There are so many opportunities to market your small business on the internet! But, not every digital marketing method is right for every business. How do you know which marketing channels are right for your business? Let’s figure that out as you continue crafting your Small Business Marketing Plan: Step 3 – Choose your methods.
- Define Your Market
- Clarify Your Message
- Choose Your Methods
If you caught up with us a little late you can check out the introductory post here.
3. Choose your methods
I love choices. But sometimes there can be so many options that making choices can be overwhelming. If your restaurant menu is too complicated I’m not going to try anything new. I’m going to be looking for something familiar.
When it comes to your business, though, familiarity can get you stuck. With the lightning pace of technological change, you can quickly get left in the dust if you don’t try new things. That next marketing method you try could double or triple your business. But you won’t know if you don’t try.
But, I get it. Too many choices just makes things difficult sometimes. So, let’s talk about some proven online marketing methods, and whether or not they might be good for your business.
A Small Business Website
You need one. Does that make it simple enough? A good website brings in people searching on Google and other search engines. It legitimizes your business since shoppers have come to expect every business to have a website. It provides a hub for your business info, and even an online storefront that opens up to places far beyond your local shop. There are free website builders such as Wix and Weebly. Or there are many good designers who work with small businesses. Just make sure you have a website, that it is useful, informative, search engine optimized, and that you promote it.
A Facebook Page
You need one. There’s a trend developing here… With billions of people on Facebook, and since creating a Facebook page is still free, it’s a no-brainer. It’s like having a second website for people to find on search engines. It gives you a platform to share your products and services. And, should you want to get into Facebook Ads, a page is necessary. Make sure you post on your page regularly, and invite friends and family to like it. Share your page posts through your personal profile, as well, to gain exposure. Of course there is a whole lot more you can do with Facebook, but if you’re not ready for more, at least get your page created.
A Google My Business Listing
You need one. When people search directly for your business, this is the box of business info that pops up to the right (on a desktop or laptop computer), and it puts your business on Google Maps. It’s possible Google already started a listing for you, in which case you just need to claim it. To do that, search for your business name. When your business comes up then find the link that says “Own this business?” to start the process of claiming the listing and updating your info. If you don’t have a listing at all, go to Google My Business and click “Start Now.”
There may be other online marketing avenues that some would argue are important, but if you are just starting out these are the three to focus on. But, there are also other good options to consider.
Social Media Marketing
This is a popular term that is fairly broad. Any type of social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.) can be used. However, the strategies for each platform are very different. When it comes to starting out with social media marketing, it’s best to keep things simple, and just learn the ropes on one or two platforms. Facebook will be great for most businesses. LinkedIn is good for business to business marketing. Instagram works well for art and design businesses. Pinterest would be good if you have hand-crafted products. Check out our post with 5 Tips to Choose Your Social Media Networks for more helpful information.
Email Marketing
With options like MailChimp and Vertical Response, email marketing is fairly simple and inexpensive to get into. If you are taking emails through your point of sale system then you already have a good list to market to. Most email marketing systems also offer easy ways to gather email subscribers through a form on your website. The most important thing to keep in mind with email marketing, though, is you need to offer value. If every email is a sales pitch most people will unsubscribe. Send value in the form of coupons, helpful articles and tips, and special birthday discounts. If you can’t offer value, or if you don’t have a good writer and/or designer then email may not be the right option for you.
Blogging
A blog is simply an online tool to post articles. The great thing about a blog is the more articles you post the more content you have that can be discovered by people searching the web. And if your articles are helpful and relevant, then you can build trust and authority. But, blogging takes time and good writing. There is also a bit of a learning curve when setting one up and starting to use it. WordPress is the leading blogging platform, and offers a free option that they host for you, as well as the better option of setting up your own WordPress blog system using your own website url. If you decide to start a blog, then pairing it with email marketing would be a great idea. You can have people sign up with email on your blog, and then you can send them updates via email when you post a new blog article to drive more traffic to your blog.
Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Digital ads are all over the internet, and they can be very effective, affordable marketing tools. There are many options, but the best to consider when starting out would be Google AdWords and Facebook Ads. Google AdWords ads display on Google as well as millions of other websites. Facebook Ads can be placed on Facebook, Instagram, and a variety of other platforms in their network. The digital ads are served to select internet users using criteria that you can define called “targeting.” For Google search ads targeting centers around “keywords,” which are phrase people search for on Google. Facebook Ads has a different approach of targeting people and their preferences based on data Facebook has gathered about them. Both platforms offer another effective option known as “retargeting” or “remarketing” which allows you to target people who have previously visited your website with follow-up ads. PPC advertising also has a fairly steep learning curve, though. It takes some time to learn the software, and to understand how targeting works and who to target. If you are just starting out it might be a good idea to find a PPC marketing professional to run ads for you, or get you going.
Start Small, Focus, & Be Patient
The best advice for starting to market your business online is to pick one method and focus on it. Choose the method you can put time and energy into, and that makes sense for reaching your target audience. It’s easy to get spread too thin with so many options, so get really good at one avenue before trying another.
Most importantly, be patient. Marketing takes time, no matter what method you use. Give your method some time to work. Be consistent, stick with it, keep learning, and soon you will start seeing results.
