In the United States today, there are close to 32 million small businesses, making up 99.9 percent of all firms in the country. With such fierce competition in the marketplace, it is essential that your small business plots and implements an effective digital marketing strategy.
Digital marketing refers to the promotion of a business or organization using the internet. Approximately 93 percent of all American adults use the internet today, highlighting the enormous potential of digital marketing for small businesses.
The best small business digital marketing strategy is the one that clearly understands its target audience and their online browsing habits. From there, it is about making the most of your personal channels, including your website and social media platforms.
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the above and also highlight how you can humanize your brand with on-trend digital marketing techniques. This will help to make your business more relatable to the public and improve brand awareness and loyalty.
1. Get the Most Out of Your Website
Let’s start with your small business’s website, which should be the beating heart of your digital marketing strategy. Log on to your website’s home or landing page and take a quick look. By that, we mean a very quick look—50 milliseconds to be precise.
Studies show that it takes online users just 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) to make a judgment on a website. First impressions are important and if visitors to your site are not immediately impressed, the chances are that they will leave and look elsewhere.
The point here is that aesthetics are important. If your website looks like it was designed in the 1990s, then it’s not going to impress anyone. Your website should be modern-looking and sleek, with just the right amount of information and a balance between text and images.
Even if you pass the first test, pay attention to your website’s functionality, speed, content, ease of use, calls-to-action, and SEO (more on that later). If these aren’t up to scratch, it’s time for a website upgrade.
2. Utilize the Power of Social Media
Chances are that if someone uses the internet in the United States, they will also use at least one social media platform. Around 72 percent of the American public uses some type of social media platform today. Having an active presence on social media can help to promote your business to new and existing customers and reach new markets.
Some of the benefits of using social media include:
In Tip #5 we will focus on the importance of understanding your target audience. This will help to determine which social media sites will be most useful to your small business.
3. Make SEO Your Best Friend
SEO stands for search engine optimization and it is a crucial digital marketing strategy for all businesses. Despite its importance, many small businesses pay scant attention to it and simply assume that their audience will find them when browsing online. This isn’t the case; it is necessary to position your business in order strategically.
SEO works by enhancing the ranking and visibility of a website in search engine results. Here’s a joke that sums up the importance of SEO rather succinctly: “Where’s the best place to hide a dead body?” “On the second page of a Google search result.”
We recommend that you partner with an experienced SEO agency to maximize your online potential. You can find SEO services here.
4. Humanize Your Brand Using Video
We have seen the meteoric rise over recent years of TikTok, which is centered on short-form video content. Initially, the videos were limited to 15 seconds; today they can be up to three minutes long. The success of TikTok highlights the value of snappy short-form video content to grab people’s attention.
By posting videos to your social media channels and website, you can humanize your brand and put a face to the people who work there. Behind-the-scenes content, live-streamed Q&As, and influencer takeovers are all great ideas for video content that will get people engaged.
5. Understanding Your Target Audience
All of the above information, as we have mentioned, is contingent on properly understanding your target audience. For example, if your target demographic is young adults, your digital marketing strategy is going to look different than if your demographic were older adults.
By having a clear understanding of your audience, you can streamline your digital marketing efforts. This will help you to maximize spending and ensure that your brand messaging hits the right note.
With regards to social media, TikTok is highly popular among teenagers and young adults while just four percent of the 65+ age group use it. People with an income of more than $75,000 are more likely to use YouTube (90 percent) and Facebook (70 percent) than other social platforms.
Plot An Effective Small Business Digital Marketing Campaign
The above digital marketing tips will help your small business to gain recognition and awareness online. This information will help to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, and increase sales. If you are looking for more digital marketing business advice, we recommend that you speak to a digital marketing agency.
Like this blog post on how to create an effective small business digital marketing strategy? Be sure to check out our other informative articles on a wide range of interesting topics.
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