9 Ways to Turbocharge Your Small Business Digital Marketing Efforts
As a small business owner, it’s more important than ever to make sure your marketing plan keeps up with the times, so you don’t fall behind. Everything and everyone is going digital. This means you’ll fall behind your competition and lose a lot of potential income if you don’t adapt to this new tech-savvy audience.
Many small to medium businesses have avoided going digital. This may be due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of the steps they need to take to integrate their online and offline presence. The Internet isn’t going away. As more people prefer to shop and research online rather than in stores, your advertising choices are limited. If you want to compete and develop a future for your company, you can’t afford to ignore small business digital marketing.
Small business digital marketing is critical.
Every small business has the same goal in mind: to grow. Successful growth can result in a more extensive consumer base, better brand recognition, and more revenues.
It would be best to adopt the most effective strategy for marketing your products or services to customers. Even if you have a limited budget, digital marketing can help you grow your small business.
This approach combines your marketing efforts and uses various digital platforms, such as search engines, websites, email, social media, and mobile apps.
Continue reading to learn why small businesses should use digital marketing and how it might help them achieve their goals.
1. Reach Your Target Audience
The majority of your consumers are now on the Internet. According to Search Engine Land, 50% of people who conduct mobile searches for a local business will visit the store within one day. In the meantime, more than three-quarters of searches for local businesses on mobile devices end up buying from local stores. And, research by Think with Google found that almost 2 of 3 smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies whose mobile sites or apps customize information to their location.
Digital marketing allows you to appear prominently on search engines and social media platforms, where potential customers are most likely to be found. You can target people depending on their age, gender, geography, job, income level, and interests, among other factors.
If you own a physical store, digital marketing makes it easier for customers to find you. This boosts your chances of connecting with customers looking for similar items or services in your area.
2. Establish Your Online Presence
When someone is interested in your company, they will conduct research online to learn more about you. The majority of customers expect businesses to have a website and a presence on social media.
They may want to look at your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) listing, including images, contact information, business hours, etc. They might also like to browse reviews to see what others say about your company, products, or services.
Potential clients typically perceive a lack of web presence as a negative. They may believe that your small business is untrustworthy and unworthy of their time. As a result, these prospects will instead choose your competition.
3. Expand Website Marketing Efforts
In this day and age, businesses must have a robust online presence. If your company doesn’t have a website, it’s almost impossible to be found in your market.
Small businesses need to look no further than their web platforms to expand their knowledge of website marketing.
To improve their digital presence, over 56% of small firms invested in digital marketing in 2020.
Web marketing is a more focused digital action through in-house resources. Website marketing is one of the most measurable tactics for building online relationships. Relevant blog posts provide your company with the ideal opportunity to establish authority in your market.
Small businesses are expanding their online presence to meet their clients where they are right now and make the transition as smooth as possible. They can add diversity to their websites by generating existing content with a human touch, as online preferences often change in tandem with the developing digital market.
Dronegenuity, for example, published a blog post on money-saving suggestions for drone entrepreneurs wanting to save costs during the pandemic.
Small businesses can look at their site’s traffic and engagement levels to see where they can improve. This is a quick way to determine what does and doesn’t work.
4. Reach Targeted Customers
Another reason why small business digital marketing is so important is because of its great accuracy in reaching out to specific customers. After you’ve figured out who your target market is, you can start targeting clients who are most likely to invest in your company.
You can also use online marketing to increase visibility based on your company’s objectives. For example, if you aim to improve conversions, you can utilize remarketing to help you achieve that goal.
Sending emails to consumers already familiar with your website serves as a gentle reminder of your offerings. These clients previously noticed the value in your business, and you may remind them why they were interested in the first place using remarketing.
5. Let Customers Come to You
Consider small business digital marketing to make oneself visible to the people you want to reach. Scalability becomes a reality when your company’s reach extends beyond your immediate area.
Thanks to an online presence, your business is open for business even when you aren’t there! You can create a system in which your customers can contact you at any time of day or night.
Customers and prospects may now email you with queries, make purchases, and browse your inventory with just a few clicks. Furthermore, potential clients who cannot visit you in person can conduct business with you via an e-commerce function or by simply using social media.
6. Get to Know Your Target Audience
Digital marketing has the advantage of allowing you to interact with potential customers. You can learn about them and their problems to offer a solution. You can start a conversation or conduct a social media survey or a blog to get insights. Take note of any comments or survey responses.
You can begin to understand what people seek by connecting with them online. What are the challenges that are causing the most trouble? What keeps them awake at night? Use this data to provide solutions through your products or services. Digital marketing allows you to tailor communications and fine-tune targeting by removing the guesswork from who your clients are.
You will develop a relationship with your customers as a result of this. You become more than a company; you become a reliable partner. People are also more likely to buy from companies they have previously done business with and had a positive experience.
7. Brand Identity
The most difficult challenge for a small business is to gain the trust of its customers. There has to be something that convinces customers to choose you over thousands of competitors. A competent online strategy may help you develop a brand personality through your website and social media content while also making you appear outstanding.
Only 64% of small firms have an online presence. So, if you decide to make one, you’ll be a step ahead of the competition. One of the benefits of digital marketing is that it may assist you in displaying your beliefs and identity through a well-defined brand image. An excellent social media presence might also help you acquire new clients.
Let’s imagine your website caters to a predominantly female audience. “Women who impacted the world” is an excellent example of a cross-appeal blog post title applicable to your target demographic.
You can modify the look of your website to appeal to your target demographic. When you discover your exact audience, you can align your content, design, and tone of voice to meet their values and needs. This can help you improve your reputation and open doors to new opportunities.
8. Transparency
Thanks to digital marketing, businesses can have a more open and honest relationship with customers. Business owners can create a community-like atmosphere by offering a forum for feedback. Include images of your clients on social media or share their posts and feedback to develop a sense of connection.
This, though, can be a double-edged sword. Getting positive feedback on your publications is determined mainly by the experience you provide your clients. However, suppose constructive criticism is applied correctly. In that case, it can assist your company in pushing itself to attain the most significant results possible.
9. Small businesses may compete with large firms – and win
To get seen, make sales, and expand, digital marketing does not require an array of pricey tools or a large budget. Sure, some tools will be necessary, but the owners’ knowledge and experience will determine the details. Knowing your target demographic and product “in-depth” is frequently more critical than using sophisticated techniques, especially with the help of digital marketing.
“The great thing about digital marketing is that ingenuity and creativity can always win over big marketing budgets,” stated Ann Smarty in an essay for Digital Marketer. Being a “small business” might even help your campaigns more than spending millions of dollars on video production. Example? A viral Christmas ad created by a small hardware company in Wales, filmed by the owner and including his son. It received over 2 million views on YouTube, and many of the comments said the same thing – “After seeing this ad, I want to buy from this small business.”
Let’s Wrap it Up
In conclusion, it’s important to remember that small business owners often find themselves competing with larger companies for limited resources when it comes to digital marketing. But suppose you’re willing to put in some effort. In that case, there’s no reason your small business can’t benefit from a solid digital presence.
Do you need help marketing your small business? Do you feel like you’re doing everything yourself and not getting the results you want? I’m here to help. As a digital marketing consultant with over 20 years of experience, I can help you grow your business and reach your target audience. Contact me today!