Having an online presence can actually make or break a small business. Digital marketing is not just an option in the modern business world, it is a necessity. Customers need to be able to find your website with a quick Google search, and your website needs to be updated and informative. Even if you aren’t offering something that can be sold online, like haircutting services, you still need your customers to be able to find you there.
Another important part of your online presence is the social media marketing aspect. Not only do you need to have a well-developed website, but you also need to have a presence on one or more social media sites. Here are five reasons why having an internet presence is so important for small businesses.
It Makes You More Accessible
As a business owner, you always want to add more customers or clients because that is essentially how you make money. Digital marketing is an important part of the acquisition efforts.
Especially when you consider the fact that your competition is likely enhancing their online presence and stepping up their social media marketing efforts. You will be left in the dust if you can’t at least match those efforts. Your potential customers are looking for you on the internet, it is necessary that you be more accessible to them by having a presence.
It Grows Your Audience
No matter what type of business you have, a solid online presence will grow your audience or your customer base. The more people that check out your website or interact with your social media posts, the more customers you are going to gain.
If you have physical products that your selling, an online presence opens up a customer base outside of your immediate vicinity. Just because you are a small business located in a tiny town in Florida doesn’t mean you can’t ship products to a customer in Oregon. The wider your audience, the wider your customer base.
It Grows Customer Trust
Your digital marketing efforts should help you build brand recognition which in turn leads to a more trusting customer base. You can use your online presence to establish your business as an expert in the field, and as a resource that your customers can trust. This will make them turn to you again and again when they require your type of expertise instead of seeking other sources.
It Serves as Free Marketing
Social media marketing can be a real boon to your business because it can be a free method of spreading the word about your offerings or products. There are plenty of ways of marketing a business, and the majority of them will take some sort of budget. Yet, you can use social media to help build a brand without having to pay a dime (although you can increase your efforts with a little bit of a budget!)
It Helps You See What Works
If you properly track your digital marketing efforts, you can get some pretty handy metrics that show you which kinds of campaigns work and which fall a little flat. You can see in fairly close to real-time how a particular ad is playing with your customer base or if a particular video is garnering interest. It is a form of instant marketing that is not really available in any other medium.
Organically Can Help!
We know that the entire world of digital marketing can be a bit confusing for small business owners, especially since they have to wear so many hats to keep things up and running. Partnering with the team of social media marketing experts at Organically allows you to focus on the things that you do best, running your business!