Marketing no longer has to be as expensive as a television ad or as simple as a flyer — digital marketing allows many small businesses to reach target audiences effectively and efficiently. But which ones are best for your business? Breaking down the pros and cons of each option is essential to creating a successful digital marketing plan for your business. Here are some top marketing channels to consider, along with the good and not-so-good about each option.
Social media
The Pros
Social media can be incredibly cost effective — a few dollars can reach a few hundred people. Targeting tools also make it easy to reach the right audience. That low price can make it easier for even small businesses to create brand awareness by regularly taking out ads, rather than purchasing only one more expensive ad. Social media also has a whole host of tools for working with ads and many platforms offer more than one type of ad.
The Cons
While affordable, creating a social media ad or even organic post that users don’t just scroll past is an art form in itself. Crafting a clickable post can be tricky. And while social media has built-in metrics, those don’t measure factors like how much each user clicked on that ad spent.
SEO
The Pros
Ranking on major search engines is a huge boast to businesses, driving not just any traffic, but customers who are actually looking for what you have to sell. SEO can also be organic, where you don’t even pay for an ad (though buying a search ad is another option too).
The Cons
SEO is so complex that managing it is a job title for a single person. Algorithms change all the time, and while there are a few simple changes most small business owners can do, it’s hard to compete with the companies that have teams for SEO experts ensuring their company is the top result.
The Pros
Email marketing can be particularly effective because it reaches out to people who are already interested in your store offering. Email is also an affordable way for you to build your brand identity by regularly putting your brand and contact points out there. Sending the emails itself isn’t terribly expensive, but hiring a trained expert to write the email can be costly.
The Cons
No one wants more junk mail — which means building up an email list can be time-consuming. Like SEO, there’s also some tricks to writing effective sales emails that may make hiring a expert a wise option.
Web ads
The Pros
Web ads mix the best of traditional print ads with digital, offering a place to create a catchy graphics, but with the perks of links, video, and analytics. Many types of web ads are pay per click — which means you don’t pay for all those people who are scrolling past without even noticing the ads. Cookies and other tech can also help show web ads to people who might actually be interested in what you are selling.
The Cons
Web ads can be tough to design and tough to stand out with. Some users even block ads from the websites they are visiting whenever possible. Customers are less likely to click on web ads than they were in the past.
As you can see there are many varying options available to you and your business. Take a moment to 1: Step Back 2: Reflect 3: Think about the customer you are trying to reach.