Digital marketing is a very broad term that includes website design, social media, online advertising, email advertising, SEO and more. It can be quite overwhelming to a small business owner or entrepreneur to get started when trying to figure out how to establish and grow their business’ online presence.
The key to using digital marketing is to understand how you can communicate your brand in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. You then have to figure out how you can get your followers to convert to customers.
This process isn’t hard. It might be a bit complex if you are not familiar with the digital marketing industry, so it is worth finding an expert in the field or gaining more knowledge in order to implement the necessary strategies to grow your business.
Here are a few ideas to help grow your business using digital marketing.
Your Website
Just about every aspect of digital marketing for a small business is designed to drive internet traffic to your website, your products or services. There is always a goal with implemented marketing strategies. Your website is hugely important, if not *the* most important element of your business.
We still see too many websites that were not created with responsive design; they look strange and are difficult to navigate on mobile devices. Your website must look good with easy navigation on mobile devices. Visitors must be able to click on a phone number or an email address to contact you. If they have to zoom in or write down the number then you are likely to lose them to a competitor whose site is mobile optimized.
The idea is to convert visitors into either a phone call, an email or a walk-in or an online sale. Additionally, Google awards higher rankings in search results to sites that are optimized for mobile visitors. A good tip is to use Google Ads or Google Adwords to send targeted traffic to your website and help your site to appear higher in search engines. Create unique landing pages that showcase your products and services and create an ad that will target your ideal customers.
Via your website, you can also see which of your services can be diversified to be offered online as well as in your place of business. For example, a therapist might be able to offer sessions online; certain other business owners can offer consultations or sell their products online. Think outside of the box. You are not always limited by a geographic location when you have access to a website and digital marketing activity across all the digital channels.
Social Media
Many small business owners have no clue what to do in regards to social media. Most will say they don’t need it and others will use it only on special occasions, but that’s not the way to grow your business using digital marketing.
Think of how you can get your products and services in front of your customers in a not-so-pushy way. Maybe a live stream discussing some of your services, or saving your main services and products in your social media highlights. What about the menu for your restaurant? Save it in your highlights and have your customers tag your profile when they share their photos. This will also get exposure from their followers, people who may not know about your business.
Some small business are confused about what social networks they should be using and how often they should be posting on them. There are a lot of logistics behind this – the best time to post, the type of content to post and how many times per day to post. Yes, we know its a lot to handle, but once your digital marketing team has the gist of what you plan to gain from your digital marketing efforts, they can effectively create a strategy that will grow your online presence.
One of the most important rules of marketing and running a business is to know your customer base. Nobody is looking for a plumber on Twitter or a lawyer on Instagram. Discuss which social media platforms your customers use and focus on those.
When it comes to posting on social media, understand that you are creating a voice for your business and often communicating with your most loyal customers, those that chose to follow you. Therefore, you must be careful in overloading them with specials and promotions. Engage with your followers and share information that is appropriate and useful. Post content that your followers will have no reluctance to engage with.
Facebook and Instagram now show your posts to only a fraction of your followers, so using a reasonable budget for advertising campaigns on social media is vital. Facebook and Instagram allow detailed targeting for your ads, so you can fine-tune and control who sees your ads. Paired with a good call-to-action, you can get a great return on your investment in your social media marketing.
Email Marketing
For many local businesses, this is a great and cheap way to communicate with your best customers. If you have customer’s email addresses, you can send specials, event information and new menu items to all your customers for little to no cost. You’d be surprised at how fast you can grow your following and place your product and services in front of your customers using email marketing.
According to research from MailMunch, click-through rates can be 50 to 100 times better on email than social media. This is an extremely effective and low-cost digital marketing strategy that might be right for your business.
A good content marketing strategy involves creating content your followers want to see and then encouraging them to purchase your product or service. Remember to communicate with your audience outside of soliciting sales. Successful entrepreneurs speak to their followers, tell them how much they value them and then loyalty follows.
Blogs
If you’re in a very competitive industry – and most local businesses are – you would need to think about a content strategy that will drive results. Create interesting blog content that will set you up as an authority in your niche and your followers will find you whenever they need information, products or services.
To create a great blog:
- Put the audience first
- Make sure it’s SEO-friendly
- Use the correct tone of voice for your audience
- Show readers they can trust you
Use Appropriate Visual Content
Content is king! Your content will form an important part of your digital strategy and it must be created with your audience in mind. It’s not what you want to say, it’s what your audience wants to see.
Your images and videos need to be visually appealing and engaging. They should also follow your brand’s theme and tone. Video is an area that is growing at an incredible rate. Big brands understand the power of video marketing and constantly create video campaigns. You might not have the big budgets, but you can always partner up with a talented local video agency/freelancer to get your own video campaign started.
Digital Marketing is getting bigger every day. Get ahead of your competition and create a digital marketing campaign that will connect with your customers and grow your business. Contact evlos digital to get started.
