Whether you run a small eCommerce business or a local arts and crafts store. Digital marketing has become an essential tool for reaching out and connecting with your customers. No matter where your business is located or what category your product or service falls under. With the right digital marketing strategies, you have the ability to reach a global marketplace.
Digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels, such as the internet, social media, search engines, and mobile devices, to promote products or services. The goal of digital marketing is to reach customers where they are spending their time, which is increasingly online.
In fact, just having an online presence allows you to get to know your audience better and develop a deeper understanding of their wants and needs. As your customer interaction and online engagement increase, so does the number of opportunities you have to generate sales and create brand loyalty.
However, implementing digital marketing strategies is often easier said than done for small businesses as you have to find ways to stand out against bigger competitors with a significantly smaller budget. With that said, here are five quickfire tips to help you get more out of your digital marketing.
1. Start a blog
Starting a blog is an effective way for small businesses to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry and connect with potential customers. A blog allows you to share valuable information, tips, and insights related to your industry, which can help attract visitors and build trust with potential customers.
According to SEMrush, 86% of companies produce more blog content than any other format, so if you haven’t already got a blog on your website, that’s almost certainly going to be the best place for you to start.
If you do it well, a successful blog can play a huge role in your ability to attract customers and drive more sales to your site. This is because you can set yourself apart as an industry expert and an authority in your field (which builds trust and authenticity). Additionally, the organic traffic that you will receive from SEO-optimized blog content can be monetized in a wide variety of ways, giving you more opportunities to create revenue.
What makes blogging even more appealing is how cost-effective it is. You don’t necessarily have to spend any money at all when creating a blog as long as you have the time and the skill to write the content yourself. However, there are some things you need to keep in mind before you get started:
- Keep the blog content relevant to your industry
- Target “long-tail keywords” that are not as competitive
- Avoid broad terms that are heavily contested by larger websites
- Put your audience first and create helpful and informative content
2. Explore video marketing
Video marketing is the use of video content to promote a product or service. It is a powerful and effective way for small businesses to reach and engage customers, as well as increase brand awareness and drive sales.
Interestingly, 61% of marketers believe that video is an extremely important part of their marketing strategy, while 68% stated that video has an even better return on investment than Google Ads, which shows the power of video marketing for businesses.
Even though you might not have the budget to produce super high-quality video content, there are still plenty of ways you can get in on the action. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Short explanatory videos of common questions in your industry
- Unboxing your products
- Q&A’s
- Live streams
- Testimonials
- Tips and tricks and how-to videos
By including video marketing in their digital marketing strategy, small businesses can increase their visibility, reach, and engagement with customers.
3. Build an email list and use it
Another fundamental digital marketing strategy that you need to take advantage of is email marketing. Once you have built up a significant email list, you can continually send them news and offers about your products and direct traffic to your website or your blog.
The great thing about having an email list is that YOU own it, and you can manage it in any way you see fit. The problem with things like SEO, Google, YouTube and even social media is that you do not have any control over the decisions they make in the future. If Google makes one algorithm change, all of your hard work on your blog could disappear overnight, whereas, on YouTube, your account could be shut down without warning.
While this information isn’t intended to warn you away from the other methods, it’s a reality we must all come to terms with. However, once you grow your email list, you have direct access to your customers, and you can connect with them at 1v1 any time you wish. It’s one of the safest and most reliable backup plans you can have, so get to work on your list ASAP.
4. Use digital ads to draw in traffic
Using digital ads is a great way for small businesses to draw in traffic to their website and increase brand awareness. Digital ads can be targeted to specific audiences, making them more effective at reaching the right people.
While most of the methods we have listed above can be done for free (or at least with a relatively small budget), there are definitely some paid options that you can explore that will deliver more immediate results for your business.
Suppose you’re willing to spend a little bit of cash. In that case, you can set up paid advertising campaigns on Google and many of the biggest social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to make sure your business is getting in front of the right audience. Here’s a quick rundown on the basics:
- Choose your budget
- Define your target market (consumer areas of interest and other demographics)
- Select the relevant keywords
- Create engaging ad copy and imagery that will result in more clicks through to your website
Of course, this is an oversimplification, and there is a whole industry dedicated to mastering paid advertising, so you might want to do some research before you get started.
5. Utilize Data and Analytics
Utilizing data and analytics is an important step in digital marketing for small businesses. By tracking and analyzing your digital marketing efforts, you can gain insight into which strategies are working and which ones need improvement. This can help you make informed decisions on how to allocate your marketing budget and resources more effectively.
There are a variety of tools available for tracking and analyzing data, such as Google Analytics. It can help you track website traffic, conversions, and user behavior. Additionally, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer their own analytics tools that can give you insight into your social media performance.
Using data and analytics can also help you create more effective and targeted marketing campaigns by understanding your target audience’s demographics, interests, and behavior. This will help you reach the right people at the right time and improve your ROI.