Okay, So Why is Going Digital Important?

Written on 04 August, 2015 by Natasha ONeill
Categories Marketing
touch screen graph on a tablet

There are over 21 million (and growing) internet users in Australia. The potential reach and visibility for YOUR business in the online space is unprecedented. There is a vast wealth of consumers out there, just the click of a mouse or the swipe of an iPhone away. Not to mention, your competitors are most likely engaged in some form of digital media, which definitely means you should too!

On a daily basis, people consume themselves in digital content from emails at work to online shopping and social media at home. Just take a look at the mobile statistics that we all see every week in the latest edition of PPC Hero, Ad News or Search Engine Land “91% of Americans have their phones within reaching distance all day” and “the average user checks their phone up to 150 times a day”.

With a projected 26 billion gadgets by the year 2020 (Gartner, 2014) including smartphones, tablets, watches, eyeglass, appliances and shoes, it comes as no surprise that digital tactics could soon replace the more traditional, and somewhat outdated, forms of marketing.

It is this “scalability” that sets digital marketing apart. Let’s draw a direct comparison with a traditional form of advertising – the classic billboard. This would likely involve purchasing a board from an agent and working with a creative team to complete your design. Once the board is erect and positioned there is no means of tracking footfall or customer engagement. If your customer purchases your product as a direct result of your board, it is difficult to track the correlation and thus return on investment. There are no real time analytics to provide any business insight i.e. footfall increased at 1.00pm and at 3.00pm customers stopped to take note of the messaging details and pricing information.

Now let’s say you are considering a form of digital media instead. If you’re considering running a Facebook Ad and want to drive sales, you have the ability to target a mass audience in seconds. You’re able to measure the performance of that particular ad and understand user metrics and interactions such as “clicks” i.e. how many people clicked and interacted with your message, but more importantly, you can see if those people “converted” and actually bought something online.

You can then take this insight and re-apply it to your ongoing marketing efforts. Unlike the billboard, through a Facebook Ad, you can work out the best times to advertise. If footfall increases through more clicks at 1.00pm then run more ads at this time in the future. You’re able to reach a more targeted audience, tailor ads with highly relevant messaging and pause under-performing campaigns.

Now with the advent of digital media, businesses can target customers through a range of online channels (PPC, SEO, display networking, social, video and more). The beauty of digital marketing is that any business, whether established or a start-up, can utilise any of the above channels with minimum investments.
What’s more impressive is that you’re able to measure the return on investment compared to tradition marketing. Online conversion tracking and Google Analytics are incredible tools that allow us to measure specific goals you want your company/website to achieve.

So, there you have it. If you’re not convinced yet, I bet in a few years (or months) you will be!

If you need any assistance connecting with your consumers on the internet, driving leads and sales, stimulating traffic or just preparing your business in the ‘internet of things’, then Webcentral is here to help. Call now on 1300 663 995.

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