You can’t afford to miss the one crucial point!

The pivot of all marketing strategies is a return on investment; the one factor that determines how much money you will be able to squeeze out of the finance department. Money spent without considering ROI is like shooting an arrow in the dark; you might hit or miss it, you never know.

Big giants with deep pockets prefer to spend on TV since it still has the highest penetration and return on investment. Studies have shown that TV creates the highest advertising-generated profit. The return, however, comes at enormous costs, which makes this medium inaccessible to small and medium enterprises. Thanks to the internet, these small businesses can leverage the power of digital marketing to generate revenue in a productive city like Austin.

If you are a small business owner, then here are some digital marketing strategies that will help you generate maximum revenue:

1.    SEO & PPC

Before you jump on to deploying any complex strategies, you need to have the basics right, which includes a website that looks professional. Take help from professional logo design services and get a logo that means something and make sure your theme is consistent across all platforms.

The fact today is that most of the people search for products or service online before making a purchase decision. Hence, you need to be present when people are looking for a product or service similar to yours.

SEO or search engine optimization ensures that you are there on Google. Working with an experienced SEO Sydney Agency can dramatically increase the quantity and quality of leads that you receive through organic web traffic.Most of the users do not even get past the first page on Google because they usually find what they are looking for, which makes SEO an essential digital marketing strategy.

PPC or pay-per-click is another impactful strategy that you can follow. While SEO is budget-friendly, PPC is like a paid auction. You bid on the keywords, and when people search for your keywords, your website shows up. You only have to pay when someone clicks on the ad. Statistics show that PPC visitors are 50 percent more likely to purchase a product than organic visitors.  

2.     Email marketing

Once you have built the foundation of your digital marketing strategy, you need to cultivate a relationship with your customers, and email marketing is the perfect way to do that. The best part about email marketing is that it is cheap and easy to use. All you need to do is build a database of customers and then make campaigns.  Various tools in the market let you automate your email marketing.

Moreover, what makes email marketing special is that you can add a personalized touch to your campaigns. Customers have become smart. They know when they are being spammed by advertisements. However, when businesses add a personal touch (simply by adding the recipient’s name), they make it more valuable to customers. Segmenting emails, based on customer’ interests, make it easier to customize.

The only part where you will have to put in a little bit of effort is in building the database. For that, you need to try and collect emails on all touchpoints. Some companies such as the Leather Skin Shop, prompt visitors to subscribe to newsletters or share their email in exchange of discount coupons.

3.    User-generated content

The simple truth in today’s era is that customers don’t like being advertised to. They are wary of being constantly bombarded with advertisements and companies bragging about themselves. No matter when you follow them, they will hit that ‘skip ad’ button if your ad annoys them.  You want to get hold of them, focus on the things that they can relate to, and enjoy watching.

The example Airbnb is quite relevant here. Airbnb has 3.4 million followers on Instagram only because instead of promoting the platform itself, the company promotes experiences of users and entices all sorts of travelers. Instead of offering simple accommodations, the company started offering experiences across the world and promoted them on Instagram. According to the company, bookings grew by 2000 percent.

User-generated content, no doubt pays a lot, but only if you avoid the common mistakes that most companies tend to make.

4.    Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is the latest trend in digital marketing. Instead of using celebrities that people don’t relate with, companies hire influencers. Influencers are ordinary people with a large number of followers on social media platforms. Customers tend to trust them more because they can relate to them.

The importance of influencer marketing can be seen from the fact that it is a $1.7 billion industry as of now, and it is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of 2020. This is probably because influencer marketing brings back handsome returns. For every $1 spent on influencer marketing, businesses can earn up to $5.25 earned media value.

Dunkin Donuts did an amazing campaign on National Donut Day. The objective of this campaign was to create awareness for the National Donut Day. Dunkin Donuts hired eight influencers who took over the food chain’s Snap Chat, and for around 24 hours, they shared content. The influencers urged the followers to visit the stores and take up the offer. Consequently, the campaign got ten times more followers, and the campaign reached around 3 million people and 40,000 engagement cases.

Are you doing it right?

With time, digital marketing has become the heart and soul of any company’s marketing strategy regardless of its revenue or size. However, to be successful with digital marketing, you need to have a solid plan. You need to be clear on your goals and objectives and subsequently the KPIs to measure the success of your campaigns. Being present on digital media just for the sake of it won’t do you any good. You need to go the extra mile and make sure you are providing value to your customers.