What Is The Secret To Small Business Digital Marketing?

As a local or small business owner, taking advantage of digital marketing is fundamental to success. The barriers to entry into the marketplace are minimised when compared to traditional forms of marketing.

Small business owners see that digital marketing is no longer secondary to traditional print marketing and advertising. In addition, it is a great way for them to get more bang for their marketing bucks. (In actual fact, 95% of small businesses plan to increase spending on digital marketing.)

However, to get the best results from your digital marketing efforts, it’s very important to understand digital marketing and keep up with digital marketing trends.

Your Business Website

No matter how active you are on social media, it can’t replace a business website. Your website is the digital “home” of your organisation and it’s the one place online where you are completely in control of your message. Your website doesn’t need to be fancy however it does need to be mobile-friendly – that’s non-negotiable.

Research Competitors And Differentiate Yourself

Competitor research is very important because as a local business, you’ll want to be able to offer extra value in the market. Google Search is a phenomenal place to begin. You are able to see how your competitors are positioning themselves within their ads. As a result, you can differentiate yourself and make your company stand out.

Here are a number of methods of differentiation which you could make use of:

• Product – most noteworthy but easily duplicated and may be short-lived
• Service – training, installation, speed and ease of doing business
• Distribution – suppliers, manufacturers, distributors or retailers who you work with
• Relationship – employees as well as customer service could be a helpful means to differentiate. Perhaps add a review service
• Image/Reputation – this may be established through your current customers who will later become your advocates
• Price – again, this can very simply be duplicated. However, depending on your product, customers may elect to pay more if there is an added value in doing business with you

Email Marketing

Nearly seven in 10 businesses make use of email marketing. This makes it the third-most used digital marketing method:

• Almost half (47%) of the individuals across demographics check their email on a mobile device.
• 81% of those utilise their smartphones (rather than tablets).

In addition, the bulk (33%) of email opens take place on mobile devices. When you put together your email marketing messages, think about “mobile-first.” Keep emails short. You need to include a clear call to action; design in a single-column format; and utilise plenty of white space so that it’s easy to click on buttons or links in the email.

Speak At Events

In terms of branding – as well as establishing yourself as an authority – few things are more impactful than being a speaker at popular events in your niche.

While invitations to speak at larger events are often extended as a result of accomplishments or visible influence, you are also able to work your way into these opportunities by becoming a talented speaker and delivering great talks at smaller events.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Want to learn more about digital marketing? If you do then you need to do our Digital Marketing Course. Find out more by following this link.