Should I be doing digital marketing for my small business?

Oh dear…

Should I be doing digital marketing for my small business? Everybody seems to be doing it! The (not so) new shiny thing!  It’s definitely a case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). You want to jump on the bandwagon but several things are stopping you. For a start, it looks complicated: CPM, SEO, CTR, CPC, CPA, Analytics, Bounce Rate… You’re probably too busy running the business to take time away and learn about this. And then, even if you invested the time: is it the right thing for your company?

Well, good question!

I have already quoted on my website Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes: “It is not about doing ‘digital marketing’, it is about marketing effectively in a digital world.”

There will be online and offline solutions that might help your business. But what are they and how to decide?

The first thing I would recommend you doing is stopping and thinking. What is it exactly what you’re trying to accomplish? Who is your audience and how should you best reach them? What options do you have and what are they best for? In other words, and as I explain a bit more in detail in my Marketing Strategy page, I would highly encourage you to follow a structured approach. SOSTAC is a good start.

A word of caution

Be wary of people that have ready made answers. Something like ‘oh, you should do some Facebook’ or ‘you need a new website’ or ‘SEO is the one and only answer’. They probably are specialists in the solution they’re proposing and, therefore, they are trying to push their services. My advice would be to do your homework first, before spending your money in their services. Even if it ends up working for you and bringing some business in, it’s not likely to be the optimal solution.

So, in summary, is digital marketing for my small business the right solution?

Sorry to disappoint, but there is no straight answer. It depends. There will probably a solution that can help you, and deciding what it is, will be a function of the kind of business you’re in, your objectives, your audience, your product, your budget…

It is really worth it taking the time to step back, do a bit of strategy and planning and finally getting impartial advice on a range of solutions (digital and otherwise) that will meet your specific business needs.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

And if this article has struck a chord, feel free to contact me for a chat