It is crucial for local or small business owners to prioritize digital marketing as it is no longer optional. Neglecting their digital presence may result in being left behind and overtaken by the competition.
Our digital marketing tips aim to provide a multitude of ideas for growing your small business and attracting the attention of potential customers, whether you are unsure of how to start or feeling uninspired.
In spite of the impact that the last few years may have had on your business, it is crucial to have an updated online presence and actively interact with your customers. Integrating digital marketing into your business strategy can enable your business to thrive despite the upcoming uncertainties.
Here are some essential digital marketing strategies that you can implement to enhance the growth of your small business:
1. Keep your customers in the loop
In today’s age, digital communication holds greater significance than ever before. Numerous businesses have implemented significant modifications in their methods of engaging with customers. Ensuring that your customers are well-informed and actively sharing updates pertaining to your business within the community is paramount for the expansion of your enterprise.
Continuing your digital communications will further develop trust and brand awareness whether you’re starting to sell products/services online or just seeking additional communication and engagement.
- Keep your website and landing pages up to date with any changes you make to your business.
- Ensure your information is correct on Google My Business and other channels (like your Facebook page, for example), including contact information, business hours and any changes to your services, such as take-out and delivery options.
- Share relevant updates on your social media pages.
- Inform your customers of any changes and specials through email marketing.
2. Make sure your marketing is reaching the right people
When considering your target audience, contemplate their genuine necessities. Engage with empathy to thoroughly explore their requirements and worries, and devise strategies to provide worthwhile solutions. Do not hesitate to seek input from your customers regarding their desires, and adapt your approach accordingly.
Make sure you are actively promoting your offerings to ensure they have the greatest effect. Depending on the field you are in, you must find a balance between addressing your customers’ immediate requirements and considering your long-term objectives.
- Decide how your products or services can serve demand remotely.
- Create and share content that speaks to your customers’ current needs and concerns.
- Drive performance with retargeting campaigns, which offer focused, well-timed targeted ads to those who previously interacted with your business online.
- Reach new customers through paid search marketing and social media advertising, which allow precise targeting to your key demographics.
3. Engage with your online community
If your small business depends on the local community, it is essential to focus on localized marketing and engagement as a key part of your strategy. Nowadays, the community, whether physical or virtual, shows a growing desire to support local businesses. This can be through ordering take-out or delivery from nearby restaurants, engaging in online shopping with local stores, or utilizing virtual services.
Make sure your content strategy takes into consideration the local intent as a business that is community-driven. Additionally, provide products or services that are specific to your target market.
- Optimize your website with local search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure a geographically-targeted web presence.
- Post community updates on your website and social media channels and focus a renewed effort on quality customer service.
- Thank your customers and followers on your social media channels and share all the ways they can continue to support your business.
- Give shout-outs to any businesses you partner with.
4. Use new channels to innovate your business
Consider all the ways to creatively connect with your audience, depending on your industry. How can you position your business and its products appropriately? If it is feasible, think about offering your products or services online or modifying your current e-commerce strategy.
Ensure that the information you share is pertinent to the situation and aligns with your brand. This will allow you to effectively educate or amusingly engage your followers, while also presenting your business as relatable and approachable. Highlight the reasons why people should continue to offer their support to you, your employees, and your business.
- Set up an online store on your website or through Instagram Shopping to offer your products or services online.
- Share educational tips about your products or services on your website’s blog and on social media channels.
- Create engaging video content, do a live stream, or try a new platform, such as TikTok.
- Promote what makes your business unique, including your most relevant products or services, your hard-working employees, and any of your business’s specialties.
5. Boost brand loyalty through thoughtful positivity
In the present moment, there is a greater need for positive news and acts of kindness worldwide. Consistent with the principles of your organization, strive to be motivational in a genuine manner that resonates with your target audience and is relevant to the current circumstances. Highlight a positive and practical perspective on your offerings or provide additional services that are essential and useful in the present circumstances.
In addition to the local outreach strategy, seek opportunities to motivate and advocate for your community. If possible, explore ways to contribute your goods or offer your assistance as a volunteer. Foster positivity by backing or returning support to the community, and afterward, communicate to your online community about your contributions towards helping others!
