More than ever before, businesses are tapping into everything the digital world has to offer. Studies show that internet usage by adults has risen by over five percent in the last three years.
This means that it is more important than ever to be sure your online marketing plan is ready to meet the needs of your clients.
Regardless of the type of digital marketing you decide to use, online marketing plays a huge role in the decisions people make when searching online. The objective of marketing is to connect with the right audience at the right place and time.
What is Digital Marketing?
Before we get into the details of digital marketing, it is important to understand exactly what it is.
Digital marketing refers to marketing measures made through the internet or other electronic means. Another word for digital marketing is online or internet marketing. Millions of businesses engage in digital marketing because it is often more cost-effective and easier to reach a large number of people.
Some of the most common digital marketing tactics include the following:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social Media Marketing
- Display Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Content Marketing
Using traditional marketing methods, businesses reached their audience using television, magazines, radio, direct mail, and events. Now that people spend more time online, marketers are moving to where their target audience is – online.
If you want to diversify your marketing plan to meet your target audience where they are, you should understand the benefits of digital marketing.
Top 7 Benefits of Digital Marketing
#1: It increases client loyalty through frequent communication
It costs more money to attract and convert a new client than it does to keep your current clients. Client loyalty is sometimes hard to establish, but it is worth your efforts to try. A client that is loyal is more likely to continue to retain your services as well as recommend your services to their friends and family.
Keeping in contact with your clients is vital and digital marketing makes that easier than ever before. Some proven tactics for this include:
- Email offers – You can send your clients personalized offers such as discount codes for additional services that they may need, or exclusive access to new services that you are now providing. This makes them feel valued and drives repeat services.
- Social media engagement – Encourage your clients to follow you on social media and when you do, you will have access to them daily. Engage them with relevant, helpful information. When they need your service again, they’ll be more likely to contact you then reach out to someone else.
Regardless of the channel you use for your business – Google search, display advertisements, Instagram, Facebook Ads, etc. – you can engage potential clients more easily than ever before.
This allows you to resolve their objections and questions and influence their purchase decisions.
#2: It targets your audience
With segmented audience capabilities, many platforms allow you to target a specific audience. You have access to online tools that will track your potential client’s online activities as well as their demographic information.
This data can be used to offer specific services or products they may be interested in.
For example, if a visitor clicks on a display ad through a search engine or social media platform, you can target whether that same visitor clicked on other related ads.
You can also target your audience with offers and content based on where they are at in their buying journey.
For example, you can use email marketing to nurture a lead until they decide to retain their services. To begin with they may open your emails, but after several month they visit your service pages on your website. This is the time that you would send them a targeted email with an exclusive offer. Digital marketing tools make all of this possible.
#3: It obtains better conversion rates
Traditional marketing methods are expensive, but fortunately, online advertising is much more affordable. You will also be able to improve your conversion rate more easily than with traditional advertising methods.
With print advertisements, it is difficult to track conversion rates because everything is happening offline. However, with digital marketing, everything is tracked. You know how many people view your ad and what action they are taking after viewing it.
#4: You can easily measure results
It is hard to measure your return on investment when it comes to traditional marketing means. For example, if you place an ad in a newspaper or on a billboard, you don’t know how many viewed each or which one was more effective. However, digital marketing doesn’t have these issues.
Digital marketing allows you to measure nearly everything, from the time the ad is clicked to when they leave the page. You can determine how many people saw your ad, how many sales it resulted in, and ultimately, what your return on investment is.
Data analytics software make measuring these things possible. However, it is important that you prioritize the data that you are reviewing. The most important data is called key performance indicators and are directly related to the goals you have for your marketing plan.
Some examples of KPI’s include:
- Cost Per Click (CPC)
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
#5: It gains brand credibility.
For a brand to gain and sustain credibility, it almost has to be via the internet.
Studies show that brands that are digitally active have the most credibility. This is because, through their content, a company can address the doubts and questions of their clients, clarify important information, and show that they understand what a client needs.
Content that is interesting and useful helps you gain the trust of your clients, as well as other industry experts.
However, do you know how to tell if your brand has gained credibility? The first thing to look for is your rank in organic search engine results. You’re a reference to the market if you rank at the top of Google.
Blogging is one of the ways to establish your expertise.
Clients and potential clients will seek out high-quality content that addresses their questions and challenges. If you have insights to these matters that are highly sought after, you should share them with your target market. Studies show that a blog will generate 67% more leads than those without a blog.
#6: It’s more bang for your buck
Many people mistakenly think they need to spend a lot of money on digital marketing to reap the benefits, but this isn’t always true. Digital marketing is often very affordable and can still yield high ROI’s.
It is all about building your online presence.
Even if you don’t have the budget for PPC (pay-per-click) advertising or SEO, you can still use digital marketing to connect and build your audience.
Most social media platforms offer a perfect way to interact with your audience and costs very little other than your time. Email marketing is also very affordable.
Many businesses are hesitant to invest in PPC advertising, but it is a very affordable tactic. The budgets are very easily controlled when it comes to Cost Per Click, Cost Per Thousand, Cost Per Action, and Cost Per Lead campaigns because you only pay when a customer views, clicks, or completes a purchase. However, you will need to be able to target the right audience and be strategic.
#7: It levels the playing field
Large companies typically have large marketing budgets, but digital marketing can help level the playing field for both small and large businesses.
While some types of digital marketing, like SEO and content marketing, require investments, they don’t have to break the bank. If you are able to create high-quality content that also answers questions for your potential clients, you can still rank for long-tail keywords.
The amount of money thrown at a campaign isn’t the only factor that determines rank. Google Ads, for example, evaluates the relevancy and quality of an ad before determining its rank.
Takeaway
Clearly digital marketing has plenty of benefits, and only a few are mentioned above.
The biggest benefits are that you can reach an incredible number of people at a relatively low cost, so regardless of the size of your law practice, you can benefit from having a digital marketing strategy.
These tips will help you continue to grow your practice all year long!
At Bambiz, we work with elder law and estate planning firms and have extensive experience in developing social media marketing strategies unique to your firm, location, and potential client base.
To learn more about how we can help grow your business using online marketing, schedule a free 15-minute call with us.
