Well, it’s 2018, and if your small business doesn’t have a digital marketing strategy, you’re already behind the competition.
That’s why we put together this list of digital marketing ideas to get your business headed in the right direction. Read on to learn the 12 digital marketing ideas for small business that will put your business ahead of the competition this year and beyond!
Nothing rivals a solid local search marketing strategy for small businesses.
Local search marketing consists of claiming and optimizing your business’s online listings so that you show up in relevant local searches. There’s a lot to local search, but when it’s done right, it puts your business on the map so local consumers find you when they need your products or services.
Local search isn't a new marketing idea, but it can be complicated, though, and it’s not something that happens overnight or that you can do once and forget about it. It’s best left to experts.
Does your small business website still look like it’s from 1997?
Time to fix that. It’s 2018, and consumers are impatient. We want instant results. We have short attention spans, so if your website is unattractive, slow to load or confusing to use, we’re going to leave and check out your competition.
Make sure your website loads quickly because consumers will abandon your site. And make sure your site is easy to navigate. Don’t forget to add clear calls-to-action that tell the customer what they should do. For instance, you can put a button in the header of your main page that says “Get Directions,” “Call Today” or “something.”
Mobile optimization is extremely important too. Google will penalize your website if it isn’t optimized for mobile so make sure yours is!
Link building is a great way to show search engines like Google that your website is popular.
If you build links the right way, getting a few high-quality links rather than a bunch of low-quality spam links, you’ll prove to Google that your small business’s website is relevant (and high-quality) so that it knows you are worthy of showing up in a local search.
Find local business owners and bloggers who are willing to link to your website if you return the favor or write a guest post for a local blog.
Don’t forget about local news sites that might run an article that links to your website if you have a special promotion or event coming up.
Keyword research should be a mandatory part of every small business digital marketing strategy. You can use your business’s keywords for so many things!
And, it’s a great way to find out exactly what terms people are using to search for your business’s products and services.
Use a tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner, Google Trends, Keywordtool.io or even search recommendations (when Google tries to help you complete a search) or the “People also search for” box at the bottom of the page to find relevant keywords for your business.
Insert those keywords into the pages of your website (try to make it natural so that they make sense within your content) or in blog posts.
I can’t remember the last time I went through a line in a retail store and the cashier didn’t ask me for my email address, and you know, I never say no.
It’s that easy. At check-in or check-out, ask your clients or customers for email addresses.
Once you have the customer’s email address, you can send them emails that let them know about new promotions, specials and products. You can also use those emails to ask for more online reviews!
Since online reviews can help you show up in local search results and could even make customers spend more money at your business, you really can’t afford to skip this simple step. Start collecting those emails and give your business the boost it needs to stand out from the competition.
Reputation management isn’t just for the biggest brands. Small businesses need to know what their customers are saying about them too.
Set up a Google alert for your business so you know when new articles that mention your business are posted.
Don’t forget about social media monitoring tools. We have one called Radiate that lets us know when people publicly post about us or comment on our statuses.
If you are aware of the chatter, you can become part of the conversation, fix problems that arise and keep your business’s reputation as squeaky clean as possible.
You should also be aware of the reasons customers complain about businesses so that you can try and protect your business from public backlash.
LinkedIn is a great way to connect with local consumers as well as other small business owners. Not only can you network on a personal level but you can build more awareness for your business by creating and managing a business page.
LinkedIn will suggest friends of friends with whom you can connect. You can also join groups on LinkedIn and Facebook to boost your local presence.
Hosting a special event or sale? Create a Facebook or Eventbrite event to reach more people.
When you create a Facebook event, you can share it with followers. And, it will show up in the events section for local consumers when they are looking for events in your area.
Eventbrite will do the same, so people who may have never heard of your business before will have a chance to hear about and attend your event.
It’s 2018. You can’t avoid social media anymore.
Everyone uses it, and at the very least, your small business should have a Facebook page that you keep up-to-date with business information and hours. You should also be posting regularly (at least a couple of times a week) to keep your business fresh in the minds of consumers.
But, you should also consider Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, depending on your industry and typical customer.
Make sure to tailor your social media messages to each social platform because consumers, especially Generation Z, want to see custom messages for the social media platform they’re using.
Here’s how to build a social media strategy and determine which social networks will give your small business the biggest bang for its social media marketing buck.
Ready to put your small business in front of more customers? Facebook ads are where it’s at. Facebook has many ad types that can be used to help you build more local awareness, drive to targeted landing pages and even get you more followers.
No matter your goal, there’s probably a Facebook ad type that will work for you.
Be careful, though. Advertising is another one of those things that are better left to the experts. Without experience or knowledge of proper targeting, you may end up losing money.
Live video is a great way to add a human element to your small business marketing strategy. You’ll connect with customers on a more personal level if you give them a behind-the-scenes look at your business, and you can show off new products, services or promotions in the meantime.
And, as a bonus, if you go live on Facebook or Instagram, your followers will get a notification that tells them you’re live so they should watch before the video ends.
Live video has been popular for a while now, but it’s only getting bigger. It’s one of 2018’s biggest digital marketing trends, so you should give it a try while it’s hot.
Google recently announced that small business owners can add videos to their listings. Your business’s videos will show up in the photos right in your Google listing, giving you more control over what customers can see about your business before they make a purchase decision.
This is a great place to ease hesitations or answer common customer questions, so if you have informative videos that will help people get to know your business a little better, add them to your Google listing!
Isabella Andersen, Content Contributor
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