Creating a digital marketing strategy is a crucial step for any small business. But it can be difficult, as many small business owners are not sure how to get started.
Digital marketing, however, can be a perfect way to advertise your services , gain loyal followers and expand your small business’s brand beyond the borders of your location.
There are many components to a successful digital marketing strategy . Your own website, social media, the content you produce and more.
However, if you really want to create a perfect digital marketing strategy, you need to understand what it has to offer and how it all comes together to enable brands to succeed.
How does digital marketing work?
Most of the time, digital marketing looks a lot like traditional marketing. You basically do the same thing: search for potential customers and build relationships with them to get conversions.
But, the 'how' has changed. The digital marketing is developed to accommodate modern customers. For example, although you may have searched for a service or product in the newspapers or through recommendations in the past, now you would just search Google for what you need.
Much easier and more personalized. The purchase decision is made based on the reviews you see online and all available information gathered in your search.
So to have a business that really produces results, you need to be online too, no matter what you have to sell. The key here is to put you and your messages in front of your customers on the channels they already use to connect with them.
You can do it:
· Publishing meaningful content that informs them, solve their problems or update them;
· Optimizing your content so that it can be easily found on the web (specifically in situations where someone just searches Google for your problem or need);
· Posting on social media to get involved on a more personal level;
· Advertising to receive paid traffic;
· Send emails that can inform or teach or simply follow up after a purchase.
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All of this is intertwined and functions as a well-oiled machine to generate traffic, engagement, exposure and revenue.
What are the benefits of digital marketing?
So, after learning all of this, you must be wondering what you get by investing all that time and effort in your digital marketing. Well, a lot:
· Digital marketing helps to raise your brand awareness and engage with your target audience before and after a purchase;
· Digital marketing can help you turn your customers into fans who will buy from you over and over again;
· Digital marketing facilitates the growth of your brand through the sharing of social media and simple word of mouth;
· Digital marketing helps to shorten the buyer's journey by presenting your messages and offers at the right times.
7 digital marketing steps that work
Digital marketing is one of the best things you will do for your business. However, you need to understand that digital marketing is also very fluid, dynamic and constantly changing.
One day, a tactic will work perfectly and then not. But, the basics have been laid out. The main components of digital marketing are defined. Gurus and bloggers can promote a strategy as the new best quick fix, but it doesn't work that way.
What you need to do is focus on stable foundations, used from the beginning and that have been successful in the past.
1. Understand your target audience
Before doing anything else, you need to stop and be very sure of who your customers are. As a small business, you probably have some happy and existing customers.
Now, ask them how they learned about you, what made them convert, what they find valuable about you, what they value in brands in general. If you are good at what you do, you will receive many stories about how your company solved the problems and how it managed to improve their lives.
Gather demographic information like age, gender, family roles, profession, interests, most used social media channels, and so on. All of this will help you to know who your customers are and how they behave online.
Then, in order to be able to send targeted messages, you need to create buyer personas based on the general segments you want to target.
2. Plan
The only way to create a viable digital marketing plan is to rely on accurate data and then test your strategies. You need to do things consistently, test them and track their success.
You can certainly apply any of the following strategies, whether for nothing or not, but making informed marketing decisions is what will really bring results. This is where research comes into play.
And it will be necessary long before you start digital marketing. However, it will all be very worthwhile when you start to apply these strategies intelligently, testing and adjusting to your own audience.
3. Have a mobile-friendly website
Having a website today is not something you can avoid. And why would you do it? It is your own corner of the web, the place where your customers will arrive to make a purchase and how they will find you when they research your type of product or service.
A professional website shows credibility as well. Building a website can be as cheap or expensive as you want. The key here is that everything looks and works perfectly, has great content and is compatible with mobile devices .
Because, let's face it: most people use Google on their phones. Especially if they realize they need something and just want to see what's out there quickly. This means that your customers' first interaction with your brand will be with the mobile version.
Having a blog is another useful strategy. This is where you can share problem-solving posts for your customers and get engaged. That way you can establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
Blogs also increase your search engine optimization ( SEO ) and can help your customer on the buyer's journey.
4. Apply SEO
SEO NYC services is a series of actions that you can take to increase the chances of your web pages appearing high in search engine results, in front of people searching for keywords related to your business.
There are several rules when it comes to SEO:
· Do your keyword research, choose good keywords and use them appropriately in your content;
· The chosen keyword must be placed in the first 100 words of the blog post or content;
· It must also be in the header and subtitles (at least one);
· It must be placed properly in all of its content;
· Create backlinks to high authority sites;
· Create interesting content that will keep your visitors on the page for longer;
· Make sure your page loads quickly;
· Make sure your website is mobile-friendly;
· Ask your satisfied customers to write good reviews about your product or service on third party websites.
5. Incorporate social media
Social media is where everyone is. That is why it is necessary to have social media pages. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels to interact with your customers and interact with them on a more personal level.
There are countless ways to use social media for your business. You can create specialized hashtag campaigns, experiment with influencer marketing, create business posts, create giveaways or contests, share your content, manage your reputation, and so on.
6. Use content marketing
Content marketing means creating and sharing material online, such as articles and videos, to achieve certain goals. This strategy does not explicitly advertise your brand, but informs your audience, stimulates interest and creates a community around your brand.
The content marketing is a crucial tool for any brand that wants to succeed. Content can be easily created to increase customer awareness, relationships and engagement. Sometimes, content can also increase traffic and sales.
7. Include email marketing
The email marketing is a valuable part of content marketing because it provides content directly to someone's inbox. You can use it to increase awareness of your blog posts and other content marketing campaigns.
Time to start using digital marketing for small businesses
All of these strategies, by themselves, may not show much success. However, combining them together can result in a perfect balance. You just need to plan your strategy properly and adjust the proportions of each component to find your company's sweet spot.
Remember that there is no final destination in digital marketing. In the end, it is a process in which you need to make informed decisions and use thorough analysis to improve and adjust.
Your best bet will be to use all of these strategies, work on your brand and finally show the world what you are.
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