The time to doubt digital marketing as a legitimate way to boost sales is far gone. This new age marketing method has been so effective that large businesses spend thousands of dollars every month to score and edge over their competitors. In fact, most businesses now have an incremental budget because of the high returns generated by their existing campaigns.
Thanks to the huge marketing budget of large companies, small business owners often think digital marketing is not for them. This is certainly not true. A digital marketing company can help local businesses like shops to get more customers at an affordable rate.
They usually start by making the local shops easily searchable on the internet. This allows people who are already searching for relevant products to find the store and make an enquiry. They also recommend creating a website or SEO optimizing an existing site. These are pretty much the foundational steps and good digital marketing companies can employ a long list of other strategies to inform customers about new offers or to create an online buzz about the shop.
However, a lot of small businesses are still reluctant to dip their toes in the digital marketing ocean. The following are 5 misconceptions small shop owners have that keep them from investing in internet marketing and SEO.
It’s Expensive
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Sadly, most business owners who say digital marketing is expensive do not hesitate to spend hundreds of dollars on outdated marketing tactics such as flyers and direct mailing campaigns. The reason why digital marketing is affordable is that it’s effective and it kind of pays for itself. This of course if managed by a professional digital marketing agency.
Social Media Marketing is Easy
It’s often assumed that social media marketing is just about creating a business page and posting regularly. There are plenty of lonely business pages of local businesses on Facebook which prove otherwise. Digital marketing companies hire social media marketing experts who implement proven strategies to get people excited about store offers.
Digital Marketing is for Businesses That Have Customers All Over the Globe
There is a relatively new marketing tactic called geotargeting. This marketing technology involves sending push notifications to customers who are near the business location and it has already proven to be extremely effective for local shops. While this is not the only way to target the local customers, this just goes to show how digital marketing can precisely target customers within a certain area.
Digital Marketing is Only Good for Online Businesses
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Online businesses do need digital marketing more than physical stores. However, that doesn’t mean local stores cannot benefit from internet marketing. In fact, it’s necessary. New generation customers have developed a habit of researching a store online before deciding to visit it or not.
Small Local Businesses Can Never Compete with Big Businesses Online
Small local shops actually have an advantage. People often have better response rates to social media campaigns that promote a local store. This is mainly due to the fact that they are bombarded with marketing messages from big brands all day long. Info about a local store in their neighborhood feels refreshing.