It’s the year 2019 and companies are shifting to a lucrative online marketplace. Everything happens with a right-hand click or a tap on a touchscreen. Buyers no longer have the time to hop from store to store to look for the perfect product, they rely on what the world wide web rates as a quality product and don’t hesitate to buy it. Small and medium enterprises are seeking the best digital marketing strategies to keep up with the technological evolution.
One of the most important business decisions nowadays is deciding to build your web presence. Sure, your product may be the next best thing since sliced bread, but it won’t and it can’t be bought if it doesn’t gravitate in the webspace surrounding your potential customers.
Build a Business Website
A business website is one of the best digital channels to use to start you on your way of building a web presence. Running a brick and mortar business in 2019 is no longer feasible if you don't have a web presence.
Nowadays, most people are turning to the internet for everything from finding information about a product to finding out where they can get it. Coming up with a business website that stands out can give your business a competitive edge in your sector.
A website can help you establish an online presence. Also, it helps build trust and showcases your work and personality. With a website, you can reach a broader audience and more potential clients. It is a better and cheaper way of advertising your business.
When creating a website, here are a few things to consider:
- Determine the Primary Purpose of your Website
- A website should be able to tell your story or to offer general information about your company. The purpose of your website should help you decide whether to create a simple or complex e-commerce website.
- Decide your Domain Name
- A domain name is an essential feature of any website. Your domain name is the URL that you can share with your existing and potential customers.
- A right domain name should be descriptive, easy to remember, have a keyword, short, and if possible should not have any abbreviations, numbers or acronyms. If coming up with the right domain name is a challenge, you can consider using domain name generators.
- After selecting an ideal domain name, confirm its availability. Then, go ahead and purchase it through a domain registrar such as Wix, GoDaddy, Squarespace, and more. Your preferred domain name may already be taken. If that is the case, consider buying it from the company listing it.
- Consider Finding a Reliable Web Host
- Every website needs a host which is a server where all of the website data is stored. You can choose either a shared web host or opt for dedicated hosting depending on your budget.
- Good hosting should be reliable enough to handle your website traffic. As you grow, you can consider changing your host or using multiple hosts to manage your website operations and traffic.
Go Digital with your Marketing Ideas
Every small business owner should no longer only rely on traditional print marketing to advertise their businesses. Instead, they should employ digital marketing strategies to grow their businesses.
Digital marketing is a form of online marketing that involves using digital channels to reach potential customers. Some of the commonly used channels include content marketing, email marketing, display marketing, paid marketing, social media channels, mobile phone messaging, apps, search engine marketing, and more.
Creating a digital marketing plan can help businesses in planning their digital actions and campaigns. A digital marketing plan details the short, medium, and long-term marketing goals of the companies.
Having a business plan can help you plan all the actions that will help you reach your prospective customers. An ideal digital marketing plan has to consider digital marketing strategies, goals, channels, and ways of measuring results and metrics.
Coming up with a digital marketing business plan is vital for every firm that is planning to go digital. If you don't have a plan, it can lead to failure or result in other detrimental impacts. If you have limited time and resources to create one, consider hiring a business plan consultant. They can help you devise the best digital strategies for your business.
Your business plan should also include enough budget to monitor competitors’ social media. Just like you would do with a brick-and-mortar business, you need to look at how well their campaigns are performing and how to outdo their successes.
Make Use of Content Marketing
A website should have more than a single static page. Creating multiple pages can help you explain the different aspects of your business.
You should have different pages including an about page, a blog, a detailed catalog of the services or products that you offer and a contact page. Make sure that your copy is fully optimized.
Creating a website is good, but staying relevant is better. It's essential to keep your business up to date with quality content. Make sure that the blog posts and other content is relevant and touch on the current industry events, company news, new products and more. You can use both text and video content.
Also, consider creating mobile-friendly content because a significant number of people searching for information are doing it using their smartphones. To succeed with content marketing, it is also vital that you consider both inbound and outbound marketing, influencer marketing, native advertising, and marketing automation.
Creating SEO content helps in ranking your website. Automation tools, on the other hand, can help send content to your target audience at the appropriate time.
Leverage on Social Media Marketing
Having a social media page can also help improve your online presence. A social media page can also increase your website traffic if you market it on your social media platforms. Whenever you write a new article or update your website, post the link in your social media pages. This can help increase engagement with your target audience.
Also, make sure that you have included the links to your social media pages on your website. This can be in the footer or in the ancillary bar. Be sure to be up to date on different social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, and more.
Dave Schneider is the founder of LessChurn, churn reduction app. In 2012 he quit his job to travel the world, and has visited over 65 countries. In his spare time, he writes about SaaS and business at DaveSchneider.me
