I had a great meeting this past week with two sales professionals.  One was from a local radio station I buy and the other seller was a partner with that broadcast company that specializes in Search Engine Marketing in Madison.  Actually she works all across the U.S. for her company Smart Reach Digital.  We’re partnering on SEM.  I need quality partners who spend all day working on digital media.  I’m not going to kid you.  Digital can be confusing.  There are a lot of moving parts.  And the technology that drives things like Live Chat, Display Ads, Geo-Targeting, Geo-Fencing, Demographic Targeting, Contextual Targeting, Search Re-Targeting, Site Re-Targeting and Station Audience Mirroring are all digital applications that require learning and understanding in order to invest in them strategically so you don’t waste your ad/marketing dollars.  With click through rates as low as .01% I advise my clients to be careful and understand what they are buying.  Digital Marketing is not always about direct response and “look at the leads I’m getting from my website!”  It’s about branding, establishing your style guide, positioning your business where your customers are spending time online and it’s about driving up awareness for both your online website and social media presence.  Get in the game.  Allocate a portion of your 2016 ad budget to digital.  According to Yvonne Genovese, managing vice president at Gartner  “Marketing leaders are securing bigger budgets to define markets, develop offerings, and attract, acquire and retain customers. Digital marketing is taking an increasing share of the marketing budget with annual digital marketing operating budgets totaling 3.1 percent of a company’s revenue in 2013, as compared with 2.6 percent in 2012, representing a 20 percent increase.”  Digital marketing budgets are increasing even more in 2016. Start small and don’t quit.  I’ll be launching my own digital marketing campaign before year end.  I’ll keep you posted on the outcome as the experience unfolds.