Why is it important to be online in 2023?

In the modern age, there’s a wide variety of tools available to market your business. While sometimes it’s best to use traditional forms of advertising like billboards, roadside signs and bus shelter advertising, many have chosen to promote their work primarily through a digital platform, like a website, blog or social media page. The abundance of choice and variety may seem like an advantage, but it can easily become challenging to decide how to promote your work. In this blog, we’ll compare the advantages of digital marketing to the more traditional forms of promotion.

Digital Marketing

Digital platforms like websites, blogs and social media pages generally allow businesses to reach a wider and more diverse audience than traditional methods. Additionally, digital marketing is typically more cost-effective than traditional methods, making it a great choice for smaller businesses.

The main advantages of digital marketing come from its interactive and comprehensive nature. Through websites and social media platforms, your customers can communicate openly with you through comments and direct messages, allowing them to give feedback — and for you to respond. People are often tired of the cold, corporate feeling of traditional marketing, whereas media like this allows you and your brand to come across as more engaging, genuine and human. Through posting quality content, you will oftentimes find that your following develops into a supportive community of people who look forward to your posts.

Most digital platforms include methods of tracking any success or shortcomings regarding the content you’ve posted and/or promoted. You can view the amount of likes it’s received, along with the number of comments and how many times it’s been shared. There are often  promotional tools available, allowing you to push your content to location-based, interest-based and demographic-based audiences. These tools can help you reach the most people as effectively as possible, allowing you to grow your following — and ultimately your online presence.

Other Forms of Marketing

Other forms of marketing, (like billboards, roadside signs and bus shelter advertising) are great ways to get your brand in the minds of as many potential clients as possible. Often, the pricing structure is based on exposure — which is likely very expensive for a location with worthwhile results. Alternatively, posters, pamphlets and brochures are relatively inexpensive ways to advertise more traditionally. But unfortunately, they’re likely to lose relevance after time, as they’ll often become discarded or blend into their surroundings.

Other traditional forms are a bit more hit or miss when it comes to targeting, as the tools most often found through digital platforms are difficult to recreate in the real world. Unless you have strong targeting in place, or your goal is purely to expose your name and face to the masses, you often won’t hit your preferred audience. It’s also difficult for them to communicate with you or gain any valuable information through your content, as you have to be selective with what you include.

Consult The Experts

It’s no secret. To set up an effective online presence is effortful and time consuming. To succeed in the digital space is crucial — and to do so, it’s a good idea to consult the experts. 

Delegating your content to a digital marketing agency like Virtual Roots can be a great way to promote your brand while still having the time to do what you do best. Don’t hesitate to reach out and set up a chat, as we’re passionate about what we do and eager to help you achieve your goals.