The Value of Digital Marketing in the COVID-19 Pandemic
In 2020, Covid-19 has become the great disrupter. Many industries have been impacted by lockdowns and social distancing. Who would have thought that commonplace things like eating at a restaurant, watching the latest blockbuster at a movie theater, or seeing your favorite band in concert would disappear altogether? Digital marketing during Covid-19 helped business owners weather the storm
A return to normalcy seems on the horizon with the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. Still, this pandemic acts as a strong reminder that life is full of disruptions … particularly in the business sphere.
Covid-19 and Traditional Selling
Sales teams are the lifeforce of a company, but lockdowns and social distancing have disrupted traditional means of selling. Perhaps before the pandemic, your business had great success exclusively using a traditional sales strategy. Now, in our present reality, in-person communication is largely off the table for sales representatives.
Has your sales team adapted to current circumstances which require non-traditional selling methods?
Business owners, ask yourself, “Is my sales team adapting to current circumstances which require non-traditional selling methods?” If the answer is “no” or even “not really”, now is the time to start seriously considering alternative means of revenue generation such as digital marketing during Covid-19.
Marketing vs. Selling
Keep in mind, marketing is a supplement to selling in revenue generation and not a replacement. However, unlike selling, marketing has the benefit of attracting customers to you rather than you going out to them.
At a time when meeting clients in-person is an obstacle, the strategy of bringing customers to you is a solid one. Marketing can potentially fill the gap that a sales team cannot meet.
Passive Lead Generation
A digital marketing strategy during Covid-19 offers another advantage. Once a website has a strong SEO presence and methods of lead generation are set up, it begins to generate leads for you on its own.
Digital marketing can convert your website into a lead generating machine.
A properly optimized website can become a passive lead generation machine for your business. That means your website is generating traffic and leads at no additional cost or work. Imagine getting leads in your sleep! Supplemental leads through digital marketing could be a great assist to your sales team.
Marketing is Weatherproof
It’s encouraging to know that marketing has already weathered a plethora of disruptive storms. At one time, the most popular marketing tactics were television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. With the advent of computers and the Internet, marketing has completely transformed to meet the needs of digital world. Today, most businesses focus solely on a digital marketing strategy. Despite disruptive changes, marketing is still a valuable tool for businesses. Marketing is a resilient, reliable method of revenue generation.
All Eyes on the Internet
During this pandemic, people are spending a considerable amount of time on their digital devices. More than ever, the attention of the public is online. Right now, the Internet is the primary channel people are using to stay connected to the outside world.
Why not take advantage of digital marketing at a time when all eyes are on the Internet?
At present, there are over 4.5 billion people using the internet. That’s almost 60% of the world’s population. No matter what your business type is, your target audience is on the Internet. Moreover, online transactions have increased by 26% during the pandemic. So, it’s a sure thing to use digital marketing during Covid-19 to connect your product or service to your audience.
Digital Marketing is Cost-Effective
Another advantage of using digital marketing at this time is it is cost-effective.
Understandably, many businesses are struggling right now and do not have considerable revenue to dedicate towards a marketing budget. However, unlike traditional marketing methods of the past such as television, newspaper, or radio, you do not need to spend a significant amount of money on digital marketing.
All marketing budgets are different depending on the size of a company, but most businesses will find that PPC and social campaigns do not have to have a high cost. Moreover, ad campaigns are the fastest way to see a return on investment. This makes digital marketing ideal for all types of businesses: small, medium, and large.
Digital Marketing Can Ramp Up Your Sales
Digital marketing services isn’t just cost-effective. Right now, it’s important that business owners use their limited resources on strategies that will convert to sales.
If best practices are met, digital marketing endeavors can offer maximum returns on a minimum budget.
If you are using the best practices when setting up your website’s SEO or parameters for an ad campaign, you have an exceptionally good chance of getting maximum value for your budget. Moreover, you can laser target your marketing endeavors to a specific demographic or geographic location.
Digital Marketing Offers Insights
Digital marketing endeavors also offer you detailed insights. You can get demographic information about your target audience, how much it cost you to get a customer, and much more. You can then use that information to adjust for future campaigns. Additionally, if you have marketing trackers setup like the Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics, you can use that information to remarket to your audience.
Final Thoughts
The 2020 pandemic is forcing businesses to evolve. Traditional selling strategies must be traded for alternative strategies, and that’s why digital marketing during Covid-19 is so vital.
Instead of crumbling under pressure, brands and businesses can evolve to meet these new conditions by using digital marketing strategies. This will allow businesses to continue to build brand awareness and reach their target audience online.