There are times when small business owners start to panic amidst the uncertainty within a struggling economy. Thoughts of budget cuts and cost-saving mechanisms become the order of the day and many a market budget becomes the first victim.

Why is it that when economic pressures are felt, the marketing spend is the first to suffer? Many accountants would agree it is the easiest and quickest way to save cash flow. As this may be true, it is also detrimental to your business. Cutting your digital marketing budget means you effectively stop new business from helping you flourish when times are tough.

The recent Facebook algorithm update means that in order to market your business effectively on the platform, you must spend money to do so. Organic content alone, is no longer sufficient to promote and market yourself effectively.

So, where do you go to from here? Instead of culling your entire online marketing budget, re-focus your budget on those mechanisms which will mean the best in ROI.

FOCUS ON SEO

Cutting or cancelling your budget on your SEO service provider is a very bad idea, and here’s why… Google continually makes algorithm changes and if your website is currently performing well in search results, tomorrow may be a different story. SEO experts are up to date on any changes within the SEO realm and automatically apply changes and techniques to your site in order to keep it relevant and ranking. You simply cannot afford to skimp on SEO.

FOCUS ON LEAD AD CAMPAIGN

Don’t ignore your social media feeds (as this feeds your SEO efforts) rather consider spending money on Lead Ad Campaigns that answer a specific Call to Action for better conversion. Build engaging content, complemented with eye-catching imagery, that can do well organically with your existing community but focus on targeted campaigns every 3 months at least.

EMAIL MARKETING

Studies show that marketing to your existing clientele is a financially better bet than trying to snag new business. Make your emails count. If you need to cut your weekly budget down – ensure that you email your clients at least once a month with great and engaging content. If you have the opportunity to speak to them once a month – make it good. Make it count.

Spend your money in targeted ways in order to increase your bottom line. 31.18 million South Africans are active internet users. The top 4 websites browsed by South Africans are gooogle.co.za; google.com; youtube.com and facebook.com. These statistics alone will tell you where your digital marketing budget should be spent.

If you simply cannot afford to spend the amounts on digital marketing that you were used to, rather focus your efforts on one or two marketing avenues that can give you better return on investment than the ‘spray and pray’ method. Speak to us for a tailored online marketing solution and see how you can benefit from SEO, online advertising and social media marketing.

We are experts at SEO. Masters at Facebook Marketing and Email Marketing Gurus. Speak to us about these services (and more) and reach your audience effectively.

Digital marketing under economic constraints