Is Blended Digital Marketing the Future for Small Businesses?

2024 has been a shaky year for SEO and marketing as a whole. It has left a lot of small businesses unsure of what channels to place their marketing budgets.

Google has been unpredictable, and TikTok is being threatened with bans. What next? Now is the perfect time to look at blended, multi-channel marketing that can return better results when done right.

We sought insights from digital marketing experts on whether blended digital marketing is the future for small businesses. From maximising strengths with blended strategies to the traditional pairing with digital tactics, let’s discuss the top eight expert opinions on embracing a holistic marketing approach. 

But first, what is blended digital marketing all about?

What is Blended Digital Marketing?

Blended digital marketing is a comprehensive approach that combines multiple digital marketing channels and strategies to create a more effective and far-reaching marketing campaign. 

The key aspects of blended digital marketing include:

1. Utilising Multiple Channels: SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, and content marketing are all (or selectively) integrated into a cohesive strategy.
2. Maximising Reach And Impact: Businesses can use various channels to reach a wider audience and engage with them through their preferred platforms.
3. Enhancing Brand Visibility: The multi-channel approach helps brands stand out and remain in thought.
4. Improving Audience Engagement: Different channels allow various interactions with the target audience.
5. Driving Sustainable Growth: Businesses can create a more stable, long-term growth strategy by diversifying marketing efforts.

This approach is particularly beneficial for small businesses as it allows them to leverage multiple touchpoints with their audience, potentially increasing their chances of success in today’s competitive digital marketplace. 

According to marketers, social media marketing on its own is already an excellent tool for growing a business. However, the best way for small businesses to move forward is to employ a blended marketing approach that includes SEO, email marketing, direct messaging, content marketing, and more.

What Are The Key Benefits Of Blended Digital Marketing For Small Businesses?

Blended digital marketing offers several advantages over traditional marketing methods for small businesses, such as:

Increased Exposure And Reach

Digital channels allow small businesses to reach a global audience cost-effectively. Traditional marketing is often limited geographically, while blended digital marketing allows small businesses to reach more customers on different platforms.

Cost-Effectiveness And Flexibility

Digital marketing often offers more affordable options for small businesses compared to expensive traditional media like TV or print ads. It’s also more flexible, allowing campaigns to adjust quickly based on performance.

Increased Sales

With more exposure to different channels comes more chances to close sales. A blended digital marketing strategy allows small businesses more control over their sales strategy because they can reach customers through email, direct social media messaging, SEO, and more.

Diversifying to Multiple Channels

Blended digital marketing integrates various online channels like social media, email, search engines, and websites. This multi-channel strategy creates more touchpoints with customers than siloed traditional methods.

Higher Customer Retention And Loyalty 

A well-executed blended digital marketing approach provides a consistent experience across different platforms, helping to build consumer trust and loyalty to the brand. 

Enhanced Targeting And Personalisation

Blended digital marketing allows for much more precise audience targeting than traditional methods. It enables small businesses to segment audiences based on demographics, interests, online behaviour, and other factors.

According to Engaging Partners, businesses with a strong blended digital marketing approach retain 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies without. This dramatic difference highlights the impact of an integrated approach on customer loyalty.

Common Challenges Small Businesses Face When Implementing Blended Digital Marketing?

Small businesses often face several common challenges when implementing blended digital marketing strategies, such as:

Limited Budget And Resources

Many small businesses struggle with allocating sufficient funds for comprehensive digital marketing campaigns. They often have to stretch their limited budgets across multiple channels, which can lead to ineffective implementation.

Lack Of Marketing Expertise

Small business owners frequently lack specialised marketing knowledge, making developing and executing effective digital strategies difficult. This gap in expertise can result in poor campaign performance and wasted resources.

Difficulty In Measuring Roi And Tracking Performance

Tracking the effectiveness of blended digital marketing efforts across multiple channels can be challenging for small businesses. Without proper analytics and measurement tools, it’s hard to determine which strategies are working and which ones need adjustment.

Content Creation And Distribution

Consistently producing high-quality, engaging content across various digital channels is time-consuming and challenging for small businesses with limited staff and resources.

Reaching And Engaging The Right Audience

Identifying and targeting the ideal customer base across multiple digital platforms can be complex and requires a deep understanding of audience demographics and behaviours.

Integrating Multiple Digital Channels Effectively

Creating a cohesive strategy that seamlessly blends various digital marketing channels (e.g., social media, email, SEO, PPC) can be overwhelming for small businesses.

Maintaining Consistency Across Channels

Ensuring a consistent brand message and user experience across all digital touchpoints requires careful planning and execution, which can be difficult for small teams.

