Are You Ready For Online Marketing for Your Small Business? 7 Tips to Get Started

Online marketing is the future of marketing strategy. It is the only way to reach out to your audience and build relationships with them. For a long time, many people thought that online marketing was reserved for large businesses or corporations only. But the reality is different now, and it’s never been easier to start an online business than it is today.

With your small business, you will need creativity and a solid marketing strategy. You also need to be tenacious and understand that there is no such thing as overnight success. It is important to remember that not all the work you do on your online marketing campaign is going to provide an immediate return on your investment of time and resources. This is something that marketers have been aware of for decades now.

This article gives you 7 tips to get started with online marketing for your small business.

DEFINE YOUR CUSTOMER

It is essential to have a clear understanding of who your target audience is so that you can create marketing materials that speak to them and their needs. In order to define your customer profile, you may need to answer several questions. Have in mind that understanding your customers' needs is the basis for effective sales. Soon, you will be able to find a separate post about defining your customers. Here are the 8 most important questions you may need to answer:

SET GOALS

Goals are POWERFUL. You’ll be surprised to hear that your brain has incredible problem-solving skills and goals channel brain power toward finding solutions.
The very first step of starting a business is setting goals. No matter you are a small business owner operating online or a big corporation, you need a direction that will drive you to success. Starting a business means that you are expecting to make a profit as a result of it. Profitability does not occur without sales, plus proper cost management.
One of the most chosen templates for setting goals is SMART.

WHAT SETS YOUR BUSINESS APART FROM THE COMPETITION?

A unique selling point (USP) is the essence of what makes your product or service better than competitors. In online marketing, communicating your USP clearly and quickly is one of the keys to getting potential customers to convert to your site. A USP describes the distinctive position of your firm on the market, which is at the heart of your business: your offer of value and the problem you address. A good USP clearly shows a certain advantage that you stand out.
Your USP could be:

• A free return
• The best quality product in your niche

DO YOU NEED A LOGO?

If you are at a crossroad whether your business needs a logo or not, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my company’s advertising goals?
• What type of marketing materials do I plan to produce?
• Does it seem important to my competitors’ businesses that they do/ don’t have a logo?

However, I highly recommend visualising your business. That will surely help your brand identity. Design matters and you do need it! Particularly if you want people to give you money and tell the world about you.
Your logo will tell the potential clients of your business who you are, what you do, and how that benefits them. Cultivate a strong logo to stand out to consumers, ensure they remember your brand and create positive associations with you. Logos have a deep symbolic association connected to people’s memories and emotions.

WHICH IS THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Don't forget about the power of social media! Can you imagine that more than 4.2 billion people are active social media users across the globe each day? Nowadays, social media are the main platform for advertising business and if you do not consider using them, you’re missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach out to almost half the world’s population. Posting regular updates on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will help build awareness for your small business and increase traffic from search engines or people actively searching for your products or services.
There are more than 200 active social media to choose from. And depending on your audience you can pick the right one for your business.

For example, if you are running a small business on Etsy, Shopify, or a similar platform, you can use Pinterest for advertising your products. That will surely drive traffic to your online shop and make a profit. If you have a Marketing Agency, Consulting Agency, or any other type of B2B business, your best choice for social media could be LinkedIn. There are many people who are searching for jobs and interesting articles daily.

If you are interested in social media and how they will help you advertise your business leave a comment below and I’ll post several articles to explain the Pros and Cons of each social media.
In the picture below you can see the main social media platforms and their characteristics.

CREATE A VARIETY OF CONTENT TYPES

Content is the basis of interaction with your potential customers. In order to keep their attention, you have to provide them with different types. But with all the different types of content that are out there, it can be difficult for brands to know which ones to focus on.
Blogging is the most established method of engaging with your audience. Today’s blogs are relevant, high-quality, and well-written pieces about topics that your audience finds interesting, so they can be a great tool for building authority, trust, and relationships, and consequently driving conversions.
On the other hand, one of the newest types of content is eBooks. That type of content allows you to share your knowledge and expertise on a given topic.

BUILD A CONTENT CALENDAR

At the end of this article, we will focus on scheduling your content. Many business owners underestimate the content calendar and that may cause them some trouble.
A content calendar will enable your internal team and potentially your external team of content producers – writers, designers, illustrators, photographers, videographers – to be prepared to produce engaging content without fear of missing a deadline. Also, it will provide visibility to all departments that are working on your marketing strategy.

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