Digital Marketing Is Meant To Be Integrated

A recent survey of North American marketers found that 35.9 percent have plans to increase spending on digital initiatives in 2013, according to a study by Balihoo, a local-marketing automation company. Although this may not come as a shock to some, it speaks volumes about the direction small and medium-sized businesses are headed with their marketing plans.

Among those increasing their digital outreach, 31.5 percent will use local blogs, 31 percent will target online consumer reviews and 35.4 percent will utilize mobile marketing. According to a November 2012 Forrester Consulting study, SEO leads among digital tactics to attract new customers at 73 percent, closely followed by email marketing and lead nurturing. These numbers illustrate the versatility of the online medium, as well as the biggest question mark of all. Out of the many ways a business owner can advertise his business online, where should a business owner direct his budget and for how long?

Choices, Choices

“Digital marketing initiatives” is an umbrella term for all of the ways a business can market itself online. From SEO to PPC, to maps and website development, the choices alone can seem overwhelming. Many business owners make the mistake of investing their entire budget in one or two types of marketing, hoping to get new customers through the door. However, as we have found again and again, the best plan for long term success is an integrated approach.

Integrate Efforts, Increase Results

The integrated approach allows business owners to take advantage of multiple marketing outlets, which increases their overall online presence and in turn benefits the ROI of each individual effort. Taking advantage of map listings, optimizing your site with SEO-driven content and appealing call to actions, and making an effort to establish a social media presence, all increase the amount of impressions a business will have on the local consumer. In fact, according to Gartner, companies that implement an integrated marketing plan will achieve a 50 percent higher return on investment by 2014.

Because of the importance of integrating multiple pieces into your marketing mix, it may seem only that much more unclear as to which types of marketing outreach will work best for your particular business. Our digital marketing specialists have worked to identify which tactics have the greatest ROI for each segment, with a focus on increasing your brand awareness among local consumers, and eventually turning those leads into customers. Contact our team today, and find out how we can help your team achieve success.