Insights From Founders And CEOs on Blended Digital Marketing For Small Businesses

We sought insights from founders and CEOs on how they view blended digital marketing and how it affects the future of small businesses. Here are the top eight expert opinions on embracing a blended and multi-faceted marketing approach.

Diversify Strengths With Blended Strategies

I’ve worked with over 450 clients and seen how small businesses succeed when they combine different digital marketing strategies. It’s about using the right tools—social media, email marketing, SEO, and paid ads—to reach their audience best.

For small businesses, being online isn’t enough; they need to be where their customers are. A blended approach helps them get their message out on different platforms without depending too much on just one. This is important because if one method isn’t working, others can keep things going.

Bhavik Sarkhedi, Founder & Creative Director, Ohh My Brand

Adopting a Unified Strategy Amplifies Impact

The critical advantage of blended digital marketing lies in its ability to create a cohesive brand experience across multiple channels. This allows businesses to reach their audience wherever they are, whether on social media, search engines, or email. 

By integrating AI with SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media, small businesses can maximise their reach and engagement, driving more traffic and conversions with a unified strategy. 

In a world where customers interact with brands across various platforms, a blended approach is not just an option—it’s a necessity.

Jason Hennessey, CEO, Hennessey Digital

Consider Resource In Strategy Focus

Blended digital marketing is the key to growth for small businesses. However, some considerations regarding resource availability should also be considered.

For instance, I recommend a small start-up clothing brand with resource constraints targeting Gen Z consumers to build their audience in the channels where most of their audience operates. 

In most cases, this would mean a significant resource allocation towards social media advertising on Instagram or TikTok, for example, as opposed to a blended digital campaign with social media marketing, which also incorporates email marketing, PPC, and SEO, which would be highly resource-limited.

While all channels are important for digital marketing success, smaller businesses with limited resources may only have the resources to excel and focus on one truly. Thus, they should decide what goal matters the most for their business and, from there, focus their strategy accordingly.

Jordan Bridge, Digital Marketing and Security Analyst, Growthlabs

Traditional Pairing With Digital Tactics

Blended digital marketing is a game-changer for small businesses. Pairing traditional marketing methods with digital strategies enables broader reach and heightened engagement. 

Think about it: combining social media campaigns with local events or direct mail can create a seamless experience for your target audience, keeping your brand top-of-mind both online and offline.

One practical tip for implementing blended digital marketing is the 70-20-10 rule. Allocate 70% of your budget to proven channels like SEO and email marketing, 20% to new strategies you’re testing, like influencer partnerships, and 10% to innovative experiments, such as virtual reality demos or AI-powered chatbots. 

This method ensures you continually improve and stay ahead of the competition while balancing risk and reward.

Chris Roy, Product and Marketing Director, Claimsline

How Should Small Businesses Approach Blended Digital Marketing?

While blended digital marketing is crucial to the future of small businesses, implementing and adopting it presents some key challenges. 

Here are a few tips on the approach small businesses should take to succeed with blended digital marketing in today’s landscape:

Focus On Cost-Effective Tactics

Leverage cost-effective digital marketing methods that provide a good return on investment. This may include:

• Optimising for local SEO to improve visibility in local searches
• Using social media platforms strategically to engage with your audience
• Creating valuable content to attract and retain customers

Emphasise Personalisation And Customer Engagement

Use digital tools to offer personalised experiences and engage directly with customers. This can help small businesses build stronger relationships and compete with larger companies.

Utilise Data And Analytics

Use digital marketing analytics to track performance, understand your audience, and make data-driven decisions. This can help optimise your marketing efforts and improve ROI.

Maintain Consistency Across Channels

Ensure your brand message and user experience consistently across all digital touchpoints to build trust and recognition.

Adapt And Innovate

Stay agile and be willing to adapt your strategies based on performance data and market changes. Be open to trying innovative marketing approaches that larger competitors might be slower to adopt.

Allocate Resources Wisely

With limited budgets, focus on your best-performing channels and tactics rather than trying to be present everywhere. Prioritise quality over quantity in your digital marketing efforts.

Seek The Help Of A Professional Digital Marketing Agency

If you don’t have the time, skills, or expertise to carefully plan a practical and effective blended digital marketing approach, seeking the help of a professional digital marketing agency could be your best bet. 

Not only will it free you up to focus on crucial business decisions that matter, but it will also allow you to sleep at night knowing that your business is in good hands.

Conclusion

By leveraging a mix of strategies across multiple channels, small businesses can maximise their reach, engage more effectively with their target audience, and achieve sustainable growth.

Are you a small business owner looking to refine your digital marketing approach? Get a free marketing review and proposal to see if a blended and holistic approach to marketing can positively impact your business.