Marketing is far different than just a few decades ago due to all of the technological advances in consumer technology. Consumers are far more informed than in the past where they simply trusted a brand to put out a great service or product. Even quality brands put out products or services that are subpar from time to time. A small business owner needs to thoroughly understand the target demographic of their customers. The following are things that small business owners need to know about digital marketing.
Your Website Needs To Be Flawless
The website is often the first impression that people will get of a small business. You want to put your best foot forward and have a website that works seamlessly with computers and mobile devices. Failure to optimize your website for mobile design can lead to a clunky user experience that could be penalized by major search engines. Web design agencies that also handle digital marketing can be a huge help as they can assist the business from the build of the website through its marketing.
Social Media Can Truly Generate Results
Social media marketing doesn’t appeal to a number of small business owners as they don’t believe they will see ROI on it. Social media marketing can be done for an entire month in a span of a few hours. Even bringing in a few customers that will return monthly will make a huge difference over time. Announcing specials or events are other ways to bring customers back in earlier than they would have planned.
Not All Content Is Created Equal
Content varies immensely in quality when it is written for a business. Far too many businesses waste money on generic content that can be found anywhere on the web. Local businesses can write content that applies to the local area as tips could be specific. Air conditioning companies are going to have very different tips in places like Florida than they would in North Dakota.
Content should be tested to see if various forms produce more traffic or leads for the business. Podcasting is a way that a business can create in-depth content without large amounts of money or time being spent on it. The podcast equipment will be a one-time expense that will help generate business for years to come. It’s also easy to find a podcast hosting platform to use. The guests that are invited on the podcast will directly impact the popularity of the podcast. Outreach to these guests with the right incentives can grow the podcast in a relatively short amount of time.
Online Review Do Matter
Online reviews might not keep you up at night at a small business owner but maybe they should. The first place that customers go when thinking about using a business is to online review platforms. People do not want to work with a business that seemingly upsets every customer that they work with. Responding to these reviews can help salvage valuable relationships and show that the business does care about the customer.
Small business owners are better off leaving marketing to an agency or team of freelancers. There are so many variables that impact success that only focusing on marketing can negatively impact the business.
