This article in The CMO Survey (CMO short for Chief Marketing Officer) reports that spending on traditional advertising is expected to decline in the coming years while spending on digital marketing is expected to increase significantly.
The percentage of budgets dedicated to mobile marketing and social media is expected to double or triple.
By 2019, more money will be spent on digital marketing than television advertising (broadcast and cable), according to this report by Forrester Research, Inc. The renowned market research company projects that $103 billion will be spent on digital marketing with the most money being spent on search marketing and the most growth in spending in social media marketing. The $103 billion figure also includes money spent on display advertising and e-mail marketing.
Every small business has marketing challenges -- budgeting is usually high on this list. But if you’re spending money on digital marketing, here are five tips on how to get the most for your spend:
1. Build Your Own Website
Many small business experts believe that you no longer need to hire an expensive website design company to produce a website that will be effective at selling products and services.
Today, you can use templates produced by website builders to build your own website. Here is Best 10 Website Builders’ review of 10 of them. Look at the prices. They’re very inexpensive. An expert interviewed by Entrepreneur magazine suggested looking at SquareSpace, Weebly, and Wix, all of which are Website Builders’ Top 10.
As long as you’re using best practices, building a website from a template should get you started.
2. Be More Mobile Friendly
Eighty percent of the growth in time spent on digital media platforms since 2013 has been on mobile apps, reports Entrepreneur magazine’s article “5 Ways to Be More Mobile-Friendly in 2017.”
At a time when User Experience is critically important, your website should accommodate screens of any and all sizes. Mobile-friendly websites also improve your search engine optimization (SEO) results. You can test how mobile-friendly your website is here.
3. Write Blog Articles Showing Your Expertise
Yes, time is money, but most entrepreneurs who have had small business marketing challenges can tell you that the time they spent showing their expertise through content and blog articles they wrote was worth it.
Many prospective customers don’t respond to “our products are great” blogs and pitches. However, they might be impressed if you were a construction industry executive who wrote an article that didn’t promote your company at all, but gave readers tips on how to build or repair a house. By providing help instead of selling your services you build a level of trust with prospective customers and can increase sales in the long run.
4. Find The Best Social Media Groups
“When social media is part of their buyer’s journey, customers tend to convert at a 129 percent higher rate,” reports “26 Essential Digital Marketing Statistics to Make Your Marketing Pop in 2017.” ”They are also four times as likely to spend significantly more than those without a social component.”
Keep track of how many leads come from posts on each social media platform you’re using. And just posting on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms isn’t enough. Find the group on each platform that will enable you to communicate with people who are the most interested in your industry.
Here’s how to find the right LinkedIn group.
5. Be Engaging
If you’re a marketing executive, try to persuade your company’s CEO to be personal and visible on your company’s website and social media platforms. Here’s why -- “approximately 80 percent of consumers say they develop a higher level of trust with brands that have a CEO that is visible on social media,” reports the article “Increase Qualified Leads With These 3 Digital Marketing Tactics.”
Engage and communicate with people who comment on the company’s blogs and social media posts and use a tone that represents the brand of the company. This is the best way to personify your brand and will ultimately help your prospects feel a connection to your company.
