How Much Should I Budget For My Online Marketing in 2017?

SMBs will need to budget more for their marketing in 2017 and with budget deadlines fast approaching it is time to think about how much should be allocated to digital marketing for the coming year. We have all hear the saying “You have to speculate to accumulate.” But the truth is that for smaller and medium-size business (SMBs), this can be a challenge when they are looking at the annual budget.  But it is time to have a hard long look at the finance and how best you can speculate and accumulate in 2017.

So the burning question is: With budgeting priorities pressing, where should SMBs be placing their marketing pounds next year?

It can be tough to stick to the plan when things go awry but it is even more essential, when times are rough, to remember that this is the portion of your budget that is going to ensure your survival. Here are three reasons that demonstrate why SMBs have to consider online marketing a top priority in their budget.

1. Online marketing competition is increasing

As more businesses sign up for online marketing, as well as radio and television advertising, the competition online is hotting up. A recent Survey showed that the spend on digital marketing is steadily increasing, while traditional advertising spend is declining.

2. Online marketing benefits are plentiful

Online marketing has a world of advantage over traditional forms of advertising because of the relatively low cost of channels like social media, as well as the ability to quickly change strategy in line with data from Google and other social media platforms. It can reach the same number of customers at a lower cost.

3. More SMBs are keen to invest in marketing online

So the question is why would some SMBs still resist online marketing, and even turn their back on traditional marketing? A recent survey in the USA found that 300 SMBs said the main reason was a small budget. If they had a larger budget however, digital marketing was top of the wish list, with SEO - search engine optimization and PPC - paid search topping the list. The survey found that 50% of those would spend the extra  budget on SEO and 41% would spend their budget on PPC.

Ultimately, as SMBs look at their 2017 budgets, they will find that the benefits to be had from increasing their budget for online marketing will far outweigh any short-term savings they get from reducing it.