In today’s digital landscape, marketing your business online is a necessity. While it’s important to have a website and to post on social media, these aren’t the only things you should focus on.

As a business, the time to start incorporating digital marketing into your overall strategy is now. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, digital marketing isn’t optional anymore (especially with how COVID-19 increased the use of the internet, both for consumers and businesses). 

In this blog, I’m going to explain the importance of online marketing and why you should seriously consider focusing on digital.

Business Models Aren’t the Same

In the early days of marketing, everyone thought promoting their business in the Yellow Pages of the phone book was the best option (and maybe they were right).

However, business models have changed with the growth of technology. Not only has technology improved, but so have the people who use it!

To keep up with this rapidly changing environment, some businesses have been proactive with their marketing and fully incorporated digital tactics into their marketing strategy.

Let’s look at Uber or Lyft, for example.

Back before smartphones and the internet, consumers had to call a cab company to pick them up. Now, with the advancement of technology, consumers can simply download an app, request a ride, pay for their ride and arrive at their destination without speaking a single word.

And guess what? This is what consumers want!

With the power of the internet, businesses across the world can use many digital tools and resources at their disposal (quickly and easily, too).

As a business owner, you need to step outside your comfort zone and embrace a new business model as the world continues to shift. Being reactive to digital marketing will only leave you behind your competitors.

While focusing on Uber or Lyft is an extreme example of how technology and marketing can affect a business or industry, it can also happen to local businesses or multi-location brands.

How to Take Advantage of Digital Marketing

Now, before you dive in, it’s important to understand there’s a difference between having a digital marketing strategy and being present online.

When you think about digital marketing, you must think long term and have a plan in place. This includes local search, review marketing, paid advertising and social media as some of the top strategies.

Local search is the foundation of your digital presence (if your budget for marketing is minimal, start here), review marketing is the new word-of-mouth, paid advertising can help you generate leads online (at a cost) and social media is a way to engage with your followers and grow your brand.

As mentioned before, simply being online isn’t enough. For example, when you’re creating a local search strategy, it’s essential that you make sure your listings are claimed, optimized and updated regularly.

Consumers can suggest edits to your Google My Business (GMB) listing. While Google will work to cross-reference your information, it can become out of date quickly if it’s not monitored.

Having a GMB listing and never checking it again does not count as a strategy.

Ultimately, you’ll want to have a comprehensive digital marketing strategy so your campaigns work together, which will end up saving you time and money in the long run.

However, keep in mind that marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your strategy should be based on your unique business. Copying another business’s strategy and hoping it sticks isn’t ideal.  

Marketing takes trial and error. Just because your first paid advertising campaign didn’t bring in any leads doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again. Learn from how and why you failed before to leverage future success!

Your budget also plays a big factor in how your marketing progresses (this is especially true with paid advertising). Evaluating your budget needs to happen on a regular basis.

Also, if your industry is competitive, be prepared to spend more on your digital marketing.

What all this boils down to is that you can’t half-heartedly focus on your marketing. Campaigns that are created to just “exist” won’t perform well and may end up hurting your business and deterring consumers.

As the world changes, your marketing will need to adapt.

Final Thoughts

Digital marketing is no longer optional in today’s technological age.

Due to business models changing and consumers wanting information at the push of a button, you can’t afford to ignore your business’s online presence.

Taking advantage of digital marketing will help your business, but you can't “set it and forget it.”

As industries change, updates occur and new trends emerge, it’s essential to have an ongoing, ever-evolving strategy. We know that can be a lot to handle, which is why we want to take your digital marketing off your plate.

At RevLocal, we help local businesses and multi-location brands improve their digital presence with a personalized approach to digital marketing. We take the time to learn about you and your business so we can make educated decisions based on your marketing needs, current trends and best practices.

Stop letting your competitors get all the local business. Request a free analysis of your business’s online presence today and find out which strategies work for you!