If you wonder whether your business should plan for a digital transformation, 2020 has silenced any doubts on the matter. With the current pandemic hitting businesses hard and mandated shutdowns, digital platforms have been one of the only ways for businesses to stay afloat. Even though digitalization has been underway for many corporations, it has now become a means for small businesses to survive.
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This article will take a closer look at the importance of embracing the transformation to running a digital business and what strategies to implore if you are starting a new business.
How has COVID affected our need for digital solutions?
During the spring of 2020, the first wave of COVID-19 sent most of the world into home isolation. As a means to slow down the spread of the virus, social distancing became the primary solution. Almost overnight, businesses relying on human-to-human interaction were cast into crises, as their ways of conducting business were no longer viable. Of course, businesses were hit by suddenly losing their customers, but employees were also sent into isolation. So, in what ways was the digital transformation applied to different aspects of businesses?
Working remote
Staying isolated has resulted in most corporations setting up remote working solutions. To have your business’s vital functions stay afloat, this meant embracing the digital tools as a means of communication between employees. The video conference app Zoom was downloaded almost 2,5 million times a day by March 2020 compared to the 50.000 downloads in January 2020. The need for digital solution has been a must to keep those lines of communication open
Pushing e-commerce
Now, what is a restaurant to do when customers are no longer able to eat their dinner at the restaurant? To stay afloat businesses mostly rely on human-to-human services were thrown into the digital landscape, reinventing their business. For the food industry, home deliveries had an enormous rise in demand, along with home improvement, including paint and other DIY products). Relying on digital methods to reach your audience has become a new form of conducting your business in 2020. And for many companies, changing strategy to digital has become do or die.
Netflix and stream
So, you have been confined to the bounds of your home. No activities with friends and family, no fitness, and no going out for fun. People would probably have gone mad if they didn’t have an endless digital content resource to stream at home. Services like Netflix experienced an increase with 16 million new subscribers for the first three months of 2020. For performers, digital streaming services have created new ways of connecting with audiences hungry for entertainment. Staying relevant means going on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, or other social streaming channels.
Looking into some of the ways digital channels have defined the ways businesses have needed to reinvent themselves, we move on to conducting business in a post-pandemic existence. As an entrepreneur, how can you embrace the rationale of the digital transformation and use them to create a viable business? Let’s take a closer look.
5 ways for Entrepreneurs to mobilize Digital Marketing in 2020
Having an online presence is a must if you want to succeed as a new business owner. Suppose you haven’t considered the ways digital marketing affects your business or are just getting into planning your business. In that case, you’d want to take a closer look at the benefits of implementing a digital marketing strategy into your overall business strategy. Let’s explore some of the ways you can grow your startup through a greater online presence.
1. Reach your audience through social media
Social media marketing is one of the main pillars of the digital economy, so of course, you should mobilize your presence here. 3.5 billion people use social media worldwide. 90,4 percent of all millennials use social media, so whether your audience is targeting this group or not, the arrow is pointing a social media when you want to reach your target audience now and in the future. Many social platforms have filters for you to target certain segments making it easier for you to reach out to your audiences, whether organically or through paid ads.
2. Creating original content for marketing
You may have heard the phrase “content is key”, but how does that apply to creating a digital marketing strategy? Consumers want more than just a product, and they want to connect with your brand through unique and creative content, whether it is video, sound, or blog posts. Remember, it takes time to build an audience, and therefore you should think of your content creating both in the short and long run. Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. What engages your audience. It can be anything from guides and ebooks to video and podcasts.
3. Search Engine Optimization and digital user experience
Mobilizing a digital presence means having a user-friendly website that is optimized for search. Working with the top funnels of your digital marketing strategy, you need to think about the questions and queries that your audience is searching for. How can you meet their demands in terms of information and the service you provide. Organic traffic on search engines like Google is a long investment. And done correctly, these channels will remain stable if the next pandemic should hit.
4. Hosting live webinars
If you have already built a connection with your audience, engaging them through online webinars is a great way to strengthen your relationship. Webinars can also be a way for you to generate leads and thereby increase your sales. However, if you host a webinar, it should be relevant and well prepared. What are your audience’s needs? If you don’t know, surveying your audience beforehand can be a way to narrow down the key questions your audience needs answered.
5. Having a solid email marketing plan
Though email marketing is not a new form of marketing, it remains very useful if done correctly. Marketers still see the best ROI fra doing email marketing campaigns. There are different ways to design a successful marketing campaign, so if you are looking to explore how email marketing can grow your business, then read our best tips on developing an email marketing plan during the COVID-19 crisis.
There is no doubt that digital marketing has become ever more relevant for creating a successful business. With this article, we have presented some of the main digital areas for you to explore. Let us know in the comments how digital marketing has helped your business thrive.