In the modern world, professional digital marketing and a strong digital presence are essential for almost every business, whether they operate online or offline. Different businesses are better suited to different types of digital marketing depending on who they are, what they do and what their marketing budget is.
Unfortunately (for them), small businesses don’t always have a lot of money to spend on digital marketing efforts. However, this doesn’t mean that they should ignore it, but that they should choose what sort of digital marketing they use carefully.
Some of the best things that small businesses can do when it comes to digital marketing include:
Build a website:
Although this may seem pretty self-explanatory, you would be amazed at how many small businesses don’t think they need a website. If you want to be successful in the online space, you do! A strong social media presence is not enough, and you need to do more than just share your business name on different online business registries. The benefits of having a decent website include:
- It will become the centrepiece of your digital marketing strategy.
- You can direct traffic from your social media and other forms of advertising here.
- Depending on your business type, you can even sell your services via your website.
If you don’t know how to build your own site, speak to a professional. Don’t be scared to spend the money to get a decent website.
Write decent content:
Content marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to take up a whole lot of time. Basically, you need to write short informational pieces that are relevant to your website. Include a link back to your site, and reach out to other websites who will let you post them as guest blogs. Don’t forget to post things to your own blog and to share them on social media.
Social media marketing:
Social media marketing is the one truly affordable digital marketing stream for small businesses. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost a cent if you do it right. Start with creating a profile on two or three of your favourite platforms. Make sure that you build a Facebook page. Share relevant content, attract followers to your pages, and engage with these followers. From time to time, you can run promotions or business posts that direct people back to your website, increasing your site traffic and – potentially – your income.
Don’t ignore digital marketing:
Just because you are a small business with a limited marketing budget doesn’t mean that you should ignore digital marketing. In fact, the exact opposite is true – you should probably focus even more time and money on your marketing to make up for the fact that you don’t have a whole lot of money to spend. Look at cost-effective marketing streams, and do your best to build a strong social media presence.
