Are you harnessing the full potential and power of digital marketing for your small business?
Online marketing is a big world with many channels and options. Maybe you’re not seeing the ROI you’d hoped for. Let’s review your small business marketing to see what you can optimize to skyrocket your success.
In this article, we’ll share our top tips for optimizing a balanced, effective online marketing strategy that includes your brand identity, social media, email marketing, SEO, and more.
Build a strong, user-friendly website
Your website is the hub of your online presence. It must authentically represent your brand and give visitors the information they need to make buying decisions.
Your website can be simple or comprehensive, depending on your needs. It should:
- Look professional and on brand (visitors should instantly recognize your brand and messaging)
- Be intuitive to navigate (typically no more than 2-3 clicks for visitors to find what they need)
- Include a mobile-friendly version (a second version of your website in a simpler layout optimized for viewing on mobile devices or small tablets)
- Include 5 essential pages and content, including home, about, services/products, blog, and contact pages
- Have links or ways to buy from you (an online store, contact links, and forms)
- Be designed and coded for fast loading and a smooth user experience
- Be optimized for search engine optimization (through clean code, readable and accessible content, and more)
Remember, your website is often the first impression someone will get of your business. Make a strong first impression that helps users understand what you do and what problems you solve for your customers.
Optimize for local search (Local SEO)
If you are a local business, claim your Google Business Profile and Maps listings. Showing up on maps like Google and Bing helps users search for services in specific areas. For example, if you are a nail salon, locals may search for “nail salons near me” to find a place for a manicure before a big event.
You can also optimize your website for local searches by getting listed in local online directories. These include sites like Yelp, Bing Places, and other niche or community directories.
Collecting and managing customer reviews online is the third way to attract customers looking for your services. For example, when people leave a testimonial or star rating for your business on your Google profile, it shows up when your business profile appears in search results. The more positive reviews and ratings your business has, the more trustworthy it appears to visitors searching for your services or products online.
Develop a content marketing strategy
Content plays a big role in your website and your social media presence. Through the content you write on your blog or social media, post to YouTube or podcasts, and publish on third-party websites like Medium, you show off your expertise, and people get to know and learn about your offerings.
Develop a content strategy for creating, publishing, and promoting content online. The best strategy for many businesses, especially those new to content marketing or with limited budgets, is content repurposing. Content repurposing involves reusing your content for different media types and publishing on different platforms online.
For example, you may produce a professional 10-minute how-to video for your business. You can reuse the content from that video and turn it into a blog post, publish an excerpt on social media, post the audio to your podcast, and host a live workshop, all based on the content you created in that original 10-minute video. Invest in 1 good piece of content and parse out what you can use in other ways, saving you time and marketing dollars.
Your content strategy can include content in different formats, including written, video, and audio. Include all content you plan to create and promote in your content calendar.
Learn more about building your content calendar.
Leverage social media
If your business isn’t on social media, do you really exist? Having a social media presence is another way to show the legitimacy of your business, so make sure you include a social media marketing plan for your business.
To get the most benefit from social media, choose the top online platforms and sites where your audience hangs out. Start with 2-3 and build from there as your audience changes and your capacity to post and monitor these channels grows.
Focus on posting content that educates, entertains, and engages your audience. Ensure every post has a call to action that’s a hyperlink or a “comment below” or “share” action. Ensure you include time to monitor your channels and online social groups to engage with your audience. Comment on their comments and share their content when appropriate.
Use your business social media presence to build community and educate, rather than posting hard-sell posts all the time (although a few “buy from us” now posts are ok and recommended).
Here are more tips on creating viral-worthy social media content.
Invest in paid advertising strategically
Paid advertising online can seem scary if you’ve never tried it (or even if you have). With the right strategy and content, paid ads can be economical and effective.
Online ad platforms often have many customization options, so you can target a very specific group of people with the characteristics of your ideal customer. This helps increase the likelihood of them clicking on your ads and making a purchase.
Look into Google Ads, Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), and LinkedIn Ads. In the ad settings, target your ads to audiences who are already familiar with your brand or have characteristics of your target customer.
Learn more about using ads to engage your online audience.
Build and nurture an email list
Do you have an email marketing list? Start collecting emails from customers and use them (with their permission) to send company newsletters and helpful information. Set expectations when they subscribe so they know what kind of content you’ll be sending and how frequently they should expect emails.
Here are a few ways to collect emails for your marketing list:
- Offer a free digital resource or coupon (this is called a Lead Magnet in marketing) in exchange for their email address
- Collect email addresses when customers make a purchase
- Have a “business card drop” at your shop to collect emails for those who want to subscribe
- Include a sign-up form on your website
- Have a subscribe link in your email signature and business cards
Track analytics and ROI
As much as possible, look for ways to track the success of your online marketing campaigns. This may include adding tracking IDs to your links (using a site like Bit.ly or Google URL builder).
Measure the success of your online activities and use that information to make changes to help you optimize your digital marketing efforts. Try different online marketing strategies and content over time to see which performs the best.
One final tip to master your online marketing strategy…
Online marketing can be overwhelming if it’s not your primary area of expertise. You’re an expert in your niche, and the picnic social team are social media and digital marketing experts. We’d be happy to help you optimize and improve your online marketing.
Feel free to book a complimentary online marketing consultation. In the meantime, get more online marketing tips to transform your small business.
