Digital Marketing for Small Business

Digital marketing can be intimidating.

A Google search yields thousands, if not millions, of results, all telling you that you need to be doing this and that to even think about having a successful business.

But which digital marketing ideas are actually worth spending time on?

Take Advantage of Social Media

Your brand should be on every single platform of social media out there.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beauty brand or a tech startup, social media is where your clients are.

Each social media platform appeals to a different type of consumer, so being active on each platform is vital. However, you shouldn’t be posting the exact same content to every platform.

That epic video you made for TikTok (previously Music.ly), which appeals to a much younger generation, won’t get the same response on Facebook, which reaches middle and older generations.

Create content uniquely for each platform and share it widely. It’s great to take part in challenges that can get you noticed on these platforms.

At the very least, you’re business or brand should have an account on each of the following networks:

  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • Instagram (ideal for visual marketing)
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat

Go Behind the Scenes

One of the most successful tactics for digital marketing is to take your followers behind the scenes.

Social media is heading towards a trend of more “realness”. Viewers want to know who people are behind their Photoshopped and heavily filtered images and videos.

Going behind the scenes with your viewers and showing them what day-to-day operations look like can foster a connection. Then, when you ask your viewers to try your new product, they’re happy to support someone who they feel that they’ve gotten to know.

Online Contests

Online contests are a fantastic way that small businesses can start improving their digital marketing.

Contests can generate a lot of interest but don’t always require a huge payout on the business end.

Something as small as giving away your new product or a business strategy session with the CEO can get you a lot of new email signups or social media followers.

Create a Blog

If you don’t have a blog for your website yet, you need to start one today!

While you might be wondering what a solar panel company or a dentist’s office could possibly have to blog about, know that the possibilities are endless.

Blogs are a great way to create brand recognition and generate website traffic, which means more sales for you.

Work With Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers are people on social media who generally have less than 20k followers.

Working with these influencers who have a higher engagement rate than larger influencers means that you can reach an entirely new audience.

The influencer has already done the work of connecting with their audience. The best influencers to work with are very niche. If your business is a travel agency, don’t just find a travel blogger to work with but specifically look for an influencer who matches your brand.

Maybe you want to promote a new sustainable tour in India. Find an influencer who has been to India and promotes sustainable travel. You’ll reach an engaged audience who has already shown interest in sustainable travel.

Create a Hashtag

To create brand recognition, it’s vital to create your own hashtag that can be used across social platforms.

The hashtag could be similar to your brand name or it could have something to do with your brand.

Take Kitehill, a dairy-free food brand. Their #DairyFreeBeauty challenge is a unique hashtag that encourages people who are dairy-free to share pictures of themselves. Kitehill can then repost this content and generate more interest in the brand.

Ask Your Clients What They Want

One of the best ways to improve your digital marketing is to ask your clients what they want from your brand or business.

Creating a short survey and sending it out in a monthly newsletter is a fantastic way to see what products and content people would like to see. This also shows your clients that you value their input.

Get to Know Your Data

It’s time to get cozy with your data! You should be taking time each month to look at your audience analytics across all of your social media platforms as well as for your website.

These insights can help you determine what kinds of content to create in order to get the most engagement on your website and socials.

Give New Life to Old Content

When was the last time that you went through your old website content (whether that’s informational pages or blog posts) and updated it?

Giving new life to old content is not only a great excuse to reshare old content, but it also tells search engines that the page is still monitored. That means that your page or post has a better shot of showing up first when someone searches for a product that you sell.

Develop a Customer Referral Program

Creating a customer referral program is great for two reasons. First, you get more clients. Second, your existing clients are happy because they get a bonus for referring, which means that they’re more likely to come back for your services again.

A referral program is relatively easy to create and can be done in a way that is unique to your business.

If you run a photography business, you might give those who refer a new client an extra digital photograph or a discount on their next shoot. If you run a bakery the referral program could be something like referring a certain number of purchases means a free dozen cupcakes.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!

Get Started With These Digital Marketing Ideas Today

Now that you’ve got these digital marketing ideas to put to use, it’s time to get started!

It can be an overwhelming process, but don’t let this deter you.

Check out our services and see what we can do for you. We’ll take care of digital marketing while you focus on doing what you love.