Since the caveman days, those who understood and effectively utilized marketing the best won the lion’s share of the market. Marketing has evolved significantly in the past century. Newspapers, magazine, tv, radio, billboards and, once upon a time, the Yellow pages, are a few of the more mainstream methods we have become accustom to.

There was a time when the yellow pages were several inches thick. If a customer needed a product or service, the business ad that took up the most real estate on the page had a much higher chance at reeling in the customer.

When was the last time you used the yellow pages for anything? Exactly. But what about the others? Print newspapers and magazines aren’t far behind in becoming obsolete. Local radio and cable tv can get you in front of many potential customers, for a hefty price. Many people from 18-50 have already traded local radio and cable tv for Satellite Radio and TV streaming services such as Netflix.

Billboards are viable avenue for reaching potential customers at a less costly rate than tv and radio. The main shortfall with radio, tv, and billboards alike are the inability to track Return on Investment, unless you use a dedicated phone number to track customers from that specific source. At the end of the day it boils down to ROI.

20 years ago, when we stepped into the new millennium, many around the world let out a sigh of relief that the world didn’t end and more importantly all of our computers didn’t come to a crashing halt! A lot has changed since then.

Remember when half of the world thought Jeff Bezos of Amazon was a genius and the other half deemed him a fool? Do you remember the late 90’s when it became obvious to everybody (Ok, almost everybody) that the internet was a VERY big deal?

The internet is not merely another communication medium. It is a fundamental shift for humanity that is as important as the discovery of fire.

Remember the dotcom bubble? The dotcom bubble happened because investors and entrepreneurs alike knew that winning this game would be a very, very BIG deal!

Out of this revolution Google and Facebook were born and with them a digital marketing gold rush. Those who win in this market win BIG!

In the 90’s going to Blockbuster video on Friday evening to rent movies and then pick up a pizza on the way home had become a tradition for many. At one point the CEO of Netflix approached the CEO of Blockbuster about a joint venture and was literally laughed out of the room. Netflix continuously improved while Blockbuster chose to stay their course. Because Blockbuster chose not to adapt with the changing technology, they were taken out by their competition.

Both Google and Facebook have proven to be the two most profitable options when it comes to digital marketing. The question business owners have to ask themselves is, which “vehicle” best suits the needs of my business?

Let’s break it down.

Both Google and Facebook offer PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising capabilities for your business. That means every time a potential customer sees and then clicks on your ad; they charge you after reaching a certain threshold. When done properly digital marketing can be a predictable mechanism for getting customers on demand. Deciding between Facebook and Google to reach potential customers in large part boils down to level of customer awareness and type of goods or services being sold.

When talking about customer awareness level think of the acronym UPSYD (pronounced UPSIDE).

U- Unaware (Potential customers unaware they have a problem).

P- Problem Aware (Potential customers who know they have a problem but might not know what the solution to the problem is).

S- Solution Aware (Potential customers know they have a problem, (child with crooked teeth) know the solution (child needs braces) I will find a local orthodontist.

Y- Your solution aware (Potential customers knows they need a service and that you offer that service).

D- Deal Aware (Potential customer knows that you have the deal they want or need).

In most cases service-based businesses tend to see better results with Google AdWords. There are a few exceptions to this such as Chiropractors, Hair Stylists, and HVAC companies to name a few.

Consider this: A person has busted water pipe in the middle of winter. They may ask a friend on Facebook for referrals for a good plumber, but most likely they will just get on their phone and Google “Plumbers near me” or some variation. Looking back to the awareness levels they would fall into the Solution aware category. Often customers in the Y and D awareness levels are service based. There tends to be more competition in these spaces (Think red sharks in an over-saturated red ocean full of other red sharks.) and winning on Google at these levels is a bit more challenging and may cost more to win. The roofing industry, for example, is an extremely competitive and costly niche.

Now, suppose your company is running Facebook ads for a special on particular air conditioning unit. There are many people on Facebook who may know that if they don’t get their unit fixed or replaced (Solution aware) it will be a very long hot (pain-fully hot!) summer. Then there is another group who know that their house doesn’t quite cool like it used to (problem aware) and are dreading their electricity bill (pain), but not sure what their options are. Within these two groups there are more customers and fewer competitors (think red shark in big blue ocean).

Suppose you offer an amazing new product or service that your potential customers don’t know they need, or don’t even know exists! Furthermore, suppose you are the only supplier in your market. This last and largest market is the Unaware group (Think only red shark in big blue ocean). You would want to use Facebook to reach this market.

Depending on your message and offer, you can reach more than one group with a single ad. For example, the problem and solutions aware groups can often be reached from the same ad.

Facebook is a very powerful marketing tool when used effectively. There are 150-200 million active users on Facebook in the United States. There are 200 thousand alone in Fayetteville, NC. The amazing thing about Facebook is the algorithm it uses to track all user behavior patterns, interests, likes and dislikes, which it can then use to target the right potential customers.

Over time, after acquiring a certain number of new customers through an ad, the algorithm then goes to work at lightning speed, optimizing and showing your ads specifically to people it knows whom are most likely to buy from your business, based on their behavior, interests, likes and dislikes.

Digital marketing is here to stay. Below you will find my contact information. I would love to sit down to talk and answer questions you might have about digital marketing specific your industry and market.

Much Success,