For a small business, surviving in today’s competitive landscape is challenging. While most businesses strive to boost profitability, they often neglect the importance of online marketing. However, it is unwise to neglect the power of digital marketing. In fact, most businesses that fail to build a strong digital presence are at risk of being left behind. Therefore, it is not only essential to integrate an effective marketing strategy, but it is also important to implement it correctly.
Investing in the right marketing strategy, at the right time and for the right people can help you earn huge returns in terms of brand awareness and reach. So, if you are running a small business but not sure where to start, read on. In this article, we will explore seven online marketing tips that will help you increase brand visibility and expand your market reach.
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Create Visual Content
When it comes to marketing, visual content is king. A strong visual sense is critical to establishing an effective online presence, such as on social media. Visual content is a collective term for different visual media formats, including images and videos. In recent years, video content has grown at an incredible rate. According to HubSpot statistics, 87% of marketers say video content has helped them increase leads and sales.
The same goes for stock photography which relates to the supply of licensed images for business or creative purposes. Today, most small businesses use royalty-free stock images in social media posts, marketing designs, advertising, landing pages, and more. It is because visual content is easily remembered by visitors. Moreover, the content is usually designed in color, helping people to engage and absorb information better.
2. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing involves a brand’s collaboration with a famous personality to market its products or services. It is one of the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses. By utilizing the popularity and reach of influencers, small businesses can earn people’s trust. It helps them get recognized in the market and boost engagement.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, businesses make around $5.2 ROI for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. So, for instance, if you wish to promote your small restaurant by partnering with a food blogger, there is a high probability that you will reach thousands, if not millions, of users globally, helping you increase your business’s visibility.
However, you must consider a few factors before collaborating with an influencer. For instance, to run a successful campaign, ensure the influencer is right for your brand and target audience. Similarly, make sure they have high engagement with their followers and don’t just select those with a high number of followers.
3. Update Business Profiles
Another important marketing tip is to update and claim your business profiles on Bing, Yahoo, Google, and other popular search platforms. It is one of the easiest ways to improve your business’s search rank and leverage free advertising. Remember, your business profile provides your existing and potential customers with useful information about your business, such as phone number, working hours, address, store location, reviews, and more.
Thus, ensure profiles are updated with the latest photos, logo, and images to engage potential customers. Also, having an updated business profile like Google My Business can help you make the most of local SEO. However, make sure your business profile provides accurate information. To improve its visibility in search results, ensure incorporation of relevant keywords and add high-resolution and interesting photos to showcase your business.
Most importantly, respond and interact with reviewers to engage them with your business and demonstrate customer service. You can also display your product catalog with information like pricing, description, or photos to help customers understand the offered products and make an informed decision.
4. Maximize Email Marketing
Email marketing is often the most neglected marketing tool. Who opens their email nowadays, right? Wrong! Regardless of the rise in social media, people access their email accounts daily. Take a look in your office, for instance; do you communicate via emails for important messages or Whatsapp? Thus, email marketing is an opportunity to target people who still use email accounts.
You can start with promotions, monthly newsletters, competitions, and news, as all are great ways to engage potential customers using emails. Moreover, compared to other marketing tools, it is a low-cost option. You can easily personalize and customize your message, allowing your brand to connect with the target audience on a deeper level. However, before you start directly accessing your prospects, you must first earn their permission. It means you must impress them enough to convince them to provide email ids.
Once you have a list of all the people you should and could send an email to, you can start planning and executing your email marketing campaigns. It will keep your audience loyal and engaged with your brand.
5. Improve Your SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the most popular digital marketing strategy nowadays. Whether you are running a small business or an enterprise, it would be best to hire people in your team with expertise in SEO. So what are good SEO practices?
Good SEO practices involve using keywords on your website to help it rank higher on search results and drive traffic. When you get good traffic on your marketing channels, it helps your business get recognized.
For a small business, SEO can help in many ways. For instance, it can help build trust with your clients, boost credibility, and improve the brand’s organic visibility. Also, it can maximize results from paid marketing strategies, improve website usability, expand your reach, and drive user engagement rates. All you need is to optimize your website through content creation, keywords, guest postings, and link building.
However, if you don’t have an international website, you can optimize for local SEO. As discussed earlier, one way is to create and optimize a Google My Business profile. It will help you drive more traffic to your physical business location. Remember, being well-positioned in popular search engines like Google is a surefire way to build trust and get traffic without spending anything.
The Final Words
Implementing online marketing strategies can help you expand your reach and build credibility. Moreover, it increases your brand visibility as well as profitability. While most businesses implement the same marketing strategies and tools, the difference lies in how well you develop and execute them. Hopefully, the online marketing tips discussed in this article have provided enough information and inspiration to help your small business develop a successful online marketing plan.
