Thrive Online: Essential Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Intro

With over five billion people online, it is now more crucial than ever for small businesses to have a solid online presence.

Gone are the days when merely having a physical storefront or relying solely on traditional marketing methods sufficed. In this dynamic era where consumers increasingly turn to the convenience of online shopping, a significant digital footprint is essential for businesses aspiring to thrive and remain competitive.

If you’re unsure how to start, this post will guide you. Let's discuss importance of digital marketing and learn strategies to help small businesses thrive in the cutthroat competition.

Why is digital marketing important?

If a small business takes time to perfect its website, social media accounts, and online ads, it establishes that they're legitimate and trustworthy. Being online helps small companies connect with customers who are looking for their products or services right when those people are ready to buy.

Source: DataReportal

Help you reach a global audience

Digital marketing empowers small businesses to reach a global audience without a massive marketing budget. These days, marketing for small businesses is usually focused on having a solid online presence, but there are better and more effective ways to reach customers besides the web.

Each small business needs to determine the best methods for attracting new customers, interacting with returning ones, and building lasting relationships with buyers.

It depends on what you're trying to do, how much money you've got, who you're trying to sell to, and what you're selling. No matter where you're at with your business, constantly refining your marketing plan is critical to doing well.

Improve brand awareness

Small business marketing is essential because it lets you get your message out to people who need to learn more about your company.

By posting ads or social media posts, you can get new prospects interested in your offering and turn some of them into customers. It also helps make your brand more well-known and establish that you're the expert in your niche.

Connect with customers

If you keep sharing helpful information online through your website, social accounts, emails, and more, you can connect with new potential customers and chat with them in real-time.

Giving people helpful information is an excellent way to get them interested while learning what content or messages work best moving forward. The more consistent you are about putting yourself out there, the more your business will grow through greater awareness and sales.

Digital Marketing Tips for Owners of Small Businesses

Whether you just sell products online or have a physical store people can visit, you must put time and money into advertising online. Digital marketing usually means things on the internet, but it can also include ways to interest people in your local area.

Here are tips for your digital marketing plan that might help get more people to know about your brand and shop with you:

Source: Techtarget

Make your website mobile-friendly

Today, many people use their phones and tablets instead of computers to browse online and make purchases. So, ensuring your site looks good and works well on mobile is super important.

Many website-building platforms like Squarespace and Wix, or e-commerce sites like Shopify and BigCommerce, offer templates and tools that automatically make your site mobile-friendly.

When designing your website, remember to check how it looks and functions on a phone or tablet. That way, if anything needs tweaking for mobile, you can fix it upfront.

Take time to build your business profile

Setting up and keeping up-to-date profiles for your business on sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and more is a cost-effective way to advertise and boost how high you rank in searches.

Your profile is a helpful resource where current and potential customers can find important information like your address, phone number, and operating hours. Plus, putting images, photos, and logos helps engage people who might be interested.

Other platforms like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp for Business, and Nextdoor are also great spots to share info about your business and catch the eye of customers nearby. Setting up profiles is a simple way to get the word out without spending a lot.

Know and understand your target market

Understanding your target customers is super essential for marketing your business online. When you know who is most likely to buy from you, you can tailor your social media, website, and emails to speak to different types of people.

For example, you’re offering financial services and helping clients rollover 401k to Roth IRA. In that case, one of your target customers is employed individuals investing toward retirement. These people need assistance developing a retirement income strategy, including when to start taking distributions, managing withdrawals, and optimizing Social Security benefits.

The key is identifying all the customers who might be interested in what you offer. Then, you can create tailored messaging for them on each platform, through email, or other channels you use. This approach is vital to get the word out to the people most pumped about your product.

Make local marketing part of your plan

Local searches have become increasingly prevalent. Whether someone is looking for a nearby restaurant, a hair salon, or a plumber, they often turn to search engines for recommendations. This is where local SEO can be effective.

One of the key advantages of local SEO is its ability to attract highly targeted traffic. It allows you to reach customers who are actively seeking your services in your specific location.

Furthermore, local SEO levels the playing field by enabling smaller businesses to compete effectively in their local market. By providing localized content and personalized recommendations tailored to your audience, you can differentiate yourself from larger competitors and attract customers who prefer to support local businesses.

Consider blogging

Starting a blog is a great way to get more customers and increase sales as part of your content marketing plan.

Posting blog articles, newsletters, videos, info-graphics, and e-books allows you to share that content on your website through email and social media. Writing about topics related to your company, showing off what you know, and giving people helpful information means more traffic to your site and better search results for your business name.

It's a proactive approach that engages people and builds your brand as a reliable source in your field. Try blogging to promote your business through helpful and engaging content online.

Pick a platform fit for your business

Just like with content, your business needs to engage on social media platforms. A lot of people use social media when deciding what to buy.

However, instead of trying to be all over every platform, you'll want to identify which fits best with your business and focus your efforts there.

For example, if you're starting an online clothing store, places like Pinterest and Instagram that emphasize visuals may align more with your marketing strategy than others.

Centering your efforts on a handful of platforms can streamline things, making it easier to stay active and quickly respond to customers. This targeted approach improves your effectiveness at engaging people and helping your business grow.

Explore email marketing

Building up your contact list can help with email marketing. Customer relationship management (CRM) and email are great digital strategies. It can also help boost loyalty with current customers and attract new prospects.

CRM software helps collect and save info about people — customers you already have and potential customers who have checked out your business somehow. You can then send newsletters, special deals, announcements, discounts, and other information about your company and products. The good thing is it can auto-fill details like their name and location to personalize the emails, too.

Source: Zendesk

Ask for customer reviews

Reviews are game-changers. Not only do they feel good to read as a business owner, but they also really help you when others search online. Seeing good reviews will make people feel more comfortable doing business with your brand.

You should encourage your customers to leave a review after their experience. Put a friendly sign by the register asking them to review you online. You could also add a quick link on your website and in emails so it's easy for them to do so. Getting those reviews out there will only help bring in more business.

And you must monitor the reviews that come in, both good and bad. If anyone has a negative review, you need to reply to it right away. That way, you can make things right with that customer and show others how to handle problems.

Responding shows you care about customer service. Responding to negative reviews might even turn an unhappy customer into one who recommends us to their friends. Embracing all feedback, positive or negative, shows you want to keep getting better at what you do.

Invest in digital ads

Digital ads to reach more of your target audience. If it fits your marketing budget, putting ads on platforms like Google and social media is an effective way to get your business in front of people who would be interested.

With digital ads, you can choose specific keywords and focus on the type of people you want to reach. You can target customers in your local area, certain age groups, or niche markets.

A lot of these platforms also have retargeting tools. That means you can show ads only to people who have already visited your website and shown interest in what you offer.

This targeted approach makes your advertising dollars go further by focusing on people who already know your brand. That increases the chances they'll buy something and keep returning as customers.

The Right Strategy Delivers the Best Results

Just because a particular strategy is popular doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. What matters is picking the ones that are the best fit for your unique business.

Even if you have a fantastic product, it won’t sell itself—you need solid marketing to make sure people know about it and to help grow your business. That's why it's essential to consider your marketing plan and integrate it throughout your operations.

Proper marketing is vital for your small business to succeed long term.