Business owners have many roles beside running their businesses, they are involved in human resources, customer service, bookkeeping etc. For many, marketing is a luxury, and they often follow the path of least resistance. Most business owners have heard Digital Marketing can help them but the landscape seems to change every week. Knowing where to start and what is important can make digital marketing much more accessible. Considering the importance of the internet to today’s business, digital marketing is essential.
Website
A website is a must in today’s digital world. Decide what action you want a prospect to take when they visit your site. Ideally, focus your website towards an objective, such as a conversion. A conversion can be filling out a form for an appointment, making a phone call or buying something.
Your website must be mobile-friendly. The majority of searches today are done on mobile. Your site must load quickly and be easy to navigate on a phone. If building a website is beyond your technical capabilities or requires too much time then find a good website builder to help. There are plenty to be found.
Google Analytics and Tag Manager
Some of the best tools for tracking traffic to a website were created by Google and they are free. You absolutely should have them. Google Analytics and Tag Manager will let you know exactly where a visitor came from and what they did on your site. You should use this information to improve your site and optimize your marketing results.
Search Engine Optimization
The beauty of Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is that once your site is ranking well you can generate a great deal of traffic without much expense. The downside is that it takes some time to optimize a site. Don’t be discouraged. Think of it as a process where you add a few pieces every week. If the technical side of optimization is not to your liking hire a professional.
Local Search
If your business relies on local clientele make sure your website shows well in local searches. To show well you will need Google My Business and Bing Places accounts. They are free and help you rank when people are looking locally for your product or service.
Content Marketing
What you post on your site and other media outlets can make or break your brand. Think about who you are and what you stand for. Next, think about your core audience and what is important to them. Then create content accordingly. Content does not have to be directly about your business or what you offer. Content needs to be written in your brand voice and be of interest to your audience. If you write consistently good content, then you will become a “thought-leader” in your field.
Humans are social creatures by nature so having a presence on social media seems like a no-brainer. More importantly, it is highly likely your target audience uses social media in one form or another. If your business is more B2B you may find LinkedIn to be the social media of choice. More consumer-oriented concerns may find Facebook or Instagram to be more effective. Social media is a great place to publish the Content you have recently created!
Email Marketing
Whether through online sign-ups or contact capture at the time of purchase you should be constructing an email list to stay in contact with prospects and customers. This is a highly effective and low-cost way to remind previous customer why they used you in the first place, and should do so again. And, email marketing is very effective at turning prospects into customers. Email is another superb outlet for….Content.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
While organic search and social media are often focused on first, paid advertising will reach more people faster. Whether it is Google, Facebook or LinkedIn, publishers are pushing organic content down their Newsfeeds in favor of paid advertising. That is how they make money. A properly executed Pay-Per-Click campaign can be very cost-effective and ensure a steady stream of leads and customers.
While digital marketing can seem daunting at first glance if it is broken down into smaller increments it is much more manageable. It may not be possible for your business to begin all of these marketing strategies at once. In that case, pick out a few key items to start and add more as you are able. If some of the strategies are beyond your capabilities or time availability, look for qualified outside vendors to help. It is a digital world and your marketing needs to keep pace.
