Digital advertising has definitely increased it's effectiveness since the days of untargeted spam pop-ups. Now, behavioral, geographic and demographic targeting have made digital marketing very effective - especially on mobile. While marketing that actually brings in conversions en-masse was confined for the most part to only the most affluent advertisers, thanks to higher levels of targeting, even small businesses can now benefit from precise marketing.
Granularity is key when building campaigns on a small digital marketing budget. Layering in multiple 3rd party segments helps refine customers down to only those that are most interested in a business' products or services. For example, an auto dealer could layer in 3rd party data to find in-market buyers, and target directly to those users to make the most of their digital marketing spend.
The challenge for small businesses is to make sure that they eliminate anything that makes buying something on their website difficult. Everything must load quickly and correctly, or the momentum created by digital marketing gets lost when the user hits a site or landing page. Calls to action must be obvious and easy to use, even on a mobile device. Businesses should have a click-to-call option on the mobile version of their website.
Digital marketing has areas where it is acceptable to have a longer message, but companies should be aware that this doesn't work as well on mobile, and that a concise version of their message might be a better way to gain conversions. Because most users browse and shop on mobile devices, campaigns should optimize for mobile first and work backwards to ensure a comparable experience on desktops and laptops, rather than the other way around.
Digital marketing is complicated, but with some targeting and mobile-optimized campaigns, a business can thrive regardless of advertising budget. What are some other ways small businesses can get ahead in today's marketing climate?
Comments