The Top Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses | It doesn’t matter if you are launching a new small business or have one established; it’s essential to create a marketing strategy that prioritizes a strong online presence. Did you know, up to 97% of people research local businesses online? Because of this, you must meet potential customers who spend most of their time. Unfortunately, growing a small business in the digital era is no easy feat. Between ensuring you know your audience, promoting your services, and ensuring a good customer experience, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Trying to throw a marketing strategy in with everything else may be too much.
While it may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. You can use the tips below to help you establish a smart marketing plan.
Search Engine Optimization
While developing a quality website is essential, you must also focus on SEO or search engine optimization. In fact, this is one of the most impactful marketing elements your small business can invest in. SEO involves optimizing your content and site for end users and search engines to find your company easily. In most cases, if you have a top spot in Google SERPs, you will get more traffic to your website. Today, more than 35% of online traffic comes from a local source. When customers search for what you offer, they will be more likely to find your business in SERPs when you have invested in SEO.
There are a few ways to implement SEO. These include:
- Requesting customer reviews
- Focusing on acquiring high-quality backlinks
- Creating a Google My Business account
- Using location pages
- Posting videos or posts that relate to the local community
- Optimize your site using local keywords
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click or PPC advertising lets your small business show ads when someone searches for specific words in a search engine. While it may cause a bidding war, local markets aren’t as competitive, and the PPC model will help you maintain your budget.
You bid on specific keywords to use PPC and then create ads based on those. Advertising platforms then use a set algorithm to determine when you show your ads in SERPs based on things like keyword relevance and the quality of your landing page. Each time someone clicks on your ad, you pay.
Email Marketing
By the end of 2023, it’s estimated that more than 4.3 billion people will use email. Because of this, email marketing is an effective way to reach your target audience. It’s estimated that 81% of small businesses use email for lead generation and customer retention.
Email marketing is the only tool to create a personalized relationship with your customers. It also helps you continue nurturing them after they make a purchase. You can send your customers drip campaigns based on a specific action or send regular newsletters with product updates and company news.
If you want to use email marketing, be sure to keep the following in mind:
- Segment customers based on activity or demographics
- Use EPS or CRM to automate sending emails at set times
- Write compelling subject lines to ensure your email is clicked
Social Media Marketing
Do you want to reach a larger audience and engage with your customers? If so, social media is a must-have for small businesses. While it isn’t the main driver of sales growth, it can help you with branding goals and awareness. It’s estimated that social media users spend a minimum of three hours per day browsing their news feeds. While it can seem intimidating to create quality content, the goal is to choose the platforms where your audience is and focus on posting there. Don’t try to do it all.
Digital Marketing For Your Small Business
There are more than a few factors to consider when it comes to digital marketing for your small business. Be sure to keep the information above in mind, which will help you develop an effective campaign for your business. If you need help, consider hiring the pros.
