Marketing your small business online is an increasingly important ingredient to your success. While some companies can produce good numbers without employing online marketing strategies, it is becoming harder and harder to do so.
Most small businesses (around 64%) currently have at least a website and that number is only going to continue to grow.
In order to compete with a crowded market, it’s important to market your business on the internet. But, what are some effective methods to get your name out there?
Types of Online Marketing
Before we go into specific marketing strategies, let’s take a look at a few of the general types of online marketing. For the most part, online marketing is all about content creation, but that content can come in a variety of different ways. For instance, a blog post is going to look entirely different than a promoted ad on Instagram. Most online marketing strategies fall into one of three categories:
- Owned media
- Earned media
- Paid media
Owned media, as the name suggests, is any content or channel of content that is owned by you and is under your complete control. This usually includes things like your website, social media accounts, blogs, and even other owned entities on third-party platforms.
Earned media, by contrast, is the name for any content that is spread independent of you. This can be write-ups in an online publication, customer social media posts that mention your brand, positive online reviews, or having your own content shared by unaffiliated people on social media.
Paid media is the most traditional form of advertising and involves any type of content you paid to have seen. It usually takes the form of promoted social media posts, Google Ads, or native advertising.
A Functional and Informative Website is Key
Websites are one of the first entry points into your brand, and you want your customers to be able to find useful information to make their decision to buy from you easier. This means that your website must do more than simply exist. A good website includes information like:
- A list of products and services
- Pricing
- The ability to make online appointments or reservations (if applicable)
- An option to order products and services online (if applicable)
- An “About Us” page
- Contact information
A good website should also be easily navigable. A clunky design can turn prospective customers away, which is why it’s important to keep pages functional, readable, and aesthetically pleasing. A focus on search engine optimization (SEO) can also help drive traffic. Investing in a good web designer or web design firm can certainly be worth it if you don’t have the skills to make a site on your own.
Start a Blog and Maintain It
You might think of blogging as a very informal way to write about any and all subjects. But, for a small business, a blog can be a highly effective marketing tool. Obviously, a blog is usually integrated with your website. Engaging and high-quality blog content, however, can produce a distinct increase in website traffic.
Blogs are also good for your bottom line. According to a 2019 HubSpot study, businesses that make blogging a primary focus are 13 times more likely to see a positive return on their investment.
Of course, you also want to keep updating the blog as time goes on. A stale blog that has been dormant for years is not going to drive any traffic. If you make new posts on a regular basis, however, Google will prioritize your website on relevant searches.
And you don’t always have to come up with new topics all the time. Although it’s good to try to focus on your clientele’s “pain points,” you don’t necessarily have to come up with brand new concepts for every post. You can even simply update old blog posts with new statistics and data if you’ve run out of ideas. As with your website, your blog should also incorporate SEO tactics.
Try Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to foster communication and continued engagement with current and future customers. It’s also a great way to keep clients coming back with 80% of marketers suggesting that it improves customer retention overall.
Essentially, an email marketing strategy means that you send targeted emails to customers or other interested parties. These emails can simply be newsletters with information about new content on your site or even deals that you are offering in the upcoming month.
In any event, it’s a great way to keep your brand in the forefront of your customers’ minds, ensuring that they won’t seek out your competitors when they need the products or services you offer. You may also consider adding individuals into separate lists to target their specific needs. That way, the emails they receive from you will seem more personalized and effective.
Get a Wikipedia Page
You may think of Wikipedia as a repository for a wealth of the world’s information. But, it can also be used as a superior online marketing tool. So much so, people are willing to hire a wikipdia writer to get listed on the site.
One of the main reasons for this is that Wikipedia is a trusted site that ranks high on most Google searches. So, if someone searches out your business, they will likely encounter your own manicured Wikipedia page first.
On top of this, if you are a business that is fairly notable, you might already have a Wikipedia page. It’s important to take control of the page so that nothing explicitly negative befalls it. You can do this by editing the page yourself or by hiring a Wikipedia writing and editing service to do it for you. The latter option also ensures that your page will mesh with the site’s guidelines.
Used correctly, Wikipedia can be valuable tool at increasing brand awareness, improving your company’s legitimacy, and serving as a resource for those who want to research your brand on what looks like an independent site.
Send Out Online Press Releases
When your company introduces a new product or service or starts a new initiative, a press release can provide interested parties with all the information they need. Press releases are obviously written by you with all the positive information about something new your company is doing.
Media outlets may then pick up the press release and write an article about it. This acts as a form of earned media. The press release or the write-ups about it may also be shared on social media by customers or interested individuals, furthering your earned media clout.
Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it, the internet is not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s best that you start using all of its unique features to market your company and earn new customers and increased interest in the process.
