There are many things to think about when you are starting a new business. With everything you have to deal with, organize, create, etc., don’t overlook these digital marketing strategies for new businesses. If you want your business to be successful, you will need to market to your audience online. After all, when someone wants to find out about a new business or is looking for a specific product or service, where do they normally look first? Google, of course! And social media! Make sure you can reach your potential audience online, and that they can find you.
Website
The first place someone is going to look for your company or the services/products you offer is online. Your website can be simple or complex, depending on your available resources, but make sure you have one. Make sure your website is mobile friendly- last year, over half of all web traffic was from a mobile device. Focus on providing quality content and images that tell your story and convince the reader that their lives will be better if they purchase your products and services. There are many free web building services out there, but remember that you get what you pay for. In addition to providing your audience with critical information about your business, it also serves as an important first impression. A professional-looking website goes a long way in showing you are a real and trustworthy business, one worth doing business with.
(Check out some of our most recent projects to see how a great website makes all the difference.)
SEO
As we’ve mentioned before, your site needs SEO for your customers to find you. You can have the most beautiful website offering the greatest products and services in the world, but what good is it if no one can find you? Spend time on your SEO (find out more about what should be on your SEO checklist), or hire someone to take care of it for you. But don’t overlook it- otherwise your business will be overlooked too.
Get your business registered on Google ASAP. Setting up an account with Google My Business means your business information will show up in Maps, Search, and other Google features. You can add contact info, business hours, photos and videos. Give as much information as you can. Once you have a profile, customers can leave reviews for your business. Take any negative reviews seriously, because you can bet your customers will take them seriously!
Social Media
Get yourself set up on social media as soon as possible. Link to those profiles on your website, and promote your website on social media. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat are the most popular social media platforms that businesses use. Facebook is by far the most popular, but don’t overlook the value of other platforms as well. Take a look at your demographic and find out where they spend their time, and then get busy building a presence! Here are tips for how often you should post on social media.
Email Marketing
With over 80% of B2B and B2C companies using email marketing, you definitely don’t want to underestimate the importance of a great campaign. Particularly in the early days of your business, this is a really effective way to build a buzz around your business. Educate your audience about the products or services you offer. Let them know what is on the horizon. Send out exclusive deals and coupons to reward them for being on your mailing list. Create a survey to find out what your customers are looking for. There are so many ways to reach out to your audience, so get creative!
Content Marketing
Content marketing is a form of marketing that involves creating and sharing content that doesn’t necessarily promote the product. Instead, it provides valuable information to the audience and therefore, creates a buzz around the brand. This can include blogging, social media and videos, just to name a few. Let’s take blogging as an example. Blogging provides a lot of benefits to a company, including SEO value and driving traffic to your website. However, its most important function should be to provide value to your audience. The main focus of a blog post shouldn’t be to sell something to the audience- it should be to provide them with something useful that they want to know about. In many cases, when someone reads a blog post that they find valuable, they will share with the people they know. It’s a win-win: your customers get something valuable for free, and you get word of mouth advertising in return.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but certainly one to get you started in the right direction. If there’s simply too much on your to-do list for you to tackle this, remember that Blindspot is here to help when you need it. We can provide a custom digital marketing strategy for your company and work within your budget.
Good luck, and happy marketing!