Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing for Small Business Owners

One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is getting new customers. 

Finding an affordable and consistent method for attracting new clientele is harder than you might think. 

Without a steady flow of customers, how will you make enough revenue to sustain your business?

To make sure your business doesn't go south, you need a strong digital marketing strategy. 

But this is easier said than done. Today, there is an unlimited number of options in traditional and digital marketing. 

Is investing in digital marketing really worth it? That's exactly the topic we'll cover in today's article. 

💻 What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is any type of marketing performed on digital channels, including:

• Your websites
• Other websites
• Search engines
• Social media
• Mobile apps
• Email 

We can divide digital marketing into two main categories - organic and paid. 

Organic marketing focuses on growing an audience naturally. It's done through content creation and social media engagement. 

It doesn't include direct advertising costs.

Search engine optimisation is a form of organic marketing. 

Paid marketing involves investing money in online visibility. It results in customers seeing your ads or sponsored content in search results. 

Google Ads are a good example of paid advertising. Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms usually offer paid options as well. 

These options expose your ads or sponsored content faster. But they're also less trustworthy than organic search results. 

🌟 How Can Businesses Benefit from Digital Marketing

It's no secret that people are spending more and more time online. 

Over 25 million Australians now regularly access the Internet. Out of that number, 20.80 million of them are active on social media. 

This equals 78.3% of the total population.

This gives businesses more than enough reasons to take advantage of digital marketing.

Digital marketing offers some unique advantages for small businesses. Traditional marketing can't match these advantages.

👍 Pros of Digital Marketing

Here are some of the top reasons small business owners should use digital marketing: 

1. Better targeting

As a small business owner, you should already know who is interested in your products or services. Digital marketing lets you choose who sees your ads based on a wide variety of demographics. This means you're only paying for targeted exposure. People who are most likely to buy from you will see your digital marketing efforts.

2. Dynamic content

Traditional marketing is expensive to set up and produce. But with digital marketing, you can give customers something new on a regular basis. This ensures brand awareness and engagement.

3. Customer communication 

Your customers want to be heard. Whether it's to sing your praises or tell their friends about a new product or experience they've had. Digital marketing lets you engage with your customers on a large scale. What's more, you can do so with limited resources.

4. Flexibility

In many industries, consumer interests change fast. Digital marketing lets you test new marketing messages, benefits, and features on a small audience. This will help you see if your customers will like your product/service. Once you've found the right combination, you can also scale your ads.

5. Cost-effectiveness

Digital marketing provides a cost-effective way to get in front of your repeat customers. You will be able to build your brand with them until they're ready to buy something again. Google and Facebook both offer retargeting programs for re-engaging existing customers.

👎 Cons of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing comes with some downsides as well.

Like with all forms of marketing, you can waste a lot of time and money if you don't know what you're doing. 

Here are some of the most common pitfalls of digital marketing for small business owners: 

1. Slow results

Some forms of digital marketing won't show significant results until some time has passed. Organic search engine strategies are a great example. When you first start, you may see zero new customers for months. But this can all change in an instant. 

2. Trial and error

Before you figure out how to use digital marketing effectively, you must be prepared for trial and error. This includes trying different approaches on various platforms before you find the right one. For example, you may need to create seven different versions of a Facebook ad. But only one will work. In most cases, the most effective ads are not the ones you would create in the beginning.

3. Frequent changes

Digital marketing changes much faster than traditional marketing. For example, Facebook made many changes to its policies on how you can market on its platform. You can't even buy paid ads for some products and services anymore.

‍

🌐 How Can Small Businesses Benefit from SEO?

Just like digital marketing, small businesses can benefit from SEO.

SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It's the process of making your website and its content search engine-friendly. 

Here are some benefits of SEO for small businesses:

• Increased website traffic
• Cost-effective marketing
• Improved local visibility
• Trust and credibility
• Better user experience
• Higher conversion rates
• Competitive advantage
• Long-term business growth

SEO helps small businesses rank higher on search engines. This drives more organic visitors to their websites.

SEO is one of the most cost-effective types of digital marketing. Some SEO efforts don't have to cost anything. 

Small businesses can especially benefit from local SEO. It helps businesses appear in local searches and Google Maps. 

It also helps attract nearby customers actively looking for their services.

High search rankings and quality content establish authority. This makes potential customers more likely to trust and choose the business.

SEO involves optimising website speed, mobile-friendliness, and navigation. It leads to a smoother and more enjoyable experience for visitors.

SEO attracts high-intent users who are more likely to become customers.

Small businesses that invest in SEO can compete with larger companies. They can do so by appearing in search results for potential customers.

With consistent SEO efforts, businesses can enjoy sustainable growth. They can also build increased brand recognition over time.

🌱 Is Digital Marketing Worth It?

When weighing the pros and cons of digital marketing for small business owners, we can say that it definitely pays off. 

This holds especially true for those with limited resources. It lets you reach a wider audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales.

Finding the right digital marketing strategy can be a game-changer. You'll start to see a steady flow of interested customers coming to your door every day.

If you're looking for reliable digital marketing services, look no further than RankRise. 

With a special focus on web design and SEO, we'll help put your business on the map. Get in touch if you want to know more.