Reaching out to prospects, converting them into customers, and convincing those customers to keep coming back is at the core of any business. Even if the company is small, the need for marketing remains a top priority.
For small business owners, affordable marketing comes down to scale. Options with easy scalability prove cost-effective and reliable over the long term. As a result, digital marketing services are an essential addition to any small business. They provide the best way to reach customers, increase sales, and grow your business.
Unfortunately, most small business owners are too busy to think about digital marketing. They know it’s essential but are unsure what to do or where to begin. While we can’t tell you the right options for your specific organization, the following is a breakdown of the best digital marketing solutions for small businesses:
Top-of-Funnel
Digital marketing is viewed as a funnel split into thirds. The upper-most portion, referred to as a top-of-funnel, refers to the lead generation phase. These are solutions meant to reach the most people. They include:
-Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
All modern businesses rely on website traffic. But with Google acting as a gatekeeper, steps must be taken to ensure their sites appear at the top of relevant search results. The methods used to achieve that outcome are collectively referred to as search engine optimization or SEO for short.
–Influencer Marketing
Somewhere between critical acclaim and celebrity endorsement lies the marketing potential of social media influencers. An influencer is considered by their followers to be a credible authority regarding certain types of products and services. If their social media following is big enough, a stamp of approval on your product or service can lead to an overnight explosion in sales.
–Targeted PPC
Paid per click advertising is an affordable and straightforward means to direct more traffic to your website. But it’s a bit like fishing in that the more specific the bait, the more specific the catch. That’s where targeted PPC enters the picture. It essentially helps businesses reach a more specific audience with their online advertising.
Middle-of-Funnel
You’ve introduced yourself to a broad audience with top-of-funnel marketing. If all goes well, you now have the attention of a potential customer base. They want to learn more about your company and what you offer, which is where middle-of-funnel digital marketing comes into play. Examples include:
-Content Marketing
The online publication of informative content is a common way for companies to build trust with potential customers and earn their respect. It also helps SEO by directing traffic from popular websites to your own. Generally speaking, the more quality content you have on quality websites, the higher your site appears in relevant search results.
-Social Media
Most people don’t think twice about following companies on social media. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other, social media gives small businesses a chance to stay relevant with a large but relevant online audience. The use of social media marketing carries its share of risks, as evidenced by the corporate flubs and failures we hear about now and then, but the potential rewards are worth it.
-Paid Social Prospecting
Think of paid social prospecting like targeted PPC on popular social media platforms. It’s more cost-effective in the long term but more time-consuming initially. It’s ideal for new companies entering the social media sphere for the first time, but can also benefit businesses with an established social presence.
Bottom-of-Funnel
Last but certainly not least, bottom-of-funnel digital marketing caters almost entirely to past customers and shopping cart abandoners. As you can guess, the goal is to get them to come back. Examples of bottom-of-funnel marketing include:
-Email Marketing
Asking customers if they want to receive email updates is a standard operating procedure for online businesses, especially at checkout. Many will decline, but others will agree. While we all know our email preferences and habits and thus have no doubt the majority will never be read, let alone open, the effort is worth it anyway. That’s because you’re sending promotional emails to people you know are interested in your products (even if they’re not interested in opening emails.) The subject line can be enough to generate a sale. Check out our top picks for the best small business marketing tools!
-Paid Social Retargeting
Thanks to Facebook’s liberal approach to data sharing, companies can concentrate retargeting efforts on user-visitors: Facebook users who visited your site but didn’t buy anything. Think of it as an even more specific form of paid social prospecting.
-Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
They’ve gotten this far – you’d hate to see them leave without making a purchase. That’s where conversion rate optimization (CRO) enters the picture. CRO is a collection of tactics and techniques designed to improve conversion rates.
Marketing matters to every business. Those at the helm of small businesses are under pressure to devise cost-effective marketing strategies. These days, that almost always means one thing: digital marketing solutions.