths exist.
Your Customers Aren’t on Social Media
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Your customers are always on social media. Whether they are single or married, or educated or not, they are always on social media. You just don’t know how to find them. There used to be a time when real estate was not discussed on social media. Agents go out of their way to organize open houses in a bid to attract interest.
All that changed when the industry realized how to market real estate on social media. And more than that, banks are also talking about home loans on Facebook. There are now no limits to what can and cannot be discussed on social media.
The odds are that your audience is at least on one of the three major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If they’re not there, they’ll be at least on LinkedIn. Anyone who is not on these four platforms is either too incapacitated to hold a phone or living under the rocks.
Digital Marketing Isn’t for Small Businesses
The truth is that digital marketing is actually for small businesses primarily. Big companies can pay ad agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a marketing campaign that will expand that company’s clout. Ad agencies use a mix of traditional and digital marketing. But traditional ads are expensive, while digital marketing is the most cost-efficient method of promoting your business. The characteristics of digital marketing make it perfect for a small business to thrive.
A strong brand identity will help your business grow. If your company cannot be found in the digital space, you are losing a huge chunk of your audience. Forget about your budgetary worries for a while. A digital marketing campaign acts as your company’s receptionist and salesperson.
Email Marketing Doesn’t Work
Business owners will be shocked to know that email marketing remains to be one of the most effective methods of reaching your audience. It has a high return on investment since most people prefer to receive an email than a call or text message from businesses. Just how vital email marketing is in reality? About 77% of participants in one survey said they prefer to receive an email over direct mail (9%), text (5%), Facebook (4%), call (2%), Twitter (2%), mobile app (1%), and LinkedIn (0%).
You Need to Use All Social Media Channels
While there is nothing wrong with being on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all the others, you might be wasting your most valuable resources—time. The truth is that each of these platforms will require a different format of a marketing video, for example. Are you sure you want to waste your time reformatting videos and photos? Focus on the social media channel where your audience spends most of their time.
Give your undivided attention to two to three social media platforms. You don’t need to be on each one of these channels because your target audience is also confined to a few platforms. So, find out where they are and focus your attention on that.
Use Hashtags for Every Post
Have you seen posts that use a hashtag on every word of the sentence? This is the worst thing you can do for your digital content. While certain hashtags for events will join the conversation or thread together, it is not required for every content you post. Do you want your post to look like spam? No? Then, forget about using all the hashtags you can think of and focus on the meat of the message.
Debunking these marketing myths is essential for every business to flourish. Seek information from reputable sites and so-called experts. It is one thing to be extra careful with your branding, but it is another to miss out on your chances.
