There is a lot to know when it comes to utilizing digital marketing in an effective way for your business. You need to be versed in all aspects to really do a good job. Here is a short list of items we think are relevant most often when marketing a local business online.
- Have a website that provides a great customer experience. Use your website as if you were a user or have a potential customer use your website to provide feedback on the overall experience. Then improve on the experience if you can.
- Google is dominating the search engine market, so having a Google Business Page is extremely important for a local business trying to get found locally.
- Keep your software, templates and plugins for your website updated. If these are not done timely, your site is vulnerable for malware type attacks.
Those are the basics, but there are a lot more helpful digital marketing tactics out there. If you are wanting to grow your local business through digital channels, here are some digital marketing activities you should be considering.
- CONTENT MARKETING: Identify keywords and key phrases used to find your type of business online, then build content that improves customer experience and manage that content to get better position for searches in the future. Content is king in digital marketing.
- REVIEWS: Marketing is becoming very customer focused. The customer is driving sales by their reviews in many situations. Our review manager software can serve all your reviews in one place. You can respond to reviews and send review requests to customers via email or text on the spot. A great tool if you just have time managing your reviews.
- EMAIL CAMPAIGNS: Case studies show it costs 5 times more to get a new customer than retain and existing one. A great way to stay in contact with current customers could be to drop them an email. Customer focused email marketing campaigns can make a huge impact on your marketing objectives.
- DIGITAL ADVERTISING: Google is divided into 3 sections when searching. The top ad portion is the section where you can advertise. And if your a location driven business, your ad can show up in the Google Maps section. If customers are looking for your business online to buy a product or service from, you want to at least have the opportunity to be seen. How many businesses will you look at online before you buy? Probably not many, so being on the top, even if it is paid, could be the best option, especially in the beginning.
- SOCIAL: Social networks like Facebook have a huge audience on a daily basis and depending on your demographic, could be a good choice. Facebook advertised/boosted posts allow you to control slightly who may see your ad.
If you have read our article and have no idea what to do next, call Dot Marketing and Design at 605-519-5740.
My current role at Dot is to make sure the team has a good foundation to grow in their careers. I also handle all new clients paperwork and setting up billing. I establish new processes or check on current systems to make sure we are running smoothly. And finally, I make sure the team has the tools they need to be the best they can be at their duties.
