We’ve all heard “new year, new me!” but how about “new year, new opportunity to expand my business?” That’s exactly what we’re looking for! We’ll show you how to start digital marketing for your small business if you want to develop your business, create leads, and raise brand awareness.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing – often known as online marketing or internet marketing – is exactly what it sounds like. It includes all marketing activities that can be carried out online via a range of digital channels, as well as any assets associated with them. Because so many people spend their time online, this is a terrific approach to help your business reach a whole new audience that you might not have reached with traditional marketing methods like print, television, or radio.

What’s the best part? It works for every form of business, big or small, and it all depends on how much money you have to invest. So, before we get into how to get started with digital marketing, let’s take a look at some of the most popular online media channels for getting your business in front of the right people.

Email Marketing 

To make your customers aware of your brand, any marketing campaigns, or to provide them with more information about your product or service, send them an email. Using MailChimp to automate a monthly newsletter could be a good approach to stay in touch with your audience on a regular basis. The greatest method to grow an email list is to simply encourage people to subscribe in exchange for outstanding content, whether it’s news, blogs, or other material from your company. Where do you look for individuals like this? Of course, there’s social media.

Social Media Marketing 

To market your business, you should utilize all social media platforms and networks. This strategy has shown to be one of the most effective ways to get your business found in recent years, since you can target your audience based on the platforms they use and adapt your marketing message accordingly. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, and Google+ are just a few examples of social media networks where you can advertise.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

This assists in increasing and improving the amount and value of search engine traffic to your website. Blogging and relevant keyword research are two effective ways to increase your search engine rating.

PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising 

When you employ your marketing efforts for paid advertising, you are charged every time someone clicks on your ad. This is a way to pay for traffic instead of getting it organically, which allows for a quicker turnaround time and better results.

Let’s get into our top tips for how to start digital marketing for your small business now that you have a clear knowledge of the kind of channels you may use.

What do you hope to achieve? 

Consider what you want to achieve with your digital marketing efforts. Is it for the purpose of increasing brand awareness? How can I increase the number of visitors to my website? Increase the number of conversions?

All of these aims may be met through a variety of organic and paid digital marketing strategies. Your strategy will be determined by your goal, and it’s a good idea to test both paid and organic methods to discover what works best for your company before determining which areas to concentrate on.

Social media marketing is a wonderful place to start if you want to increase brand awareness. PPC may also be a better alternative if you want to increase sales of a certain product or service.

If you want to use a paid digital marketing strategy, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your budget and data outcomes to ensure you’re receiving a decent return on your investment. It’s time to rethink your plan if you’re spending a lot of money on paid advertising but not getting enough results, or if you’re not achieving your final aim.

Who are your target audience? 

Define your target audience and establish at least one buyer persona for each channel. The way people spend their time and money has evolved significantly in recent years, which is why it’s critical to know who you’re marketing to. If you don’t accomplish this, your entire digital marketing plan will fall flat and be unsuccessful.

Decide if you’re marketing a B2C (business to customer) or B2B (business to business) product or service. This will have a significant impact on the online media channels you should use for digital marketing.

It’s considerably easier to get your message in front of the appropriate audience and get them through the sales funnel fast if you’re targeting a B2C audience. This may be accomplished through social media and sponsored advertisements. B2B clients are a particularly specialised market that necessitates a more cautious digital marketing strategy. In the long run, though, the return is frequently far greater. Using PPC and email marketing to get out to your B2B consumers will be far more beneficial than using other channels.

Are you mobile friendly?

Since the creation of the smartphone, mobile internet usage has been steadily increasing, and there is no doubting that we have entered the mobile era. With more than half of the world’s online traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s a no-brainer that your digital marketing should be mobile-friendly as well. Brands have no option but to optimise their digital channels for mobile in order to stay top of mind as soon as their target audience presses the unlock button on their phones.

It’s better to presume you’ll be viewed on a smartphone rather than a desktop, so make sure your information is mobile-friendly. Optimise for mobile by removing sidebars that take up the entire screen, breaking up big chunks of text, adjusting your copy to suit your pictures where appropriate, and, most importantly, ensuring that your website is totally responsive and will look beautiful on any device.

Ready to try but lacking confidence?

Consider outsourcing your marketing to assist you get back on your feet if you’re eager to get started but don’t have the confidence to do so. We’re not talking about hiring a costly, contract-bound in-house team. We’re talking about considering the benefits of working with a flexible, highly experienced virtual marketing team that can assist you with all elements of your digital marketing and provide recommendations as needed. After all, aren’t two heads better than one?

Your virtual marketing team will look at your business with new eyes and develop a successful plan, measure your performance, reply to any questions, and help you automate your marketing so you can sit back and watch your business grow.

You’re missing out on a huge world of potential customers if your small business isn’t using digital marketing. Follow these simple steps to get started with digital marketing, or contact us to see how we can assist you. To learn more about FBS Digital’s social media services, call 0204 526 5195 or send an email to hello@finchleybusiness.co.uk.