As mentioned previously, digital marketing has become the main avenue of small business to inform potential customers of their products and services. It has evened the playing field by allowing smaller companies to compete with corporate brands at a fraction of the costs that are associated with traditional advertising. Yet not everything is rosy and haphazardly executing a poorly researched digital marketing campaign will net your business zero hits.
As of this moment, I am assisting a local business accomplish their digital marketing objectives. Each business has unique challenges and issues but there are several ways business can do to improve their digital marketing efforts and get more customers visiting.
User-Friendly Website
15 seconds. That’s how long most people spend on a web page and that’s how long you have to grab their attention before they get bored and move on. Your logo may be the face of your business in real life but a website is your online marketing brochure for your brand, its products and services, clients and everything that it stands for. This makes it easy for someone to find the information they need before making the decision to contact you.
Keep it simple.
One more thing, for the love of God, make sure that your website works on all screen sizes. Expect customers to be browsing your brand on all devices from desktops to smartphones so responsivity is a must.
Paid Social Media Ads.
It’s all about the social. Grow your business presence on social media. It’s where everyone is at. It’s a direct line of communication between yourself and the customer. While it is possible to grow your presence organically, organic posting is not enough to reach a large following; you will still not reach potential customers unaware of your brand.
Social Ads + Money = Huge ROI
Before social media, there was email. Vintage yet effective, email has remained the most effective method of digital marketing. 99% percent of American consumers check their email daily. People who sign up for email newsletters are consenting to you updating them on your brand.
Keep them engaged. Highlight specials and deals that you offer. Post a monthly update on what has been happening and what’s ahead to generate buzz. Just keep it concise.
Community Driven Messaging
In the past, marketing consisted of brands talking to you and now social media has allowed the consumer and company to have a two-way dialogue. Which opens new doors for conceptualizing content and executing strategy.
Invite customers to talk to you, give you feedback, even if it’s negative, ask questions and advocate on your behalf on all social media channels and public spaces. Turn the most respected and connected amongst them into pseudo-influencers and have them boost your brand identity to their local community.
Video
Use videos under 30 seconds for paid ads on social media and reserve longer videos for individual posts.
