There are more than 3 billion active Internet users. This is what makes the Web an excellent opportunity for startups to reach their target market. In the past, we have witnessed so many advancements in the field of internet technology that have directly changed the way marketing strategies are being devised.
Well-timed sharing of valuable information became the currency of the digital age. With so many competitors out there, it became very hard to get through to the eyes and ears of the target of your interest. Marketing departments of larger companies always had an advantage, since their budgets were so much bigger than those of startups.
The digital age increases the chances to get your message seen. And, this is the main reason why there are more and more startups that are dropping down the legacy of marketing balls, replacing it with a new, much more potential, digital one.
This is why we have compiled this list of strategies that could help you build an effective marketing campaign for your small business. The following pieces of advice are focused on helping you place your business in a position which will allow you to be more effective by utilizing web technologies to your advantage.
Define Your Brand
Let’s start with the basics. Your brand will be something that you will be building your marketing strategy upon. It is something that you can’t basically start without. If you already know the basics of branding, feel free to skip to the next chapter.
Your brand will be something that makes you stand out in the crowd. And, let me tell you something – that crowd is only going to get bigger. Your brand will be something that the customers are going to connect with and, in the end, in combination with your products or services, it will make people come back to you.
Think about what drove you to start your business and how it shapes the practices of your business. This is what renders your establishment unique. Keep the channels of communication with your customers open. Ask them what they like about your company and what they don’t. This will provide you with valuable information that you can use to identify the aspects of your startup that resonate well with people. Your research will end by looking for the blind spots in your industry. That one thing that makes you different from your competitors.
In the end, you will know your origin story, you’ll have an insight into how customers feel and who your competitors are. With all this information in your hands, you are ready to start building your brand.
Search Engine Optimization
If you don’t have a website yet, get one as soon as you can. It is a great way to establish an online presence and use it as a headquarters of your marketing campaign. But, it is not enough to just have an official business website online. It has to be regularly updated and tuned to provide value to visitors. Above all, it has to be optimized for search engines. This optimization will provide your website with a higher rank in search results. This trend has become an imperative in the word of digital marketing. In case you want to outsource this important task, make sure to read user reviews of digital marketing agencies.
According to the latest Inbound Marketing reports, SEO results in more leads than outbound marketing, paid media or self-sourced leads, especially in the local user searches. This is why it is critical to have your website optimized for local searches.
With so many smartphone users out there, it has become very common for users to search for local business on the go, in order to find out their location, working hours and to get directions. Google reports that 50% of customers who used a local search on a smartphone device visited a store that very same day. If you need more incentive to do SEO, have a look at State of Marketing reports. The results tell that 66% marketers who are using SEO find it very effective.
Invest in Content Marketing
Content marketing became the easiest and the most effective way to engage your prospects and add to your uniqueness. It can be utilized in many different ways and it has a great impact on brand awareness, website traffic, generating leads and growing your business. Here are some important tips that could help you design a consistent and fruitful content marketing campaign.
You content marketing strategy will heavily rely on your brand. This is why I have put branding in the first chapter. Knowing what your company is and what it wants to provide will help you decide on a tone, voice and point of view, when publishing something on your website or social media profiles. The better the story the greater the results will be.
Always keep an eye out for comments and questions. This especially applies to entrepreneurs who decide to have a blog on their official website. Use these question to drive content to your blog. Remember to write content for the audience. This is what makes that content a potential driver of traffic to your site.
Make sure to incorporate images in your posts. Images are way more engaging than text-based content. If you like to experiment, try to create an infographic. They are a great way for catching attention and can be used to send powerful messages. Don’t worry; if you are not an infographic guru, there are many short online guides on how to create one along with free-to-use infographic creation tools.
Make a YouTube Channel
YouTube is close to the magnificent number of 1 billion unique visitors per month. If you decide to make videos, great, since they are great for marketing your business online. But, to make the most out of it and to bring your products and services closer to the audience, you will have to play by some rules.
Your marketing video headline should be written after you do some keyword research. When done properly, your video will be highly ranked when prospects are searching through YouTube. Also, try to stick to one clear message that you want to communicate. If you try to do many things in one video, you will lose your audience’s focus. Furthermore, don’t make your videos too long and try to add a call to action in your video. This should be either a call to a viewer to subscribe to your channel or to go and visit your website for a special offer.
For starters, you don’t need to have professional equipment to shoot your marketing videos. The cameras on new smartphones can capture suitable footage. In case you want to edit the video before publishing, there are many free video editing applications that could be found online both for your desktop computer and mobile phone.
Go Mobile Friendly
A responsive design is something that you need to implement in order to meet the needs of mobile device users. This is crucial for your business if you want to satisfy prospects with a different mindset. Otherwise, your website will lose a lot in terms of conversion rates.
There are two things to consider before you decide what your responsive design should look like. Using a responsive design irresponsibly can lead to cluttering smartphone screens with irrelevant content, leaving the visitor frustrated and confused. First, you have to know why a mobile customer has come to your website and you need to completely understand their intent. Make sure to use Google Analytics in order to identify both of these variables.
If the user experience you want to achieve deeply relies on the images on your site, make sure to optimize image scaling and consider their value for the visitor. A perfect image on a desktop computer can easily become a distracting element on a mobile website.
One of the top priorities should be the navigation bar on your website. A clear and functional navigation bar is will help the visitors get where they want to go quickly and intuitively. These are just some of the elements that will shape their mobile user experience and generate more leads. Google’s material design documents could be very helpful when you decide to go with a responsive design.
As you can see, there are many passive elements that have a huge impact on the effectiveness of one’s online marketing strategy. If you want to stay competitive and establish steady business growth, it is of the utmost importance to build foundations upon which you can construct different online marketing strategies.
Since this is a huge trend in marketing waters, there are many articles online that cover comprehensive guides on the specifics of online marketing. If this subject interests you, feel free to go online and read them. Try to keep you focus on the latest trends and how they can be implemented into your strategies.