During the troubling period of COVID-19 in 2020, many people, especially small businesses, were hit by an existential crisis. Due to the lockdown, they lost many customers. It did not matter if customers were coming to their stores or if they were providing services directly to them. However, the situation might have been a doomsday scenario for some; this period also opened a new avenue for small businesses to restrategies that reach. 2020 was the year when the digital landscape truly melted with the real world. More and more people were online, and this was the golden opportunity for businesses to grab their attention. And the best way to pull this off was using digital advertising.
For decades, small businesses leaned on “spray and pray” marketing. Which meant costly newspaper ads, local radio spots, or flyers that often landed in the trash. They had to cross their fingers that the right person would see it at the right moment. It was pricey, impossible to track, and mostly ineffective. But thanks to the pandemic, the landscape has shifted radically. The internet hasn’t just changed how we communicate; it has democratised how businesses grow.
If you are a small business owner looking to expand, digital advertising isn’t just another option on the menu; it is the single best tool available to you. In this blog, Adivorous will explain why digital ads are the great equaliser that allows small players to win big.
Digital Advertising Brings Precision Targeting
As we mentioned earlier, in traditional marketing, you don’t know who you are showing your ads to or what impression your brand is making. In particular, if you put up a billboard, you are paying to show your ad to thousands of people who may never buy your product. For example, teenagers who can’t drive, tourists passing through, or people uninterested in what you sell. However, digital advertising changes the game from broadcasting to narrowcasting. No longer throwing darts blindfolded, but aiming for the real marketing goals.
Digital marketing enables you to identify your ideal customers and push your advertising efforts to them precisely. You know who you are targeting by knowing their interests, pain points, demographics, etc. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google let you target audiences with incredible precision. Instead of just targeting “women in Kolkata,” you can narrow it down to “women in Kolkata, aged 25-40, interested in organic gardening, who’ve visited your website in the past 30 days.” Thus, you are only paying to reach the people most likely to become your customers.
Digital Advertising Gives Everyone Equal Opportunities
While spending still matters in digital advertising, you don’t have to worry about a rival’s billboard overshadowing yours. Furthermore, you may not have to spend at all if you opt out for organic digital marketing. SEO and social media marketing let you reach your customers through the power of engaging content for free! Remember, on the internet, nobody knows you are operating out of a spare bedroom or a small storefront. This gives you a clean slate to create an impression without the space being taken by big players.
We know that in the physical world, you can’t compete with the massive signage and prime real estate of big-box competitors. However, in the digital world, your ad can appear right next to theirs in a Google search result or an Instagram feed. With compelling ad copy and a polished landing page, you can appear just as credible as a Fortune 500 company. Digital advertising lets you compete for the same audience as the big players, often at only a fraction of their massive marketing budgets.
Digital Advertising Provides Unmatched Cost-Effectiveness and Scalability
As a small business owner, what worries you the most is the massive amount of budget that you have to set aside for marketing efforts. Furthermore, in traditional marketing, the ROAS ot Return on Ad Spend may not match spending, leading to a loss even! However, for many their is a sentiment that digital ads are “too expensive.” But a myth is just that—a myth; in fact, it’s the most budget-friendly way to start marketing.
In reality, you don’t need thousands of rupees to launch a campaign. You can start with ₹200 or ₹500 a day on platforms like Meta Ads. This scalability is crucial for small businesses. You can start with a small budget to see what works, and once you find an ad that brings in customers profitably, you can gradually increase your spending. You’re always in full control of your budget; no long-term contracts needed.
Data Analytics Helps You Find Your Customers Better
Data is the modern weapon to achieve your business goals. Every major company is holding its current position thanks to the intricate use and application of customer data. From channelling customers through marketing funnels to creating customer personas, data can provide extremely valuable insights that are simply impossible to attain in other forms of marketing, except digital marketing.
Just ask, how do you know if that newspaper ad you ran last month actually brought in any customers? You don’t. Yet, with digital advertising, everything is trackable. You are no longer guessing; you are making data-driven decisions. You know exactly:
- How many people saw your ad (Impressions).
- How many people clicked on it (CTR).
- How much does it cost to acquire a new customer (CPA).
If an ad isn’t working, the data tells you immediately, and you can turn it off within seconds. If an ad is working, you can double down. This agility saves you money and maximises your return on investment (ROI). Furthermore, data-driven performance marketing also enables to speed thing up. As we know, traditional marketing is slow due to all the extra work, like designing, printing, and distributing flyers or securing a billboard space, which takes weeks, sometimes months.
But digital advertising moves fast. You can dream up a promotion in the morning, whip up a simple ad graphic by midday, and have it live and reaching potential customers by evening. This speed allows small businesses to react in real-time to trends, weather events, or competitor moves. You can create or participate in trends in mere minutes and catch the attention of potential customers as fast as possible. In short, digital marketing gives you tools to create and implement ideas for advertising while traditional method fails to keep up.
Conclusion
Many small business owners see advertising as a dreaded expense, but when done right, digital advertising can be a powerful investment engine. If you knew that every ₹500 you invested in a digital ad machine brought back ₹1000 in sales, how much would you put in? Probably as much as you possibly could. That is the reality of optimised digital advertising. To grow your small business, ditch the wishful thinking and old-school tactics. Tap into the precision, speed, and insights of digital advertising. It’s the slingshot that can help you topple your giants. Moreover, if you need further assistance, Adivorous, one of the leading digital advertising agency is here to help you!
FAQs
- How much money do I actually need to start?
- One of the great things about digital advertising is that there’s no hefty entry cost. Unlike TV spots or billboards, you can start with as little as ₹100 to ₹1000 per day on platforms like Facebook or Google. For small businesses, the aim isn’t to spend the most, but to spend wisely. Starting small lets you experiment with headlines and images to see what works before committing a bigger share of your budget.
- Which platform should I choose first?
- This really depends on where your customers spend their time and how they prefer to shop.
- Google Ads: Best if you sell something people actively search for (e.g., “plumber near me” or “leather boots”).
- Facebook/Instagram: Best for visual products or services where you want to build brand awareness based on interests and hobbies.
- LinkedIn: The go-to if you are a B2B (business-to-business) company targeting specific job titles or industries.
- This really depends on where your customers spend their time and how they prefer to shop.
- Do I need to hire a professional, or can I do it myself?
- Most platforms are built to be user-friendly for beginners, but mastering them often comes with a steep learning curve. DIY is perfect for those on a tight budget. Both Google and Meta (Facebook) provide “Express” or “Automated” versions of their ad tools, making it easy for beginners to get started. However, if you are spending near or more than a Lakh Rupees a month, an agency like Adivorous will help you reduce wasted spend and increase your conversion rates.
- How long does it take to see real results?
- Digital ads work faster than SEO, which can take months, but they’re not instant miracles. You can usually expect to see traffic to your site within hours of launching. Still, the “optimisation phase,” when the platform’s AI figures out who’s most likely to click and buy, usually takes around 2 to 4 weeks. Try to resist the urge to tweak your ads every couple of days. Let the data settle so you can clearly see what’s truly working.
