Digital marketing has changed the way businesses interact with their customers forever. Businesses of all sizes now have access to free or low-cost social media platforms, websites, and other online tools that let them market their services in an affordable, targeted way. And while it’s easy to get intimidated by all the new acronyms and marketing jargon flying around these days, digital marketing is actually pretty straightforward. To succeed in a digital world, you need to have a clear plan for how your business will reach potential customers online. That involves a lot more than just posting updates on Facebook from time to time. To help you stand out from your competition and drive more traffic to your website, we’ve compiled this list of 10 proven digital marketing strategies that work for small businesses.
Create a Content Marketing Strategy
When most businesses think about digital marketing, they think about creating a content marketing strategy. And for good reason. According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is an investment in creating quality, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain new customers and increase brand awareness. While it’s an investment up front, it can have a big payoff in terms of increased website traffic and sales. The trick is to create a comprehensive plan that covers everything from your target audience, to the type of content you’ll produce, to how you’ll promote it. At the very least, your content marketing strategy should include the following components:
- Your Target Audience – Your target audience is probably the most important part of your content marketing plan. Knowing who you’re trying to reach will influence all aspects of the strategy: the type of content you create, the platform you publish it on, and even your social media marketing strategy.
- Types of Content – Once you know who you’re trying to reach, the next step is figuring out what type of content will appeal to them. There are many different types of content you can create for your marketing efforts. Your content marketing strategy doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler and more straightforward it is, the easier it will be to put into action. By keeping these components in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful content marketing strategy.
Build a Quality Website
No matter how great your social media marketing strategy is, if your website sucks, you won’t drive very many visitors there. That’s why it’s essential to create a high-quality website that’s sure to grab the attention of your audience. Your website will be the first impression many of your visitors get about your business and should reflect the professionalism of your brand. There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a website for your small business:
- Purpose of the Site – Every website has a purpose, whether it’s to sell a product or provide valuable content to your readers. Knowing what you’re trying to accomplish with your site will help you create something effective.
- Content on the Site – Every page on your website should be useful to your visitors. Don’t just slap up a bunch of pages and hope they are engaging enough to keep people interested. Make sure each page has valuable information that’s relevant to your company or industry.
- Design of the Site – A website that looks like it was built in the 1990s won’t get many visitors. You want your website design to be clean and modern, with plenty of white space to keep the content clear and accessible.
- Use of SEO – While the content on your site is essential for getting new visitors, it’s also important to make sure your site is optimized for search engines. A highly-ranked website for a targeted keyword can bring in thousands of visitors every month.
Use Video Marketing
We know that text-heavy marketing is outdated and ineffective, but what’s the best way to engage modern customers? Research shows that the best way to grab the attention of your audience is with video marketing. In fact, HubSpot found that video marketing is a whopping 99 times more effective than marketing with no video at all. Video marketing is a great way to get your message across in a quick and easy way. But you don’t have to create a big, expensive production to make it work. In fact, a quick, casual video that shows your face and explains what you do is often more effective than a fancy, studio production. Just make sure you have a plan for how you’ll use videos to promote your business. For example, you can create a series of simple videos that teach your customers how to use your product. That’s a great way to connect with your customers and make them feel like they can reach out to you for help with any questions they have.
Make use of Google AdWords
Google AdWords is an advertising platform that lets businesses show their ads on Google’s search results. It’s a great way to get in front of potential customers who are actively searching for the products and services you offer. Just keep in mind that AdWords is a paid marketing method. You’ll need to create an account, create an ad campaign, and set a daily budget for your ads. You can use keyword research to find the best terms to target for your business. You can also use existing data from your website analytics to see which terms are bringing you the most traffic. If you’re not sure where to start, consider hiring a marketing agency to run your AdWords campaigns for you. They’ll be able to guide you through the process and make sure your ads are generating the most traffic possible.
Use Facebook Advertising
Facebook offers a few different ways to advertise to your customers, but the most effective one is Facebook Advertising. Similar to Google AdWords, this service allows you to target specific people based on things like their location, what they’ve liked, and the websites they visit. With Facebook’s robust targeting options, you can get your ads in front of the customers most likely to buy from you. And if you’re not sure what to write in your ads, you can also use Facebook’s built-in marketing tools to create effective ad copy. You can start with a basic ad campaign for free, or choose a more advanced strategy that lets you spend more on ad spend.
Run an email marketing campaign
An email marketing campaign can be an easy way to stay in touch with your customers and drive more traffic to your website. You can send out periodic newsletters with helpful content, as well as promotions and sales on products. If you’re just starting out with email marketing, you can use a tool like MailChimp to create your campaign. This platform makes it easy to create professional-looking email newsletters. You just need to create your campaign, select the list of subscribers you want to send it to, and MailChimp will do the rest. You can even track how many clicks your emails are getting, and which links are the most popular.
Host a Contest or Giveaway
Another way to build engagement with your customers and drive traffic to your website is to host a contest or giveaway. You can do this on social media, or create a standalone website where people can enter to win a prize. Contests and giveaways let your customers know that they’re appreciated, and they’re a great way to generate buzz. If you host the contest on your website, make sure to let people know they can sign up, and include the rules and what they can win. If you’re hosting the contest on social media, make sure you follow the rules of the platform you’re using. While contests and giveaways are a great way to attract new customers, make sure you have a way of filtering out any spammers who sign up just to find out who won.
Conclusion
With all the different digital marketing strategies out there, it can be hard to know where to start. But the best way to get started is to start small. Pick one or two marketing strategies that you feel most comfortable with and start implementing them. Once you have a few campaigns under your belt, you can start to branch out and try new things. Digital marketing can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you have a clear plan for how you’ll reach your audience, it’s much easier to get results.
