The Importance of Digital Marketing for Small-Scale Digital Business
After entering the digital era, many entrepreneurs of various scales have ventured into digital business. This is inseparable from the fact that there are many internet users, including in Indonesia. In order to reach them and promote effectively, digital marketing is the right solution, especially for small entrepreneurs with limited promotional costs.
Digital marketing allows digital businesses to do massive and scalable marketing. That is why promotional efforts are more effective because they are able to reach the right target market. That way, marketing costs tend to be more efficient but still able to obtain optimal results. In addition, digital marketing also makes it easier for business people to measure business performance from available data. This advantage will make it easier for you to know which areas need to be improved and maintained in the business.
This reason makes digital marketing the most appropriate marketing effort to develop a small-scale digital business. So how does your business take advantage of digital marketing?
Digital Marketing Preparation for Small-Scale Digital Business
There are at least five preparations you need to do so that your digital marketing strategy can run effectively and efficiently:
Prepare Digital Assets
Digital assets are media or places where you promote and sell products through the internet. For example, creating an online store in the marketplace, relying on the WhatsApp Business application to connect with the target market, or relying on social media as a medium for selling as well as interacting with the target market and consumers. This asset is indispensable for digital businesses as a platform to carry out marketing activities.
Even though there are many digital assets available, that doesn’t mean you need to use all of them. Choose the most effective for your digital business so that promotional activities are more targeted and don’t waste time.
Promotion Plan
After determining the digital assets to be used, it’s time for you to plan a promotion or campaign. The promotion plan can start by determining which digital assets to optimize. After that adjust the plan with the type of digital asset.
Platform-based Content Production
The type of content to be created needs to be carefully planned. For starters, determine the content based on the platform you choose to promote your digital business. Remember that each platform has its own characteristics, so first identify the characteristics of each platform before you choose.
For example, Instagram which focuses more on visual content will attract users who enjoy this type of content. Then there is YouTube which serves a variety of video content of various durations which caters to users by teaching them how to make YouTube videos with Adobe Express and make the most impact with their viewers. There is also TikTok which is favored by users who like short, interesting content. Marketplace also has different characteristics, depending on demographics and what products you offer.
In essence, your digital business needs to know the characteristics of each platform used. After that, determine the right content to attract the target market and consumers.
Cost
This budget is needed to carry out paid digital marketing promotions. If you want to advertise on digital platforms or collaborate with influencers, there are certain costs that need to be prepared. Because small-scale digital businesses have a limited budget, make sure the funds allocated are on target.
Learn Competitor Activities
Pay attention to what kind of marketing methods your competitors are applying. Indeed, not all competitor strategies can be applied, but at least you can study their movements. If possible, you can even apply it in your digital business.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid in a Digital Marketing Strategy
Running a digital marketing strategy seems easy. With internet capital, interesting content, and digital assets, your digital business can promote. Even though it seems easy, not a few business actors are careless and end up making mistakes. As a result, the costs they spend on promotions are wasted. Not to mention the time invested in creating content is not paying off.
The following five common mistakes are often made by digital business people when running promotions. Among others:
Improper Strategy
Developing plans and strategies is the first step that needs to be done so that marketing objectives can be achieved. The plan also needs to be prepared specifically, starting from what products will be marketed, the platforms used, to the demographics of the target market. Unfortunately, not a few digital business people miss the details of this process. They only focus on reaching as many users as possible without thinking about whether the product is what they are looking for. In the end, even strategy cannot be run optimally and even a waste of time and energy.
Not Understanding Prospective Customers
Your product will not be noticed if you offer it to the wrong people. That’s why understanding your target market is so important that you can meet their needs. Understanding potential customers doesn’t mean you need to change an existing product. The solution is to adjust the packaging and create interesting content.
Ignoring Performance Measurement
Digital marketing is not only about promotion, but also on performance measurement or the matrix of the promotion itself. This measurement contains information about how much traffic you get, the number of audiences who are aware of your brand, how many of them are looking for information about your brand, and how well your marketing strategy is performing. When used, the matrix or measurement can also provide an opportunity to improve your business. However, not a few digital business people ignore these measurements so that they fail to develop their business.
Ignoring the Story-telling Aspect
Content is an important element in digital marketing. Whether written or visual, content must contain a story that can influence the target market to take the action you expect. If you ignore this, the target market will not understand the intent of the content you create. Moreover, they will also find no benefit from the content.
Website Pages Are Not Neat and Complete
A good website has a clear landing page and call to action (CTA). In addition, the website must also make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for. A good website also has a blog as a place to share information, contact people who can be contacted, and a nice view. If you ignore these aspects, visitors will not feel comfortable surfing on your website. They won’t even be interested in finding out more about your brand.
