A new year often brings plenty of changes to our individual lives but aiming to do better from a business perspective is also vital to many of us that run our own businesses. This can relate to anything from becoming more environmentally friendly to taking on new staff members but, of course, the most common goal for most businesses is to generate a higher profit, and there is no better way to achieve this by increasing the visibility level of your company online.
Now, there are a variety of ways in which this can be done, so which is the best?
In our latest article, we explain the various online marketing methods that can help you increase your awareness, drive more visitors into your website and, most importantly, generate higher conversion rate.
Firstly, the marketing world is dynamic and ever-changing, which is why it is so important that your online business plan remains flexible and progressive rather than stagnant and stale. If the latter happens, it won’t be long until your business falls behind its main competitors, leading to you losing out on potential website visits and, ultimately, sales or enquiries.
A 2019 survey by HubSpot found that 64% of companies actively invest in SEO, with 22% of all participants stating that they didn’t utilise the benefits that search engine optimisation can bring, whilst the remaining 14% weren’t sure of the online marketing methods being carried out by their business.
However, by 2021, 76% of businesses were running some form of online marketing and, with this number increasing all the time, it is essential that your business keeps up with the pack because, if not, it will fall behind and ultimately end up costing you in the long-term.
As the saying goes, sometimes you must spend money to earn money!
So, where to start?
According to Hubspot’s Online Marketing Report, the most commonly utilised form of online marketing was, no surprisingly, social media due to accounts being free to create and update. Of over 1,500 marketers questioned that actively ran online marketing campaigns, 82% stated that social media was their company’s primary approach to drive additional traffic and sales, with having a dedicated company website following closely behind at 80%.
SEO, paid search – also commonly known as pay-per-click – and Display Network ads were popular additional answers but, at between 35%-42%, these are far less commonly utilised forms of digital marketing than social media and having a company website.
Social Media:
Running proactive social media accounts is a great way to help increase your business’ online visibility levels, especially if this is tied in with running boosted posts, which are available on most platforms, with Facebook and Instagram being the most commonly utilised.
There are two types of paid advertising options available on Facebook, which are boosted posts and Facebook Ads, and many clients and businesses throughout the world opt to choose one or the other, whilst some choose to have a presence across both options to help increase visibility further and appeal to Facebook users who tend to click on one type of ad over the other.
Facebook Ads:
These are generated with Ads Manager, which provides a more extensive customisation solution, allowing you to handpick all the necessary attributes for your ad and tailor it to your company goals and the most appropriate viewers.
In conclusion, Facebook Ads are, by definition, a more in-depth choice when compared to boosted posts, providing more comprehensive detail than a typical post.
Nonetheless, keep in mind that this is a more time-consuming method, but it is also the one that is most likely to produce results.
Boosted Posts:
A boosted post is quite useful for businesses looking to immediately enhance their reach while investing limited money.
Boosted posts are simply posts on your Page’s timeline to which you may dedicate a budget to promote (or boost) to a specific audience based on your business goals.
This boost is provided by selecting a few simple targeting characteristics (such as your audience – the sort of individuals you want to reach, area, demographics, age, and so on; your available budget; and the duration of your ad).
While boosted posts appear to be comparable to Facebook Ads, don’t be deceived. They aren’t. Boosted tend to offer more limited results but, on the plus side, they are much cheaper to run.
Another positive is that boosted posts can also run-on Instagram. So, if you are targeting users with specific interests then you can still reach them even if they haven’t got a Facebook account via Instagram, assuming that they have an Instagram account, of course!
Which is Right for Your Business?
There is no definitive answer, unfortunately. When it comes to improving your Facebook advertising plan, the best match for your company is determined by your goals.
But that’s the “magic” of social media: you can simply turn the wheel and adjust to unique demands and situations. If one option doesn’t offer the results your after, there is always another option available to turn to.
Learn how Jump 2 IT Media can help you through our cost-effective social media management service.
In our next article, we will be looking at how SEO can take your digital marketing goals to new heights and enable you to reach a wider audience than you ever thought possible!
