A popular question from some of our new clients are “Why do I need to go online? Their varying rationale are “my customers can find me”, “my customer knows me”, “I’m in business for xxx plus years and grew without going digital, why now?”. The list goes on. These statements normally lead to an extended conversation on the significant change in how business is done with the digital age. Some are immediately ‘edified’ (a customer response) while some take a while to process and accept that going digital is key to being successful in today’s markets.
For the converts, the next question is how do I go digital? The most common train of thought is Facebook!! I’ll just post a couple pics, share a few notes and boom that’s it, I have gone digital!! Only if it was so easy. Well if you goal is just to be online, technically you are. But if your goal is to develop a sustainable digital audience that can generate consistent leads and sales, then you must go a bit deeper.
In a way, digital platforms a comparable to traditional media. I say this because, each radio & TV channel caters for a specific type of audience, as platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, Pinterest as have different content formats that caters to their unique audience. Like radio and TV, each platform will have overlaps in audience. (We don’t listen to only one radio station or watch one TV channel).
I mentioned this comparison to highlight that there is no one size fits all digital strategy. For each business, you need to take the time to develop a strategy that will connect with your target audience. Some of the initial points to consider are your content creation strategy, format of your content, brand personality and deciding on the best digital channels that will allow you to engage with your targeted audience. (We will expand on digital strategy creation in a future post).
Are you excited to enter the digital market?
The future is digital, do not fear it. Embrace the opportunity to connect with customers on a global level. Meet and interact with your specific audience. Digital provides unlimited reach and growth potential. Time to jump in.