By Adetee Agarwaal
Digital marketing is that unstoppable force, which is changing the rules of businesses, all across the world. With more than 43 crore smartphone users in India, and 82 crore internet users, the importance and relevance of digital marketing are now more than ever before. The pandemic covid-19 made it more important and businesses started realising its importance when everyone has started spending most of their time online.
By deploying a practical, feasible, and consistent digital marketing strategy, small businesses can connect with millions of new users, challenge the dominance of large businesses, and carve a unique niche for themselves, amidst cutthroat competition. Not only is digital marketing right now the cheapest way to create awareness about your product or service, but also the fastest way to connect with your target audience, and offer them the solutions they need, right now, right here. And you can’t deny the fact that your target audience is definitely out there scrolling down on Instagram or Facebook.
No wonder the digital marketing market in India is expected to breach the Rs 23,000 crore thresholds, growing at a breakneck pace of 20% annually. The question isn’t why entrepreneurs should implement digital marketing strategies for their business, but the question is how soon they should do: Every single day you are not present on social media and digital platforms, you are losing customers, business, and branding.
Based on my own experience of running an online food startup, and scaling operations with a more than 100% growth rate, here are the top 5 digital marketing strategies that entrepreneurs should implement for triggering unstoppable business growth and adopt in 2022 for better revenue and more profits:
Dominating Search
The search engine is the Holy Grail of customer acquisition, the ultimate platform to generate leads, create awareness, and convince strangers to become your friends, and then customers. With 3.5 billion searches being made every day on Google, search engine marketing should have a very strong focus when it comes to digital marketing.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation for the most important search keywords should #1 priority for your business, and it can change everything about your business.
Inspiration, Motivation, Awareness and Connection via Social Media
Close to 34 crore, Indians are active on Facebook and approximately 14 crores on Instagram. And we are just talking about two social media platforms here. If your customer has a smartphone (which is a very high probability), then he/she must be on social media platforms as well, and this translates to an opportunity to connect with them, inspire them, educate them, aware them and make them your best friends.
The important thing to note here is that, unlike a user who is searching for products and services on Google, a typical Facebook or Instagram user is not present on these platforms to buy or to get information about your product; but rather they are spending time to socialise, get the latest trends and to hang out, have some good time. As a brand, your focus should be not to sell your products to your audience, but to forge an emotional connection with them, using content as the foundation.
And once that happens, then sparks are bound to fly.
Most Powerful Direct Marketing Platform: Emails
Emails are decades old, and still, they are the most powerful direct marketing platform. Amidst the glitz and shine of social media, the usage and relevance of emails have never diminished, and real customers with real purpose still use emails as their primary mode of communication.
For our startup, we have focused extensively on email marketing, and the results have encouraged us to invest more in this digital marketing strategy and to become more creative and user-friendly with every email. But a word of caution here: Spamming is the death knell of email marketing, and if you are spamming your audience, then they will never forgive, and never forget. Build a list, delight them with high-quality content, and then ask them to buy your products and services for the long-term benefits of email marketing.
Customised Communication for High Loyalty
With 48 crore users, Whatsapp is the number one online messenger for Indians. But strangely, very few small businesses are leveraging this platform for transparent communication.
Our 60-70% orders are managed via Whatsapp alone, and the secret to our success is highly customised and seamless communication with our vendors and customers.
Whatsapp, along with other platforms such as Messenger from Facebook, Instagram chat, and others allow businesses to initiate a dialogue with their audience, understand them, and solve their pain points in real-time. For your communication strategy and digital marketing activities, Whatsapp along with other messengers can be a great platform to trigger conversation, heart to heart talks, and build brand loyalty.
Express, Unleash, and Dare With Videos
With a 45 crore user base in India, Youtube is another world in itself, a major search engine, a video discovery platform, and a solid digital marketing strategy that cannot be ignored anymore.
Shed your apprehensions, kill the fear, and jump into video marketing for ensuring unstoppable growth. Billions of hours are consumed on Youtube alone, and the percentage is growing at a remarkable pace now. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and others are now actively promoting videos as their consumption is at an all-time high.
Yes, it will take some time for small businesses to adjust and reform themselves for video marketing, but never late than never. Express, unleash and dare with videos, and witness a stunning jump in new user acquisition, revenues, and profits.
Looking at the above-mentioned list of reasons, either a small business or large, both should definitely opt for digital marketing strategies. Many businesses are still following the traditional method of marketing but they should focus on the positive side of digital marketing where they are reaching out to larger audiences to target and spread awareness about their products and services. Hence, it is wise for all entrepreneurs to utilise the potential of digital marketing and get ahead in their business.
The author is founder of PinkAprons. Views expressed are personal.
