A digital marketing strategy is an important part of the overall marketing strategy of a business. Small business marketing can include many offline local advertising methods but needs to include a healthy portion of digital marketing strategies to be successful and maximize sales in today’s economy.
Whether you have just started a small consulting business, run a local consignment shop, or opened a café, you are constantly looking for ways to attract business without breaking the bank. A small business that is doing most or all of its business online needs to embrace a digital marketing strategy that helps it be seen by online users.
Here are my essential digital marketing strategies to market your business while ultimately saving you a lot of money on customer acquisition.
1. BUILD A GREAT BRAND.
Branding is a way of defining your business to yourself, your team and your external audiences. Good branding is for everybody and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Especially in the digital age, there’s plenty you can do to make your business memorable for your clients and customers.
When it comes to branding and identity, it’s crucial to have a memorable business name, elegantly designed logo, eye-catching colours, beautiful and professional website and other elements that help communicate your strategic positioning to your customers. All of these pieces should work together to evoke a very specific tone and feeling.
Also Read: Good Branding Vs. Bad Branding. Why branding matters.
2. CREATE EDUCATIVE CONTENTS.
This strategy revolves around giving prospective customer information about your product or service, as well as information in general. Everyone is trying to sell, but those that can inform are more likely to get sales. People will attribute a certain level of expertise to a company, and this instils confidence in the consumer.
You should create relevant content showcasing your business values and the care you take to resolve people’s problems with your products or services. Then, distribute the content through a wide range of channels online. This way of content marketing is a proven tactic to drive the traffic towards your business from varied sources.
3. GROW AN ENGAGING EMAIL LIST.
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools. It is easy to manage, gives you full control and allows you to establish direct contact with your customers. Whether you are running an online shop, blog or services website, email is a great way to stay in touch with your current customers and one of the most efficient ways to convert potential customers to customers.
The core of every email marketing campaign is the email list and having a quality email list can make the difference when it comes to conversions and return from your campaign. Growing an engaged email list takes time and effort but it’s worth the stress.
4. BE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
Social media can be a great way for small business owners to connect with prospects and customers. Done right, it can make sales skyrocket. Some entrepreneurs have even built an entire business on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The purpose of social media for businesses is to attract, engage and retain customers.
very small business needs customers. Without qualified customers, it would be hard for any type of business (big or small) to survive in the long run. While there are many reasons as to why you should use social media marketing for small business to enhance and grow your company, the most obvious being, it will help you win more customers. And help your company gain more prominence.
Also Read: 10 Ways to Engage With Customers on Social Media.
5. USE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS.
One of the most powerful marketing strategies for your small business is to use Google My Business to your advantage. For businesses targeting local markets, this platform is a powerful marketing medium. The listing appears at the top half of the search page ahead of the search results.
So, try to get your small business in the top listings. If your marketing team is able to get your business listings in the top 3 listings, you are bound to get an enormous amount of traffic, which solely can bring you huge business without spending much on ads.
6. RESEARCH KEYWORDS FOR SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a series of tactics used by marketers to obtain higher placements on the search results pages of Google, Bing, Yahoo or other search engines in order to increase visits to their website. The good news? It’s free! The bad news is that it is also very tricky.
It can take a long time to start seeing results from your SEO strategies, but it pays off in the long run. One of the easiest things you can do now to increase your search engine traffic over time is keyword research. Keyword research tools will tell you what words and phrases your target audience most often uses when searching for information or products that your business can provide.
Also Read: Free And Amazing Growth Hacking Tools For Small Business.
7. SETUP A REFERRAL PROGRAM.
Today, one of the most effective and convenient ways to grow your business is by starting referral programs. Growing a business to the level of a successful corporation is not that easy, especially when your business is still in its baby stages. You simply have to know the best and most appropriate strategies out there for your business and niche.
Referral Programs can only be successful and retain success if they are continuously tracked. That is exactly the reason why you have to consider the tracking tools you will use during the planning stage. As you track your campaign progress, you will be able to see where most of your referrals come from, what kinds of incentives bring the most actions, and so on.
CONCLUSION.
We know that these strategies work not just because we use them, but also because our customers use them. We’ve seen countless businesses succeed through these strategies.
Small businesses can take advantage of the marketing strategies shared in this article to collaborate globally and compete against big businesses.