In reality, it’s almost the opposite that is true – small businesses and especially niche organizations like CPAs, real estate agents and more are the ones who stand to gain the most.

Consider the sheer amount of time the average person spends every day on their smartphone, tablet or computer. We all scroll through social media or our favorite websites for countless hours. Digital marketing gives you a chance to harness this to your advantage for a variety of reasons that are certainly worth exploring.

The Power of Digital Marketing: Breaking Things Down

One of the major benefits of digital marketing strategy for accounting firms, real estate agents, and other types of small businesses is also among the most important: the cost.

With digital marketing, you’re trading the typically enormous up-front capital requirement of a “traditional” advertising campaign for something that begins smaller, but that is much easier to build over time. It doesn’t cost much to put together an email newsletter list, for example, which can quickly grow to reach thousands of people in your target area. Setting up a website is relatively inexpensive, and you can sign up for accounts on popular social media networks like Facebook and Twitter for free.

Are you immediately going to have the reach that you would if you’d spent thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars on television commercials or newspaper advertisements? No. But you’re going to save a significant amount of money and you’ll be able to slowly build and cultivate your audience over time.

Another one of the major benefits that digital marketing brings with it is that it’s easy to measure – which also means that it’s easy to improve on, too.

Take email marketing software, for example. Even the most basic solutions will tell you not only how many of your messages were delivered, but how many were opened. Video analytics software on popular streaming sites like YouTube can tell you how much of your videos someone watched and exactly where they disengaged. Website analytics can tell you how someone arrived at your site, which pages they viewed, and exactly when they navigated away.

Once you’re armed with this information, you have nearly everything you need to optimize your digital presence moving forward. You know what’s working and, most importantly, what isn’t. That gives you an incredible opportunity to double down on the former and get rid of the latter whenever certain trends start to shift in a new direction.

In terms of optimization, digital marketing also presents an important opportunity for segmentation that niche businesses like real estate agents and CPAs can capitalize on. Customer segmentation is a process where you take large groups of customers and break them down into smaller and more focused ones based on the criteria that are most important to you. So if you’re a real estate agent, you’re not just targeting “people in a certain zip code who want to buy a house.” You can break things down based on their income level. You can specify their education, how long they’ve been in their home, how many kids they have and more. You can narrow these things down to make sure that you’re only spending money on acquiring those people who most resemble your “ideal client” – which in and of itself is the most important benefit of all.

The Importance of Local-Focused Digital Marketing

But even going beyond that, digital marketing helps in a variety of other ways, too. It’s not just that you’re trying to reach the biggest possible audience – it’s about reaching the right audience at exactly the right time. If you’re a CPA based out of Cleveland, Ohio, it doesn’t matter if someone in Baltimore, Maryland sees your ad on television or in the newspaper – they were never going to become one of your clients.

With digital marketing and especially local SEO, however, you have an unbeatable chance to target the types of people who live and work in your own backyard. Consider the fact that according to one recent study:

• Searches using terms like “near me” have grown over 200% in the last few years, particularly on mobile devices.
• Approximately 69% of people say that they will use their phone to assist with a decision about an in-person purchase.
• Content marketing, in general, has a tendency to generate three times the amount of leads of paid search advertising, despite the fact that it costs over 60% less than traditional marketing.

Statistics like those prove that especially for small businesses, digital marketing is a highly effective way to more organically reach a better audience, all while spending far less money in order to do it.

What you’re left with is a perfect storm in the best possible way. You have a chance to get the right message in front of the crowd at exactly the right time, and the opportunity to do it over and over and over again. It’s something that you simply can’t replicate through traditional advertising – and it’s a big part of why digital marketing will continue to be so popular (and important) for small businesses for years to come.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Why Digital Marketing Is the Factor Traditional Businesses Must Be Focused On appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Making Use Of Marketing Within Your Travel Agency

Customers both new and old alike need to be aware of your travel agency, what you sell, and what you offer. To make use of marketing you have to create a marketing plan. A marketing plan will outline what marketing strategies you want to use, why, and when. If you do not have a marketing plan then how will you know what is working. Within your marketing plan, you will want to specify which online and offline marketing techniques you will use. Establishing early on what marketing you will use will save you time, energy, and financial resources.

Focus On Digital Marketing

Digital marketing should be an integrated part of your marketing plan right from the start. Utilizing digital marketing will help you reach and gain new customers. Most customers, regardless of how much they spend, like to look at prices online and compare what they are getting for their money, so if you are not using hotel digital marketing then you will be missing out on a big chunk of this pie which could cost your business dearly. As part of your digital marketing approach, you must try and incorporate strategies such as SEO, content marketing, and event email marketing. Different channels will of course reach different audiences so think carefully before you invest money which channels and methods your target audience use.

