6 Reasons to Be Thankful for Digital Marketing

‘Tis the season to be thankful. And in addition to your amazing families & friends, thriving practices, and amazing clients & patients, we’re suggesting one more item to add to your list of things to be thankful for: digital marketing.
Feeling a little skeptical about being thankful for a part of your job? Hear us out. Digital marketing has made a huge difference for small businesses. The rise of the Internet has led to better and more affordable means of getting found by potential customers. Online marketing helps put your practice on the map, sometimes literally, like in the case of Google Maps. Thanks to the Internet, you have a fighting chance against the competition, without having to spend large amounts of money to stay competitive.
Still not convinced? Check out the rest of our list to see why you should add digital marketing to your list of things to be thankful for this year:

1. It’s affordable.

The number one reason to be thankful for digital marketing is how affordable it is. For years, marketing meant expensive media buys and printing. And even more affordable routes of advertising still cost money. Thanks to digital marketing, you can advertise your practice for free using strategies like social media and content marketing, and SEO. Sure, spending money will still get you further, but you don’t have to the break the bank to get the word out there about your practice.

2. You can specifically target audiences.

Advertising has gotten very accurate. It is now possible to target a specific audience through very narrow parameters, to the point that you could market to just cat owners, if that was the goal of your ad campaign. This highly specific targeting makes it easier than ever to reach people who will actually visit your practice, and to ensure that your marketing dollars aren’t going to waste.

3. You can measure results.

With traditional media, sometimes the only way to measure if something was working was to give out a survey asking people how they heard about your practice. It was very hard to measure if your advertisement was gaining any traction with audiences, because you couldn’t see their reaction to it. Tracking the results of digital marketing isn’t perfect either, but there are far more tangible ways to determine if your marketing is working. Analytics can tell you whether people interacted with your post or where they ended up on your website. The ability to measure whether or not people are responding to your website and content is huge. It makes measuring the effectiveness of your marketing that much easier, and it also ties into our next point…

4. You can make real-time adjustments.

That advertising campaign you launched on Facebook isn’t working? No need to keep spending money on it. Stop the campaign and save your dollars for something more effective. People are clicking more on one of your advertisements than the other? Put all your money into the campaign that works the best. Not only is digital marketing more affordable, it also allows you to determine what’s working (and what isn’t) and redirect your money towards the best opportunity. You can also track the things you’re doing for free, like how many people are landing on certain pages on your website or which Facebook posts are getting the most clicks. These simple analytics can go a long way to helping you craft a strategy that brings more people onto your practice website -and through your practice doors.

5. You can develop deeper connections with your clients.

Thanks to the rise of social media and content marketing, your clients are more connected to your practice than ever. This gives you a chance to be open and authentic with your clients about who you are, what your practice stands for, and what you can offer them. Clients have the opportunity to see on a regular basis how much you care for your patients, and establish a deeper bond with your practice through regular interaction. Digital marketing allows you to foster relationships that lead to greater loyalty and keep your clients coming back for more!

6. The clients are coming to you.

Digital marketing is also inbound marketing, and inbound marketing is the way of the future. Clients have little or no patience for marketing being forced on them anymore. TV advertisements and intrusive banner ads are the way of the past. Inbound marketing focuses on bringing clients to you, through offering something of value. Now clients like your Facebook Page to see updates, and voluntarily click on your blog posts to read them. The beauty of inbound marketing is that you form a relationship through your marketing with your clients, one where you offer information of value, the information that you’re an expert on, and in return, your clients trust you more, see you as a leader in your field, and want to bring their pets into you. No longer are you forcing intrusive ads onto a captive audience. The marketing relationship has become more valuable for both sides, and both clients and practices benefit as a result.Whether it’s your favorite part of the job, or the part you dread, there are still plenty of reasons to add digital marketing to your list of things to be thankful for this year. Marketing your practice will always require some work, but thanks to the digital age, it’s never been so easy! Check out the LifeLearn veterinary blog for more great marketing advice specifically for veterinary clinics!