I was recently working with a local technical guy who built a fantastic mobile app. However, he was not able to get customers and he wanted help to build his brand. A quick look at his website made it clear that the website is not doing any justice to his app. There was a need to have a good website that not only provides better insight into his product and services but also generates interest for the visitors. A visitor should feel interested in exploring the website and get engaged. A dull, boring website with insufficient and irrelevant content tends to drive away prospective customers.  What if a business does not have a website?? Well, that will make it difficult for a firm to create an identity and be competitive in today’s world!

Another aspect of digital marketing is Social Media presence. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat, LinkedIn and other social media platforms have been widely used, with YouTube and Facebook topping the charts. WhatsApp is getting very popular among startups in developing countries.

With the increased use of technology, customers seek a lot of information to become aware of products and services and evaluate, before making informed decisions. Search Engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and YouTube play a very important role in brand building.  For branding, it is important to be visible on search pages either organically or through paid campaigns.

Creativity is of the essence when it comes to branding. Brand recall rate will be high if people can remember your advertisement, brand name, logo, videos, or anything unique to the business. Creativity helps small businesses to penetrate new markets.

Market analytics is something that many small businesses are not aware of! It is the tool that helps businesses to get insight into the market, consumer behavior, competitors, sales, web traffic and much more. Marketing analytics helps businesses to plan or refine marketing strategies.  In digital marketing, firms start getting valuable research data within few months as compared to traditional market research which may take several years. It is important to note that the cost involved in digital marketing is a fraction of traditional marketing research and is more reliable.

Finally, many smart entrepreneurs are using digital marketing techniques for increasing brand awareness and sales with small investments.  Firms can decide on marketing strategies based on their business objectives and available budget.

Spend on digital marketing is increasing every year as is the number of startup companies. Firms with better techniques and creativity will be able to reach out to more prospective customers and grab the majority of market share.

What are you waiting for? Be smart, be digital ready!  Start working on branding today!!