The Use Of Influencers

If you are trying to get your brand and agency seen readily by your target market then you may want to look at investing in influencers. For either one-off posts or campaigns, influencers can directly advertise your agency and potentially help increase sales in the process. At a bare minimum, an influencer partnership or campaign will help you increase inquiries and lead generation. To find an influencer for you then you may want to contact a booking agency if you want to contact influencers directly. Before you undertake any influencer campaign think about how much you want to spend and what results you want to achieve.

Harnessing Social Media

Lots of people use social media platforms and pages daily and not harnessing the power that social media is would be foolish. Creating targeted social media adverts and having social media pages that customers and leads can contact readily and freely is important and essential. With social media, you can create campaigns that can reach thousands, if not more for very small amounts of money. As social media marketing is cost-effective and efficient it should be one of the first marketing tactics you use and integrate into a marketing plan for your travel agency.

Join Forces With Other Businesses

Linking up with other businesses that either complement or enhance what you are offering is always a positive step to take. Other businesses that have pre-established groups, followers, and customers can provide you with ready-made markets affordably and conveniently. Researching which companies and businesses suit, complement and enhance your travel agency may be time-consuming but you will find it truly rewarding, especially if you get the partnership right.

Utilize Email Marketing

Directed targeted emails to leads and customers alike work. Getting your point across is easy to achieve over email, and as most people read their emails daily you have a daily opportunity to reach and make an impact. With email marketing you get the chance to say exactly what you want to. You get to send your message you need to send to achieve results. To succeed at email marketing you have to have a purpose for your communications. Why are you contacting people and what are you aiming to achieve? To ensure success with email marketing you need to have a plan and a structure for your emails. You cannot expect to achieve results from ad hoc email marketing, you have to have purpose and direction. So, once you have that list of email contacts in hand you need to carefully word out your email and your sales literature. Once the recipient has opened the email you only have a few seconds to make an impact, so with this in mind, you must make those seconds count.

Focus On Improving Your SEO

Are you on the first page of search engine results, if not then why not? SEO is crucial to online marketing. When you enhance your SEO you ensure that your target audience sees you and that they use your travel agency. By harnessing effective SEO, perhaps through using a specialist agency you can expect to increase profits and footfall to your website. To improve your SEO you have to think about what your customers and target audience want. To get the best results you must put yourself in their shoes and think about what they are searching for, when, and why.

Understanding Your Customer And Their Journey

When you understand what your customers want and what journey they go through to book a holiday or vacation you can then tailor your marketing strategies and efforts to them to ensure maximum reach and effect. Understanding what makes your customers tick and what makes them spend money, and on what will help you produce effective marketing literature that will get results.

Effective marketing that seeks to get results should be seen as a constant process. Marketing your travel agency should not be done on an ad-hoc basis simply because you will not be able to achieve results by doing a little bit here, and a little bit there. Ensure that your marketing efforts and strategies are implemented using a plan and that they are achieved using targets, goals, and aims.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Effective Marketing Strategies That Will Greatly Help Your Travel Agency Business appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Because you want your business to be successful; that’s the long and short of it! Events are exciting times in the corporate world: it’s a place where people of like minds and similar wallet sizes can all mingle together, and they’re around because they’re interested in you. What could be better for the health of your company?

Holding an event is something hefty to undertake for a small business, of course, but that means it’s completely worth doing! After all, success isn’t cheap, and you’re going to have to think of everything in order to impress! But if your investors or your business partner needs a little more convincing, here’s some reasons to throw at them.

Because it’s an Interactive Marketing Method

You’re looking for clients, and clients are looking for an experience they’re still going to remember even after they get home again. You could very well be that missing link when you host an event, and it’s going to always be on the record for clients and investors alike to look into again when they’re looking for someone just like.

Attending an event is a good way for someone to really get involved with a company and what they’re offering. You can host presentations and demonstrations that anyone can join in with, and you can give out free samples to keep people’s minds on you and the helpfulness of your product. And when there’s free food and drink on offer, people are going to be interested in attending even if they have no need of your services. That’s a good way to drum up some repeat interest!

Because it Can Be Conducted Professionally

If you don’t have the first clue about hosting an event, and that’s one of the main reasons your colleagues are wary, put their minds to rest right now. There’s a lot event management companies out there for you to look into and hire out, and they’re going to take care of the bulk of the work for you. They’ll work with everyone involved in running your business, to make sure all guests you want are invited and that the theme of the night is just right for your purposes. You may not be an expert here, but that doesn’t have to limit you whatsoever!

Because You Can Invite Industry Leaders

You can even ask one to host for you! People who are connected to this person will come along just because they’re there, and if they believe in your product, these connections will begin to as well. Don’t worry, we have emails for a reason: if you’re nervous in person, you can create an excellent persona for some to look forward to meeting via the written word here. Plus, it’s a very reliable form of communication between you and some honoured guests.

Your business should hold an event because it’s one of the main ways to draw interest. Don’t underestimate this fact, and don’t count yourself out of proceedings like these. They work plenty!

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Why Your Business Should Hold An Event appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.