If you’ve ever thought digital marketing is too sophisticated for your business, you’ve come to the right place. As digital media usage continues to rise and evolve, it’s never been more important for businesses to leverage digital media in their marketing mix. From “organic social media” to pay-per-click advertising, digital media offers some of the most versatile and impactful marketing opportunities in advertising today.
Because digital marketing encompasses so many tactics and platforms, it can be easy to become overwhelmed or even scared away!
Small businesses sometimes shy away from digital and DOOH marketing because they’ve believed myths that simply aren’t factual:
Myth 1: Digital marketing is too high-tech for me
If technology isn’t your strongest suit, don’t fret. Digital marketing doesn’t require a degree in rocket science – though using the right technologies and platforms do require a bit of research, know-how, and some hard work.
Contrary to this myth, digital marketing is easily accessible for any business. Since digital marketing is simply marketing in the digital space, many of the same rules apply: strong messaging, great branding, and a targeted approach.
Still not sure you can do it yourself? Most large digital marketing tools, like Google Adwords or Facebook advertising, offer how-to documentation and tutorials to help you get started.
If you’re worried about the technical aspects digital signs, you can stop now. Today, all-in-one solutions like smart TVs are not only easy-to-use, but they also come at lower price points than in the past. With an all-in-one smart TV and a Wi-Fi connection, you can run digital ads on screens at a reasonable price without getting too technical.
Myth 2: DOOH is too cost-prohibitive
Sure, digital billboards are impressive, high-visibility vehicles for advertising but they’re not the only options when it comes to digital out of home (DOOH) advertising – and, even if they were, the prices may surprise you.
When it comes to DOOH, you’ll find opportunities at virtually every price point – from in-store kiosks and screens to train terminal moving billboards and large-scale outdoor arena digital signage. And, when you consider that in-store signage and kiosks has been proven to boost overall sales, the cost argument loses its steam.
Since digital signage is widely recognized as one of the most powerful forms of OOH advertising, it’s easy to see why it’s growing at a rapid rate. By employing the right strategies, you’ll be able to boost sales.
Myth 3: A website is enough of a digital presence
A website is great… but ultimately pretty useless if no one visits it, right? While your website can help customers understand your product or service offering, it provides only one-way communication in one place meaning you can only share your message if your audience has actively sought it out. Digital marketing can bridge this gap.
Search engine marketing (SEM) can leverage keywords associated with your business to push your audience to your website. Meanwhile, social media opens the lines of communication and allows you to truly connect with consumers in the digital space. Plus, since digital marketing provides tracking and reporting, you’ll be able to measure how effective your digital marketing tactics are in driving people to your website!
Myth 4: There are too many digital platforms to keep up with
If you look too closely, you’ll find more digital platforms than you can shake a stick at – which makes it easy to see why many businesses may worry they can’t keep up. But there are a few things to remember:
- Just like every person in a location won’t be your target audience, every digital platform won’t be the right fit for your business. Research platforms and identify those that make the most sense for you.
- It’s better to focus your energy than dilute efforts. If you choose a single platform or three, make sure your efforts are focused on the platform(s) you’ve selected. Create a strategy that envelopes any platforms you use, but don’t cannibalize your own audience(s).
- You don’t have to do everything up front. Begin with one platform, find what works, and then – if you’re ready – add another, and repeat. Your business is unique, and your approach to digital marketing should be, too.
Myth 5: You need to invest in many martech tools to be successful
If you really want to blow your digital marketing out of the water, you certainly need to invest in marketing technology (“martech”) but – similar to the digital platform question – you don’t need half a dozen to be successful.
Depending on your digital marketing strategy, you may need to invest in more than one martech tool but the investment needn’t be financially crippling. Whether you intend to leverage email marketing or Google adwords or a combination of both, research can help you identify the right tools for your strategy.
Since most martech tools offer tiered pricing based on factors like company size, number of recipients (email marketing) or the number of platforms (social media management tools), you can cost-effectively purchase based on your actual needs.
Myth 6: Our business is too simple for digital to be effective, word-of-mouth is enough
One of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing – word of mouth – will always be around, but as more and more people take their conversations online, that word-of-mouth marketing has become measurable. The beauty of digital marketing tools like social media lies in the ability to respond to, influence, and even create the conversations that make word of mouth marketing so impactful.
As you begin to dabble into digital marketing for your business, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. As digital continues to evolve and grow, you and your business’ marketing efforts will grow and evolve, too. Take the time to learn where your audience hangs out in the digital space, start there, and take it one step at a time. Once you’ve begun to view digital marketing as an extension of your traditional marketing mix, you’ll find many of the barriers you thought were there are broken down.
