Digital Marketing Solutions: 10 questions to improve your online presence. A guide for small businesses.

Digital marketing is a powerful way for small businesses to grow their customer base and achieve success. With the right digital solutions, you can market your business in ways that were not previously possible. Digital marketing solutions, increase your visibility and turn more people into loyal followers of your brand. In this article, we’ll take a look at why small businesses need to invest in digital marketing, highlight the benefits, share some examples and, if you stay to the end, we will help you to identify any gaps or weaknesses within your digital strategy with our Online Presence (Quiz).   Let’s jump right in!

What is digital marketing?

Why do small businesses need digital marketing?

I will give you three reasons why small businesses need digital marketing, There are many more reasons but, for the sake of time and this article, we will stick to my top 3:

1. To reach more people that are looking for your product or service but don’t know your name or your brand. Digital marketing connects you to those people searching for your product or service that is your target audience.
2. Digital Marketing gives small businesses a competitive advantage. The unique data and analytics (Google Analytics) that come from the marketing efforts provide actionable insights. This opens up new opportunities, in niches and markets that may not have been considered.
3. Digital Marketing tools level the playing field for small businesses by providing the same reach and capabilities as their larger counterparts. By using digital marketing, small businesses can connect with more customers and drive revenue growth. However, in order to be successful, small businesses need to invest time and resources in creating a digital marketing plan that aligns with their business goals and objectives.

What are the benefits of digital marketing for small businesses?

Some of the key benefits of a digital marketing strategy for small businesses include:

1. Increased visibility: Digital marketing gives you access to the world wide web. It’s a wider audience – locally and globally, which means more of the right people coming to you.
2. Greater engagement: Digital channels give you an opportunity to nurture and interact with your customers. You can create interactive content that encourages them to take action and build relationships with your brand.
3. Reduced costs: Digital marketing is a cost-effective digital tool for small businesses. It is significantly less than the cost of traditional marketing. You can also grow digital marketing channels over time by scaling them up as more people learn about your business.

What are some examples of digital marketing solutions?

There are many channels and platforms to market your business online but, with the right digital marketing strategy, these tools can become solutions. Here are some examples:

• • Website – Every business should have a mobile-friendly website that meets web best practices and standards with a seamless user experience and engaging content that leads to conversions.
  • Search engine optimization (SEO) – Having a clear understanding of how your target audience is searching and using that information to optimize your online presence.
  • Email marketing – Building and nurturing your customer base and using emails as revenue drivers to achieve your business goals.
  • Watch as we talk about online solutions that work in the Digital Marketing Reality Show The Top 7 Digital Marketing Trends

Where to get started with digital marketing?

With the Digital Landscape being so vast, it can be difficult to keep your head above water, managing day-to-day operations as well as marketing efforts. That’s why we developed this Online Presence Health Check and Scorecard; it helps you find yourself in this big virtual world—a compass leading the way towards success! Digital marketing is not magic. Before you can get to achieving your business goals, you must first understand the current state of your business online, what are your areas of strength or weakness.

Before we jump into the scorecard, I want to take a moment to shift your mindset into a digital thinking mode. Read this next line aloud 3 times before you move on:

Every marketing action must be intentional, trackable and drive the customer to the next step in the purchase funnel 

Define your goals –  you must be clear on your business goals, and how much of your goal you plan to achieve through your digital marketing efforts.

Your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) 

Goal Examples 

• • Increase revenue by 10% to $10,000 within the next 12 months
  • Increase email database by 15% or by 100 emails within the next 6 months
  • Increase visibility and engagement by growing Social Media audience by 15% in the next 12 months

Identify the channels and platforms that make up your online presence – Your online presence is made up of channels and platforms

• A Channel is any tool that gets your product or service in front of your ideal customer online.
• A Platform is an application used to get your product or service in front of your ideal customer online.

Example 

Digital Marketing Roadmap 

Don’t sweat it if you answered NO to many of the questions. The goal here is to get you thinking in digital, now you have a clear idea of what you should expect from your digital marketing efforts as well as your channels and platforms.

WAIT a minute there is a BONUS! You just did what we call in the industry a gap analysis. You identified all your areas for “Quick Wins” that could impact your revenue and the health of your online presence. Now you have a roadmap work to turn every NO into a YES, and eventually, you will PASS the health check. But don’t get comfortable, having a strong online presence that works to achieve your business goals is an ongoing effort. The digital landscape is in constant transformation you should do an online health check every 1-3 months.

Don’t get hung up on your score. Instead, let’s focus on how you should effectively articulate your online marketing performance once you get to YES. I’ve shared some key statements we hear from our clients after they have a better understanding of their online presence:

Examples of How to articulate your online presence performance

1. The top-performing channel is Facebook; it drives 50% of my online revenue
2. The content that drives the most revenue is showcasing client results – how-to content drives high engagement from our customers
3. We are reaching our ideal target audience and have seen an increase in Moms over 40
4. The customer journey begins with a video, then an invite for a free downloadable. We continue to cultivate and nurture those relationships via emails
5. The content is highly focused on my business goals; the primary call to action is to sign up for emails
6. Our website receives 600 visits monthly and we collect 3-4 emails addresses per day
7. Our main KPIs are: # of emails, CTR, Conversions, and time on site

Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, the right digital marketing solution can be an invaluable tool to help your small business grow. Work towards creating a strong online presence and put your brand at the front of your industry. But don’t overwhelm yourself, take it one step at a time.  If you made it this far down the article, it means that you now have a blueprint to move forward.  If you think you need some help keep reading.

Looking for professional digital marketing solutions?

Monivan Digital Marketing Solutions is the best choice for your small business. We’ve helped businesses just like yours get more customers and increase their revenue with our professional, results-driven approach. Our team of experts will work with you to develop a custom strategy that fits your budget and goals so you can focus on what matters most – growing your business. And remember:

Every marketing action must be intentional, trackable and drive the customer to the next step in the purchase funnel
– Tamara Mon Louis 

Sign up to stay connected

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Clubhouse

Follow us on LinkedIn