Most digital marketers can probably relate to this social situation: Someone asks what you do for a living. After explaining that you work in digital marketing, the inquisitor follows up with some variation of, “So, you play around on Facebook all day?”

Social media, in particular, gets a bad reputation, with some business owners refusing to even acknowledge social platforms as legitimate marketing channels.

But if you think digital marketing is just fluff and noise, you are missing out on low-cost campaigns with great returns on investment that traditional marketing cannot compete with. What most businesses fail to realize is that digital marketing methods actually offer more measurable value than traditional methods.

How a Company Generated $2M From One Blog

Over the years, blogging has transformed from a forum for teenagers into an affordable lead-generation tool. To understand how this transformation occurred, let’s first examine how the internet has changed consumer behavior.

With a digital information repository at your fingertips, today’s consumers are more educated than ever. Gone are the days of going into a store to speak to an expert or even asking neighbors for referrals. Everything from pricing to reviews is found with a simple search.

No matter what industry or consumers you serve, customers have questions, and you can guess where they go for their answers — Google. So, how can you take advantage of this? By answering those questions on your company’s blog or FAQ page.

Marcus Sheridan, one of earliest proponents of content marketing, was able to generate $2 million for River Pool & Spas when he published a blog post on the company’s website answering a simple question: “How much does a fiberglass pool cost?”

What did the blog post cost him? A half hour of his time and maybe some web analytics tools? We’ll take that ROI.

According to Tech Client, businesses have a 434 percent higher chance of a high ranking on search engines if they feature blogs as part of their website. Additionally, HubSpot found that companies that implement blogging into their content marketing strategy receive 67 percent more leads than those who do not.

Content marketing might seem pretty straightforward, but like any marketing campaign, it is important to have a strategy. For most businesses, you are not blogging just to blog; you are creating content to drive your marketing funnel.

Social Media’s Biggest Value-Add for Business

Business owners often ask, “Is social media actually a legitimate way to generate leads?” But those business owners might be asking the wrong question.

The value of social media is not measured in leads, but rather, it is measured through customer experience. According to Forrester data, there is a relationship between customer experience and stock price. In fact, people are willing to pay a premium cost for the experience with a brand.

Additionally, improving customer experience can save your company big bucks. In fact, Sprint saves $1.7 billion each year by determining and mitigating the root cause of customer dissatisfaction from calls made to its contact center.

And as it turns out, social media is a crucial part of improving customer experience. The internet allows word-of-mouth communication to spread easier than ever, both positive and negative.

In the multifamily industry, for example, negative commentary from residents is commonly found across social media and online review sites such as Yelp, Twitter, and Google business pages. Residents who are frustrated with a property’s maintenance issues or poor customer service often express those feelings publicly online. The way a multifamily property responds will ultimately determine how a negative comment affects your business.

Social Media Guide

In the world of digital marketing, it can be difficult to know which tactic works best. Many businesses focus too much of their digital marketing efforts on one tactic, thinking it will bring immediate results.

However, each part of your marketing strategy should fit together into one cohesive piece. Your website, social media presence, user experience, customer experience, etc., should operate in harmony in order to establish a successful inbound marketing plan.

Yet, your property may have more than one buyer persona. How do you effectively market to each persona in a way that will appeal to their unique desires?

Social media is key to attracting new residents and engaging with current tenants, but each platform is unique. Download our social media guide to learn the dynamics of social media and how to market each post to multiple personas.