Small businesses generally have a limited budget for marketing. This puts them at a greater disadvantage as compared to the big brands and major corporations that allocate a significant amount for their marketing team. This makes it difficult for small businesses and startups to compete with large businesses to gain the attention of their target audience. Applying different digital marketing strategies can help such businesses to market their product and services and compete with the big brands.
Many small business owners might not give optimum importance to having a solid digital marketing strategy. In case your business does not have a proper team to execute the digital marketing strategies or you do not know how to plan for them, you can hire a digital marketing agency to help you along the way.
In this article, we would be talking about the importance of digital marketing for a business and some proven strategies that can be applied by a small business.
Why Digital Marketing is Important for Business
Digital marketing is a great way for businesses to reach a wider target audience measurably and cost-effectively. This allows businesses to have direct interaction with potential customers and gain more information about what the customers are searching for. This will also give them an idea about the customers’ personality which will further help in enhancing brand loyalty.
Businesses can also cater to a wider target audience through digital marketing. They can also save more money as they do not need to spend a lot of amount as in the case of traditional marketing strategies. Digital marketing strategies also help in tracking the response of every customer which helps in measuring the marketing efforts.
Proven Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Business
Several tested digital marketing strategies can be applied by small businesses to gain more customers. Some of these strategies are as follows:
- Organic SEO Service
Most of the search engine users focus more on organic results. The users avoid clicking on the advertisements on SERPs (search engine results pages). Hence, it becomes all the more important for your business to be displayed organically in search engines.
Having a good SEO strategy can increase traffic, sales, brand awareness, conversion rates, and the revenue of your business. Organic SEO services can also drive a greater number of potential customers to your website.
- Responsive Web Design
The design of website design is another important digital marketing strategy. It is important to offer a good user experience to the customers after they come to your website. This can be ensured by having a good user-centric interface and relevant content on your website. Besides this, you also need to make sure that the navigation flow of the website is simple and convenient for the customers so that they can find the necessary information easily.
In SEO, website structure also plays a crucial role as it can affect your ranking in Google searches. A fully optimized website can increase the sales and revenue of a business.
- Invest in Branding
Small business owners generally do not realize the importance of branding. Some even feel that branding requires a lot of investment and hence they do not work on recognition. However, branding can increase the value of the business and allows the employees to have a common goal. It can also help in acquiring new leads as potential customers can easily spot your brand among the competitors.
- Local search marketing
Local search marketing is a new and relatively untapped digital marketing strategy. With the growth in mobile technology, more users are turning to mobile devices and smartphones to fulfilling their various needs. The following facts prove the same:
- Around 82% of shoppers on smartphones conduct ‘near me’ searches
- 50% searchers visit local stores within 24 hours of searching for it
- More than 78% of local searches on mobile devices result in purchases.
The above facts provide a clear idea of the high conversion rate of local search marketing. Taking advantage of this strategy will help your business to grow by leaps.
- Social media marketing strategy
There are more than 2.8 billion social media users across the globe. Thus, the importance of marketing through social media cannot be ignored by a business. A well-executed social media campaign can help the business in raising sales. A business needs to focus on high-quality and relevant content to transform followers into customers.
To get better results, the social media campaign of a business needs to align with other digital marketing strategies. That is why big brands hire a digital marketing agency to develop a social media marketing plan that can align well with their overall marketing strategy.
- Email Marketing
While a business must capture new markets and get new customers, it is equally important to retain the old customers and keep them engaged. Email marketing is one such way to keep in contact with your customers. You can keep your clients and followers informed about new product offerings as well as ongoing promotions. Having compelling and engaging content in the email marketing campaign would not only keep the customers engaged but also help in customer retention.
- Sales funnel in Marketing
A sales funnel helps the business to see the trajectory of a customer from a brand introduction to purchase completion. Keeping track of customer behavior would help you make necessary changes to your landing pages. A good sales funnel develops the trust of the customer and provides the necessary information. It nurtures your relationship with the customers in such a way that they become a buyer and keep returning to your website after the first sale.
A fully optimized sales funnel can be a great way to increase sales and revenue of a business. A sales funnel consultant can guide your business on how to increase the conversion rate on your website.
- Remarketing
Remarketing is a digital marketing strategy that would help your business in transforming potential customers into permanent clients. It exposes the business to potential customers who have shown interest in your business. In many cases, people avail of a product or service from a brand only after they have been repeatedly exposed to it. This is where remarketing plays a big role.
The strategy of remarketing also allows platforms such as Facebook, Google, etc. to display your ad repeatedly even when a customer visits another website. This reminds the customers about your website and builds brand recognition. This can lead to the customer choosing your brand over the competitors. This strategy can boost your sales figures.
- Publish Blogs
Blogs are an important part of digital marketing. They provide the business with an opportunity to engage with existing and potential clients in a friendly and conversational manner. High-quality and relevant content would build trust among your customers and establish the business as an industry leader.
Another powerful benefit of blogging is that it has the potential to create viral traffic when a user shares your blog link with other users. This can help in inexpensively marketing your business.
Key Takeaways
The above digital marketing strategies are an effective way to boost traffic and bring in more customers to your website, especially if you have a small business. These strategies can be combined with your existing marketing strategies to get better results for your business.