Of Jonathan Habert
Digital transformation goes far beyond digitization, dematerialization and the implementation of CRM solutions in companies.
To stand out in their market, attract their customers and develop their brand image, companies are investing heavily in digital marketing and the web in general.
If pure players and DNVB (digital native vertical brands) set the tone, the whole ecosystem follows suit. Since the early 2000s, the way of doing marketing and business has radically changed.
Based on the Digital Report 2021, the main sources of new brand discovery for the customer are now search engines at 42.5% and word of mouth at 29.3%.
This sets the tone!
Another surprising figure, total online advertising spend increased 3.1% between 2019 and 2020 to reach $ 6.22 billion … including $ 1.5 billion on social networks (+ 6.5% in a year).
Only in France.
The web is now everywhere and companies, whatever they are, regardless of size and sector, seem to have no choice.
But what is it really?
10 years ago, I co-founded L’Agence Web, Agence de Référencement and have since witnessed the digital transformation of corporate marketing. In fact, more than participating, I contribute to it, with my team.
Because web & digital marketing has become fundamental
To launch into new markets, develop the company and acquire new customers, digital is essential for SMEs but also for large groups, start-ups and agencies.
Digital transformation is also the transition to web acquisition
It is no secret that the digital transformation of companies (which follows that of society and the world) has been going on for several decades.
But at the heart of this revolution is another upheaval: the digitalization of marketing. If with Nourdine Selmi I decided to create L’Agence Web, in 2013, it is because at that time the enthusiasm for the acquisition of the web was already becoming phenomenal and there were more and more economic actors to help.
In the last decade, the growth of digital marketing levers has only increased almost exponentially, widening the gap between the most advanced brands in the field and the laggards.
The good news is, it’s never too late to get started, and the agency is still supporting great clients who are struggling to truly transform lead acquisition and conversion.
Inevitably, some brands are more interested in searching for their customers on the internet, due to the nature of their offering or target audience. It’s obvious.
But now no sector is excluded from this propensity for the web, and almost all brands have customers to convince on the web.
To do without it is to lose opportunities and it is a considerable shortage. In fact: even if sometimes we still hear about digital marketing “expenses”, it is much more of investmentssince the ROI is very often beneficial.
The agencies that support the brands guarantee this on a daily basis.
“There is still some educational work to be done with some advertisers to make them aware of the interest of the web in their business, because even in 2022 we still sometimes observe reluctance or questions!” Nourdine Selmi, CEO and co-founder of L’Agence Web
A sea of opportunities for the brands that have entered and are entering it
Facts and success stories show that many start-ups become unicorns thanks to research: SEO, SEA and Social Ads.
How many big brands have changed the game with their online advertising campaigns too? How many large groups adopted the web to integrate it into their marketing strategy years ago?
A lot, and they don’t regret it.
Recently, the most creative digital campaigns have been directed towards the metaverse, NFTs or virtual or augmented reality. Without having to go that far, traditional web channels remain extremely efficient: SEO, ads, social networks, etc.
To take another sector, online commerce, note that nearly 45% of e-merchants rely on SEO to attract buyers in 2022. In France, Spain, Italy, Poland or even Latin America, there is an institution .
And for good reason, according to a recent PrestaShop study:
- 1/3 expects an increase of more than 20% of their sales in 2022 thanks to SEO
- 3/4 already market their goods abroad or intend to do so in the coming months
- 30% of their marketing budget is invested in SEO
Customer acquisition remains the number one challenge for 42% of them.
Another report, published by Semrush in the first quarter of 2022, also informs about the state of content marketing in 2022, an increasingly effective channel of visibility, awareness, reputation and acquisition:
- The content evolves (and must continue to evolve) towards a more human aspect
- The 2 years of the pandemic have changed uses and this permanent reference is a source of wear, it’s time to move on
- Some priorities stand out in content strategies: empathy and visitor search intent at all levels of the conversion funnel
- Pay attention to the storytelling, as the audience is more alert than ever in the face of greenwashing, socialwashing, etc.
- More than ever, content is a long-term ROI investment
- Click-through rate remains the best indicator in SEO
- The short videos are popular, driven by the influence of TikTok, and anyone can win
- Content control is gaining importance in the overall content marketing strategy
As for social media, let’s talk about it (as a Hootsuite study on Debate of the Year did):
- Facebook remains the most effective channel for achieving business goals according to 62% of marketers
- Instagram is the one on which respondents intend to invest the most in 2022 (48%)
- Only 10% don’t use paid ads, especially small businesses
- 1 in 2 marketers believe that their social advertising strategy is integrated with other marketing activities (TV advertising, print, Google Ads, PR, etc.)
- Awareness is at the top of the motivations of social media marketers (53%), before acquisition (47%) and conversion (46%)
As a historical “old school” actor he brilliantly moved to the web
Lextenso is a legal ad site that has existed for more than a century (formerly Les Petites Affiches)
Until recently, they were almost absent from the web. Traditionally, their marketing was done through print media, vendors, and generally physical channels.
With the agency, we supported them in digitizing and developing their internet business until they became almost a pure actor (almost): SEO and SEA galore, advertising campaigns, etc.
Now their business is running at full capacity, even better than before. It is a great pride, because it was not won in advance. But after all, what would the life of an agency be without major challenges?
Do companies still have a choice?
Not really: the choice is between modernizing, or being overtaken by the competition and losing opportunities to strengthen the bond with the public and customers. And while some brands are resisting SEO, online advertising or social networking, others are already launching into the metaverse and the Web3 …
As stated above, the deficit is huge and every week without moving forward in the digital transformation of marketing is a week lost.
Furthermore, the covid has accelerated this structural trend: in 2 years we have gained 20 years.
Some historical customers who have not invested in digital at all have been able to quickly develop their turnover thanks to the web.
The future is digital.
The other question that remains, therefore, remains that of “how” and “who”, that is: how to start and with whom?
Being well supported is key to a successful transition (and that’s the job of L’Agence Web.com)
Research agency (SEM, SEO and SEA) at the service of your acquisition of qualified leads since 2013, we support you in the digital transformation of the acquisition of your customers.
Our goal: to have experts collaborate on your natural and paid referencing problems to enable you to successfully develop on new online channels.
From Europe to the US, we enable top brands to exceed their web acquisition goals. Our team of diverse talents cultivate French excellence on every search topic: crawl, editorial, netlinking, sponsored links, technical SEO … we use the best actions to help you explode on Google, other search engines and Amazon.
What if the time is finally right to create a strategy that fits your needs, implement effective actions, and generate the best ROI on the internet?
Jonathan Habert