The digital marketing world is expected to grow with a cumulative average growth rate of 9% between 2020 and 2026. By then, the market will reach a valuation of $786.2 billion by 2026.

And as per a Gartner survey, 72% of the marketing budget goes toward digital marketing today. 

Moreover, 50% of marketers are planning to increase their content marketing budgets in 2023.  

These statistics are enough to make anyone wonder why. Why is digital marketing gaining so much ground?
And more importantly, should your business also invest more in digital marketing in 2023?

In this blog, you’ll find answers to all your questions. Read on. 

Simply stated, digital marketing is the use of digital tools and media for marketing. 

You can read a detailed overview of what is digital marketing and all that it encompasses here. 

Now, the term digital marketing was first used in the 1990s. But the concept really caught on post the Internet boom. And today, the term is often thrown around in corporate discussions and business meetings. 

But in 2023, digital marketing is likely to become even more mainstream. Businesses are now seeing their peers and competitors succeed with digital marketing. And that’s offering enough impetus for adopting digital marketing to those who were yet to go digital. For those who were already investing in digital marketing, now is the time to ramp up the investment in the domain to ensure a continued edge over others. 

But I have a small business.
Why should I invest more in digital marketing when I am already cash-strapped?
I won’t be able to compete with big-budget competitors, so why should I bother investing in digital marketing?

All your questions and apprehensions are valid. 

But the real problem is that most businesses see digital marketing as an expense.  That’s not really true. Digital marketing is an investment that yields great results in the long run.

Such high returns are one of the key reasons why you should ramp up your digital marketing investments in 2023. 

Other than that, here are the 5 key reasons why your business should invest more in digital marketing.  

5.07 billion people use the Internet today. Cannot imagine how much it is? Consider this: It is about 63.5% of the global population. 

Moreover, given the rate at which Internet adoption is rising, by the end of 2023, 2/3rd of the global population will come online.

And according to a report, people across the globe spend an average of 7 hours online (6 hours 58 minutes to be precise).

The figures prove that more and more people are using the internet and spending time online. Thus, it is essential to have a strong digital presence to reach and engage with all these people. These are your potential customers, after all.

Digital marketing often has a higher return on investment compared to traditional marketing methods. Thus, it is a cost-effective way to reach and convert customers.

For example,

• Email marketing, a subset of digital marketing, is known to yield $36 for every $1 invested.
• Paid ads have a 200% ROI as they yield $2 for every $1 investment.

The figures make it clear that digital marketing has great ROI. In fact globally, marketers believe that influencer marketing (a subset of digital marketing) yields higher ROIs than traditional marketing.

Here’s what data from marketers in Germany, the UK, and the USA says…

More than half of those asked accepted that influencer marketing has a higher ROI. 

Digital marketing allows for better targeting and personalization of marketing messages. This can increase the effectiveness of campaigns and lead to higher conversion rates.

You cannot decide who reads the newspaper and who sees your ads on the billboards. But you can deliver your PRs to people’s inboxes (of course, with their consent). And you can use targeted ads to reach the right set of people. 

And with the constant improvement in technology, targeting and personalization are only bound to increase. Thus, making digital marketing an even more lucrative avenue for your business. 

The Internet has no boundaries. Things on the Internet can reach as far as you want. And digital marketing enables businesses to reach a wider audience, including those in different locations or demographics. These are the audiences that may not be accessible through traditional marketing channels.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business that is local in its approach, digital marketing lets you target the right people. But if you aren’t bound by geography or demography, digital marketing really opens up the doors of opportunity for you. 

The inability to analyze the campaign performance is one of the biggest downsides of traditional marketing.

How many people actually saw your posters at the stoplight? How many newspaper readers actually read your print ad? How many recipients opened the brochures that you sent them via post?

There is hardly any fail-proof method to count it all. But with digital marketing, you get access to detailed analytics and data. 

Whether it is your website, email campaigns, social media campaigns, or paid ads you can measure every single impression that your campaign garnered. 

And this data can be used to track the effectiveness of campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Though, improved measurement and analytics come at a cost. But that cost is worth bearing, given how much more you can make by acting on the insights received from such analysis.

Now you know why investing in digital marketing in 2023 will be worth it. You might also want to check out some proven digital marketing strategies for small and medium-sized businesses. These strategies have been implemented by our digital marketing experts for multiple clients. And with proper case-based customizations, these strategies have always yielded stunning results for our clients from across the world. 

Need hands-on guidance and 360-degree digital marketing solutions? Schedule a quick consultation with our digital marketing specialists here.

Don’t let competitors beat you in the digital race. Ramp up your investment and boost your revenues today.