10 (Pro) Tips for Digital Marketing for Small Businesses - Gain Your Competitive Edge
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Although, it's not an easy job running a small business. Whether it’s keeping up with demand or competing with the big high street names and superstores, running a small business can take its toll. We believe that in order to support our economy we must support small businesses.
Do you own a small business?
Well then you’ve come to the right place. Digital marketing is all about boosting sales to increase your business revenue. Let’s face it, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has been tough on us all, but particularly hard on small businesses. This past year we’ve seen our high streets close, open and close again. It’s safe to say that we can’t predict what the future might hold for our high streets, which is precisely why digital marketing is so important! Being ahead of the curve and going digital now means that you can take matters into your own hands, no matter what the covid restrictions might be!
Still not convinced?
The pandemic aside, lets be honest about one thing. Everything is now done online. Digital marketing helps your small business break through the vast and messy world that is the online search engine, making your small business discoverable to so many more people, from the comfort of their own homes. Essentially, digital marketing boosts engagement and helps generate revenue. Digital marketing for small businesses is crucial for levelling the online playing field. Gone are the days when huge corporations dominated the field. With the use of digital marketing, it is possible for small businesses to penetrate the market and start playing in the big leagues. Not to mention you can directly speak to your target audience and cater to your mobile consumers. Did you know 91% of American adults keep their mobile devices within arms reach? This provides a huge window opportunity to build brand reputation and provide better return on investment. Finding an agency for digital marketing is the perfect way to accomplish this - they’ll do all the work for you!
By now you’re probably asking the all important question, ‘How do I use digital marketing to grow my small business?’
Well look no further, here’s 10 pro tips to get you started:
10 Pro Tips to Get Ahead of Your Competitors Using Digital Marketing
1. Differentiate Your Brand
One of the most important tips when tackling digital marketing for small businesses is to research your competition. When competing with both local businesses and big corporations, it is important to offer something different to your consumers. This is where brand differentiation comes into play. Here’s some questions you should be asking yourself:
Product: Is my product notable enough to differentiate my brand from others. Is what I’m doing easily duplicated by competitors?
Service: Can I provide convenience, speed, installation, ambiance, or whatever might be needed alongside my product?
Distribution: What is the best way to distribute my product?
Reputation: Is my service/ product good enough to speak for itself?
2. Perfect the Website Basics
Your website is the first point of contact between you and your target audience. So it's crucial you get the basics down. Most consumers tend to visit company websites before making any purchases to get a feel for what you can offer them, so it is vital that you pay attention to your customers wants and needs. Users expect fast loading websites with simple and easy interfaces. Managing your image sizes and graphics is a great way to decrease the site load time. Since Google places a huge emphasis on website speed, you're missing a trick if you don’t make sure your site is as speedy as possible!
3. Improve Your Google Listings & Reviews
Your reputation online plays a huge role in your rankings. Focusing on your Google ‘My Business’ listings, as well as responding to customer reviews can really give you a boost in this area. Manage how customers view your brand online with good images and don't forget to update your listing with website links and contact information. A digital marketing service provider can help you improve your online reputation, as well as help you stay up to date with your Google listings.
4. Write a Blog!
As the saying goes ‘content is king’, creating content is not something you should overlook. The best way for small businesses to break through the noise is by creating interesting content for blogs. Develop a content strategy by bringing a digital marketing service provider onboard to help you out. To write captivating content, you have to think about what the audience wants and take advantage of the best SEO practices. Show your readers that they can trust you by writing useful and helpful content alongside your product or service.
5. Invest in Google Ads
Running a small business is difficult especially when it comes to managing the budget. Investing in Google Ads is one of the best digital marketing investments you can make as a business owner. Be sure to learn the fundamentals of Google Ads to get started. Set your goals and spend time researching which keywords to rank for. The Google Keyword Planner might be a handy tool to get you started...
6. Develop Amazing Visual Content
People tend to judge websites by the way they look. Creating interesting written content is important, but your visual content is crucial too! Stats from HubSpot reveal the following.
81% of people are persuaded to purchase a product after watching the brand’s video.
97% of marketers recall that videos helped improve customer understanding of their service and products.
76% of marketers state that videos directly helped boost sales.
As video content is growing fast, Make sure you find a way to create enticing and appealing videos and images to improve your online presence. A great way to do this is to outsource this work to a digital marketing company who can create amazing video content for you - catered towards your clients and their needs.
7. Email Marketing
Gain a competitive edge for your small business with email marketing. There are plenty of email marketing guides that will help you develop the perfect marketing strategy. Simply Business has created a helpful guide that covers all you need to know starting off. Email Marketing is a great way to reach your customers and keep them in the loop with updates, offers and more.
8. Focus on Social Media
No digital marketing strategy is complete without a great social media strategy. As social media is constantly changing, its good to keep on top of the latest features and trends. Learn about the social media platform most relevant to your business and client base and establish your presence on that platform with great content. For B2C businesses, Instagram and Facebook are the ideal choices. Whilst, LinkedIn and Twitter are a better choice for B2B services.
9. Get Local Influencers Involved
Small businesses can gain a competitive edge by getting local influencers involved in creating share-worthy content for customers. There are Instagram influencers for just about every industry. You’d be surprised! Learn more about them and reach out to get them involved in raising awareness around your brand.
10. Hire an Agency for Digital Marketing
Executing a digital marketing strategy along is a big task and a lot to learn on the job. Instead a great idea would be to hire an agency for digital marketing. When you hire a digital marketing company, they do all the hard work for you! Not only would they have the tools needed to achieve the work to a high standard, but they’ve tried and tested what works and what doesn’t - so you don't have to. If you want to avoid all the hassle, let the pros handle it for you.
That’s where Haych Digital comes in.
We at Haych Digital are a leading marketing firm based in London. Unlike other digital marketing firms we offer the combined service of not only managing your online content but also all the SEO that comes with it. We work closely with our customers to help them achieve their online marketing goals and offer our partner brands the opportunity to create original content in-house by using our team of professional photographers and videographers.
By partnering with Haych Digital, you don’t need to hire 5 different companies to market your business online - we take care of everything for you!
Haych Digital is a one-stop-solution for all your digital marketing needs.
Your brand can be next!
Contact us today for a free consultation session.
