The world of digital marketing has drastically changed since the start of the millennium and will continue to do so in the next 5 years and beyond. In fact, according to Hubspot’s State of Inbound report, by 2022, 73% of B2B organizations will have increased their spending on inbound marketing tactics, while only 7% of marketers will decrease their spending. So what does this mean? Well, today we’ll look at why digital marketing is essential to businesses in 2022 and how your business can benefit from investing in it now. What’s the Connection Between Digital Marketing and Business Success?
Digital Marketing Has Been a Powerful Tool since the Beginning
A report by Gartner, an American technology research and the advisory firm found that marketing software is set to grow at a CAGR of 17.8% between 2017 and 2021. This indicates that digital marketing has continued to remain a powerful tool since its inception, although it has evolved tremendously throughout history. It started with e-mail and social media engagement, then moved on to blogs, contests and viral videos before settling into more traditional approaches like customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Google Looks at Your Website
Google, one of our favorite topics here at Blue Fountain Media, has become a powerful marketing tool that can help businesses increase visibility and gain new customers. At their recent 2016 Google Performance Summit, Google’s Gary Illyes revealed how search engine optimization (SEO) will change over time as factors like social media and personalization factor into ranking algorithms. To keep up with these changes and stay ahead of your competition, you need to understand what Google looks at when it ranks sites.
Organic Search
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) were once two separate entities that worked together to get a company more views. However, recently they have merged into one field called organic search. Why is organic search so important? Because 82% of people use search engines as their primary tool to locate information on local businesses.
The Power of Video
As businesses have started to dive into digital marketing, video has quickly become one of its most valuable assets. In fact, more than 80% of all internet traffic will be video by 2019. If you haven’t started using video yet, now’s a good time to start planning how you can integrate it into your marketing efforts.
How People Find You Is Changing
Whether you’re a startup or a small business, you need to understand that how people find your brand has changed dramatically over the last few years. While people might once have stumbled upon your website by typing keywords into a search engine, today it’s more likely they’ll find you through organic social media posts or online ads. If you haven’t already embraced these new digital marketing channels, it’s time to jump on board.
Think About Retargeting and Remarketing
Retargeting and remarketing are great tools to help you turn browsing customers into paying customers. They allow you to display ads to people who have visited your website by following them around on other websites they visit. But don’t overdo it! When you try too hard, viewers can become annoyed with your intrusive ads. Implement retargeting and remarketing tastefully—just enough so that you notice a small uptick in sales as a result of their implementation.
Trust, Reputation, and Referrals Are Key
Trust, reputation, and referrals are how consumers find businesses in a digitally-enabled economy. Consistently build trust with your audience and they’ll not only be more likely to buy from you but also refer you to others. However, building a brand takes time so start early! The best way to do that? Become active on social media. Engage and interact with your audience and be transparent about where you can add value.
Keep an Eye on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chatbots, Voice Assistants, and More
According to a recent PwC report, by 2030, more than 75% of all digital interactions will be managed without people. This means that your website, email marketing campaigns, social media channels, and advertising tactics need to be smart enough to navigate around potential new technology and get things done on their own. AI will become an increasingly important part of digital marketing agencies so you should consider it today.
