Once upon a time in the world of marketing, using the Internet to gain an advantage over competitors was considered more of a luxury than a necessity. Traditional marketing practices such as promoting businesses on billboards and through word of mouth advertising ruled the day. Even the Yellow Pages made a positive impact on sales. As they say, “the times, they are a-changing,” and for marketers, this means having a comprehensive digital marketing plan for businesses in place to attract more customers and retain the loyal patrons of your business that drives dales.
As a company that has promoted products for more than eight years, GoPromotional offers six tips for businesses that want to optimize digital marketing plan for businesses.
Improve Your Virtual Storefront
Many businesses depend on walk-in customers to generate more sales. In 2020, the storefront that welcomes a majority of your customers is not the brick and mortar storefront you have meticulously maintained for years, but the virtual storefront called your small business website.
A visually appealing website that presents important information related to your small business is no longer considered an option. Your website acts as the new storefront for your business to welcome customers. It should greet visitors with the following information:
- Hours of operation
- Links to products and services
- The history of your business
- Present information about the members of your team
- Include several calls to action (CTA)
Building a website is not about design; it is about present helpful content that builds trust. This means running a blog that helps customers solve problems. For example, a plumbing contractor should upload a post every week or so that describes how to resolve a plumbing issue.
Get Your Business Website Ranked High on Google
You are going to hear a lot about search engine Optimization (SEO). Don’t worry; SEO is not a digital marketing principle that requires you to hold a PhD to understand its many attributes. SEO replaces the outdated website theory that by simply building one, you will attract potential customers. SEO is about getting your business website ranked high in the Google search engine.
Let’s look at a few ways to bolster your website’s SEO:
- Clearly defined Meta titles and descriptions
- Links to authority websites (Not to any of your competitors)
- Customer testimonials
- Videos that present useful information
- Customer reviews
Customer Reviews: The New Word of Mouth Advertising
More than 70 percent of consumers do not take action until they read a few customer reviews. Welcome to word of mouth advertising 2.0 in 2020.
There was a time when online customer reviews received little attention. After all, who were the people uploading their thoughts on a business. Were they friends or relatives of the owner? Skepticism has faded considerably, with online customer reviews now forming the backbone of the digital marketing strategy many business owners use to attract more customers. Not only do you want to increase the number of positive customer reviews your business captures on sites such as Yelp and Google, you also need to manage your customer reviews by responding to most of the reviews.
Connect with Customers on Social Media
You do not have to be a digital marketing expert to know that Facebook is a powerful magnet that attracts a majority of people throughout the world. In fact, having an active Facebook presence for your business is about as important as maintaining a visually appealing and highly informative business website. The key is to know how to optimize social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook offers you more of a content marketing platform. You can upload posts and articles, as well as present videos. However, the most effective way to optimize your Facebook page is to make it engaging for your visitors. Look at Facebook as an equal opportunity contribution platform where the input of your visitors is just as important as what you upload on the social media site. Twitter is more of a “The future is now” social media platform where you post short tweets that announce upcoming specials, as well as the introduction of new products and services.
Reach Out and Touch Someone Via Emails
The more things change, the more they stay the same is an appropriate way to discuss the positive impact of email marketing. As one of the oldest, and yet still effective digital marketing tactics, email marketing keeps your customers informed about business events, as well as offers the ideal platform to build credibility by presenting useful information. The key is to gain permission to send a weekly electronic newsletter to subscribers. You can do this by promoting your electronic newsletter in store and on your business website.
Email automation has changed the way business owners and operators reach out to subscribers. All you have to do is establish a day and time when you send out weekly emails, and an automated system does all the work for you. You spend less time on marketing and more time doing what matters the most: Interacting with your customers at your place of business.
The New Era of Digital Marketing
For decades, digital marketing plan for businesses was implemented for users of desktop computers. Then laptops and notebooks became the popular way to send and receive digital information. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, mobile devices have morphed into a powerful platform for reaching loyal customers, as well as the potential customers of your business.
