Most business owners and marketers understand that digital marketing is vital to the success of any business nowadays, and can make the difference between a small business thriving or failing. Some small businesses have survived by taking advantage of word-of-mouth marketing, and although it is a powerful advertising tool, it did not prepare these businesses for the pandemic. People were not talking or seeing one another nearly as often, and every company needed to advance their digital marketing game. It was time to face the fact that most people engage in every step of the marketing funnel via their phone or computer.
Large corporations or mid-size businesses often have the ability to significantly fund their marketing teams, which obviously impacts success. However, smaller organizations can take advice from these businesses and apply certain techniques to their own marketing strategy. It can be difficult to find cheaper solutions that also consider timeliness and man-power. But by following the below steps and modifying them to fit your business needs, you may be able to increase ROI.
Enhance SEO with Content: Creating a digital presence means abiding by Google’s rules, which includes search engine optimization. SEO targets unpaid content, rather than paid or direct marketing, to allow every website to have a chance at getting on the first page of Google. But how can we make unpaid content become impressive and “click worthy”? First, do your keyword research and understand which words and phrases trigger your target market. Then, incorporate these words into your website, including both old and new content. Write and post new blogs weekly or biweekly so that potential customers may click on your content when researching a similar topic. Be sure to integrate visual content as well, such as infographics and photos.
Social Media Presence: Social media is not always something a business owner looks forward to, or understands! But it is necessary to create relevant social media content for every organization to stay relevant. Research which social media platforms will most effectively target your audience, and then create those business profiles. Develop interesting graphics and post aesthetically pleasing photos to engage customers. Do not constantly sell or pitch your products; instead, share how these products have a positive impact on current customer’s lives.
Enhance Your Design Skills: In addition to social media, graphic design is another difficult skill for many small business owners to master. Fortunately, we now have access to many platforms that assist non-experts with creating pleasing content. Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, and Shopify are all great tools to build a website. They are also relatively easy for beginners to use. Canva is a free graphic design site (with thousands of easy templates) that creates social media posts, banners, newsletters, posters, business cards, ect. It is perfect for the everyday creator!
Email Marketing: Email marketing is still a valuable tool, as long as you do not bombard customers with irrelevant information and ads. Make sure that your website includes an email list sign up form, in which interested customers can receive news and promotions. Similarly to social media, company emails should not only focus on selling. They should be sharing blog posts, interesting news about the organization, community service, and customer stories. Segment your email list into specific customer profiles to ensure that every individual is viewing content they will realistically be interested in. This will increase clicks, engagement, and ROI.
Combine Content and Channels: When updating your digital marketing strategy, be sure to integrate all content across all channels. This means applying every piece of content to your website, social media, email campaigns, ect. For instance, your SEO research should also apply to your social media posts, where you might include those keywords in hashtags. Or when writing a new blog post, leverage that content past your website. Create a graphic to post on social media, and then send out the weekly/biweekly blog via an email campaign.
When implemented correctly, these tips will allow your business to see a significant increase in online engagement. This includes correctly targeting your customers, finding new customer profiles, increasing sales, and developing effective marketing strategies. We hope that you can implement these strategies, and modify them every quarter to enhance your strengths and improve your weaknesses.
Daniel James Consulting is a Full-Service Business Consulting Firm based in New York that designs solutions tailored specifically to the needs of your business in order to ensure you achieve continued success by designing, developing and implementing plans, metrics and platforms, be it a one-man operation, non-profit, startup or large organization. Our packaged solutions or a la carte selections include Website Design, Marketing & Advertising, Search Engine Positioning, and Graphic Design. Business Management Solutions are also available for companies of all sizes. For more information please visit:www.danieljamesconsulting.com.
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