Post the pandemic, we saw a growth in the number of small businesses or home-grown businesses. Owing to the growth of online marketing platforms, today, some small businesses clock in repeated sales many times more than established brands. But how did they do so? How did they become experts in social media marketing and created content that went viral? In this article, we discuss the top 5 digital marketing tips for small businesses, do’s and don’ts, and why it is important for their growth.
Why Digital Marketing is important for Small Businesses?
Digital marketing is the use of internet-connected channels to promote brands, products, and services. It has become a necessary tool for all businesses, both large and small.
Digital marketing can be used as a cost-effective way to create awareness about your company or product in the digital world. It’s also a good way to reach potential customers that are not nearby or might not have heard about your company yet. Digital marketing has a low entry barrier and it can be used easily with minimal resources. You don’t need a marketing graduate to run your marketing campaigns, anyone with basic to advanced digital marketing training can do so without any loss.
An ever-increasing number of small businesses are turning to digital marketing in order to grow their revenue and customer base. One of the main benefits of digital marketing is that it is cost-effective, especially when compared to traditional marketing channels. Another benefit of digital marketing for small businesses is that it allows them to reach out in a mass manner, providing them with the ability to market their products and services as they would like. One of the most important benefits of digital marketing is that it enables small businesses to reach a wider audience on a large scale.
Top 5 Digital Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
In this section, we are going to cover 5 of the most powerful digital marketing tips for small business owners that will help you grow your business online. These tips are specifically for small businesses, as opposed to large corporations.
1) Start with Social Media: Social media is a great place to start when it comes to digital marketing for small businesses. Using social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, you can create a profile and start building up an audience of followers who will be interested in your product or service. You can also use these platforms to market your products or services by posting links and ads on your profile.
2) Build Trust: Building trust is important because it provides customers with reassurance that they are making the right decision by purchasing from you rather than another company. On your website, make sure you have a testimonial section that showcases the positive experiences other people had with your company. You can also build trust by creating a blog and posting regular content on it such as articles on what your products are made of or how they’re manufactured to help provide transparency for customers who want to know more about the process.
3) Create Convenience: Many customers are looking for convenience when making a purchase decision. One way you can build this is by providing customers with multiple payment options, like a form of payment that is easy to use or one that doesn’t require shipping. You can also provide customers with the ability to purchase your products in bulk, in which case the cost per unit becomes much lower.
4) Make it a Repeat Business: Some products are easier to sell by offering different options for delivery, or even giving customers the opportunity to review their purchase experience and provide feedback on what you did well, and what you could improve upon. If your customer has a good experience with your product, they’ll be more likely to purchase from you again in the future.
5) Provide a Value: Some people are looking for products that provide value. For example, if you offer a package deal of two bottles of wine for $30, some people may be interested in purchasing that because it feels like it would be worth the money.
Do’s and Don’ts of Digital Marketing for Small Businesses
Let’s explore some of the most important dos and don’ts of digital marketing for small businesses.
Do: Build a website with a blog that provides valuable content to your target audience. This should be your first step in any digital marketing campaign.
Don’t: Don’t spend too much on paid advertising without testing first what works best for you. Paid advertising can be an effective tool but it’s not always necessary.
Do: Consider social media advertising. This is a relatively inexpensive way to target your ideal audience without having to rely on paid advertising.
Don’t: Post too many ads and start to feel like a spammer. Social media advertising is effective when used strategically.
Do: Have a process in place to regularly measure whether your paid advertising is effective or not and adjust quickly based on the data you’re receiving.
Don’t: Leave it up to chance. You need to have a plan in place as to how you will keep testing new strategies on a regular basis.
Conclusion
The challenges for a small business to grow are many but the opportunities that digital marketing platforms offer often outweigh them. Hope that this informative guide will help your small business grab all the attention from the online audience that it deserves!
Author’s Bio
Karan Shah
Founder and CEO at IIDE
Apart from being an Edu-Preneur, Tedx Speaker and a Black Coffee connoisseur, Karan Shah is also the founder of IIDE- The Digital School.
A Harvard alumnus, Karan’s expertise lies in digital marketing and Ecommerce. A storyteller at heart, he has penned plenty of articles in leading news portals such as Entrepreneur, BusinessWorld, Education Times, and Youth Magazine to name a few.