- Be realistically positive with your content strategy by sharing encouraging news and relevant, inspiring content.
- Post visually appealing imagery and user-generated content to engage with your loyal customers.
- Share your company values and philanthropic works on your website and social media channels.
- Run a giveaway contest with your products or services to generate excitement and leads for your business. For even more impact, team up with other brands for a shared giveaway.
6. Research competitors and differentiate yourself
It is important to conduct competitor research as a local business in order to provide added value in the market. What unique offerings can you provide to potential customers that your competitors cannot? To begin, Google Search is a valuable starting point.
By observing their ads, you can gain insights into how your competitors are positioning themselves. Specifically, the provided illustration displays the outcomes of Google Search Ads related to plumbers in Nottingham. Promotional aspects like “No Call Out Fee,” “12 Month Guarantee,” and “Same Day Service” act as effective selling points.
By following a logical process, it is possible to rephrase the given text without adding or removing any information while preserving the same meaning. Here is the rephrased text: To distinguish yourselves from other companies providing a highly comparable service, you simply have to leverage your key strengths.
Here are some methods of differentiation you could use as per MarketResearch.com:
- Product – most notable but easily duplicated and could be short-lived
- Service – training, installation, speed, ease of doing business etc.
- Distribution – suppliers, manufacturers, distributors or retailers you work with
- Relationship – employees and customer service could be an effective means to differentiate. Perhaps add a review service such as a Trustpilot rating
- Image/Reputation – this can be established through your current customers who can later become your advocates
- Price – again, this can easily be duplicated. However, depending on your product, customers may choose to pay more if there is an added value in doing business with you
7. Get your website basics right
Customers have the authority and users are progressively more insistent on the kind of experience they desire from a website. A website that loads quickly and is user-friendly is the bare minimum that they expect.
Even if you are a small local business and lack the financial resources of larger national or international firms, it is still important to ensure that you have a solid foundation. Consider referring to our Core Web Vitals guide to thoroughly examine and address any possible problems with your website’s speed.
If your pages load faster, there is a higher likelihood that users will stay. The statistics above demonstrate the impact of a slow website on your ability to convert new users into customers.
Your chances of achieving good rankings in Google will be affected by a slow website because user experience is now a crucial aspect of SEO. To identify any issues and decrease bounce rates, you can start using Google PageSpeed Insights, which is an excellent free tool for reducing the loading time of your website.
8. Improve Google my business listing and customer reviews
When a potential customer is looking for your product or service, your online reputation as a small business owner can play a crucial role. Fortunately, Google My Business allows you to exert some control over how your business is perceived by people.
Some of the common mistakes to avoid include:
- Duplicate listings
- Setting up unnecessary new listings after a change of address
- Business name misuse e.g. adding unnecessary promotional messages
- Not keeping your listing up to date and providing potential customers with erroneous information such as opening hours
Customer reviews have been around for a while, but it is surprising how often they are ignored. Studies indicate that in 2021, 77% of customers consistently read reviews when searching for local businesses, so we advise making this a crucial element of your digital marketing plan.
9. Create professional visual content
Visual content remains essential and should be a significant component of your digital strategy. Particularly, video has experienced an astonishing growth in recent years, as indicated by the statistics provided by HubSpot.
- 94% of marketers agree that video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service
- 87% say it helped them increase sales and leads
- 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, meaning that you might be left behind by the competition
One crucial statistic highlighting the significance of video in the present era is the fact that YouTube alone attracts more than 2.5 billion active users on a monthly basis.
10. Partner with local influencers
Influencer marketing is not limited to large businesses or the fashion industry. It can also be highly effective for small businesses. For instance, a restaurant could collaborate with local food bloggers to increase visibility, while a gym could partner with local fitness influencers in exchange for exposure.
Influencer marketing campaigns can come in various forms, including giveaways, brand ambassadors, discounts, and collaborations. It is essential to begin these campaigns with a clear end goal in mind. What are your marketing objectives and what do you hope to accomplish? By having specific goals, you can effectively communicate with relevant individuals and create a successful campaign.
Small businesses have access to various digital marketing techniques that they can focus on without spending a lot of money, ranging from market research to an effective social media strategy.
