There’s no denying that when it comes to running a small business, a strong web presence is necessary to continuously grow and stand apart from your competitors.

A digital marketing plan is necessary for any business – small or large – as it’s the most effective way to reach potential customers and drive conversations.

That’s why it’s more crucial than ever to cultivate your digital engagement to engage with today’s consumers.

Of course, if you’re new to digital marketing and online advertising, it can appear to be more than a little confusing. So, here are our top 5 essential steps for digital marketing success for any small business.

1. Learn as much as you can

While we all have some knowledge of what ‘digital marketing’ is, that knowledge rarely touches on even 50% of what takes place.

Before any small business can embark on a new marketing plan, they need to understand the basics of creating a digital marketing strategy such as knowing who your target market is, value proposition, the various platforms used, etc.

There are several ways you can get to know more about digital marketing methods such as attending digital bootcamps or webinars that teach you things like how to set goals, segment your consumers, understand social media algorithms, and strategic planning.

There’s no shame in asking for help we encourage it so that you get a good understanding of how digital technology will affect and change your business for the better.

2. Creating a digital strategy

Every business has its own set of objectives or targets to meet when it comes to sales and that’s
important for creating a successful digital marketing strategy.

This could be anything from how many sales you need per month, to your financial goals for the next 12 months. These goals are what you will be developing your digital strategy around.

To start with, first, think about your business and what makes it stand apart from your online competitors, and then consider who you want to sell your services/products to?

By defining your business goals, your position among competitors and potential customers, you have a solid foundation on which to build a strategy upon.

If you need a little help with creating a solid strategy, consulting a professional for guidance can help you to decide on where to start and how to build a strategy that is built around your long-term goals and includes your existing customer base.

Netstripes provides one-on-one digital advisory sessions for small business owners, as well as website solutions like the digital accelerator program which covers everything from learning to a performance review after the website is up and running, to help transform an online business.

Once you have a strategy, you can start the development of a website that is designed in line with your goals and strategy; optimising it with first-rate graphics and software.

3. Building your website and online branding

Your website is the face of your brand online. It will inform any visitor to the site about your services and brand personality. Building your online brand presence should be one of your top priorities to help you stand out from similar services online.

Always work with experienced designers and developers who can world-class designs and landing pages for your website that will drive traffic and convert leads. A visitor’s first reaction to seeing your landing page is an immediate sense of trust in the services you are trying to sell them.

The ideal website should contain all the necessary information about your business in an easy-to-read language (as little copy as possible), eye-catching imagery, and a call-to-action.

The best tip for a great website is honestly to just keep the layout as simple as possible while still providing the necessary information; it provides a better user experience and website management.

4. Promotions through digital marketing channels

The marketing landscape has changed drastically over the years. Traditional methods that were once effective and straightforward, are no longer the only option for putting your brand out there, especially for online businesses.

That’s why it is crucial that your brand establishes and maintains a strong online presence to be competitive enough to reach out to your intended audience. But before you can advertise, you need to identify the marketing channels that will work best for you.

All marketing channels have their strengths and weaknesses. SEO, for example, can provide you with steady, high-quality organic traffic, but takes time to see results. Whereas Facebook advertising lets you specify exactly who sees your ads, their age, gender, location even their profession.

To identify the right marketing channel, you first want to make sure you can reach your customers through it. Do some market research, find out which channels are more popular with your customers, what kind of content they engage with, and what your online competitors are doing.

Social media grows more powerful every day, with the click of a button, you can now reach thousands of potential customers.

A lot of small businesses have managed to grow their customer base solely through social media content and advertising. Engaging with customers online also builds a sense of trust and creates advocates for your brand.

You’ll need to learn how to perform a carefully planned set of actions that will enable you to learn, test, and measure the results and performance of the social marketing tools you’ll be using.

Again, advertising online takes time and a fair amount of knowledge to get it right. If you’re not familiar with the methods used for identifying and creating a marketing plan for your online business, don’t worry about it! There are plenty of ways you get can learn from attending seminars to online learning courses.

5. Review the results

The best thing about digital marketing is that, unlike traditional marketing, you can see how your website is performing and whether your ads are working.

This means that if you don’t think your website is driving conversations or your social media ads aren’t bringing in the right numbers, you can immediately take action and amend things.

Monitoring your digital marketing performance allows you to gain a better insight into what your
customers want, thereby giving you the means to oblige and thus, increase customer satisfaction. Which of course will then lead toward growth in sales and a stronger brand presence.

Which in the end, is what we all want. Again, if you work with a professional, they’ll probably do this part for you so you won’t have to start crunching numbers immediately, but it’s something to learn if you want your business to grow online.

Conclusion

Effective digital marketing is the key to any online business. Fulfilling the above strategies in the right sequence will help you achieve your business goals.

Remember, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on digital marketing for your business to look like a million dollars. It’s more important to find out what works best for you and then market it in a way that drives traffic to your website which will bring in sales.

If you already have a website, but don’t think it’s bringing in the investments you hoped for, do consult a digital advisor to see what can be done to improve your business online.

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Any questions? Feel free to talk to one of our digital strategists today. We are more than happy to help!
Contact us now.