Today’s world is an online world – every aspect of today’s life has some kind of digital connection. It is only natural that business transactions follow this path and venture into the age of the Internet. Small businesses have stood the test of time for a century. From the Industrial Revolution to the dot-com bubble, local businesses continue to thrive.
To adapt to the current changing times, a digital marketing strategy is essential. While some of the tactics benefit from the expertise of someone with a Master of Data Analytics, there are others you can implement even as a beginner
What Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is the process of utilising facets of the internet, such as social media, blogs, search engines, and email, to promote your business and sell more products or services. Simply put, it’s executing marketing on the internet. Only 11% of Australian small businesses have fully embraced digital marketing strategies showing a real lack of intent as well as potential for having a headstart to the competition.
What Are The Major Benefits Of Digital Marketing?
- Outcomes are easier to track making the process of evaluating campaigns easier.
- Targeting specific groups of people based on attributes is possible by utilising cookies and social media, making exposure to target faster.
- Return on Investment (ROI) is high as it is one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing when compared to older traditional methods
- There is high flexibility as strategies can be adapted instantaneously in response to changing trends or consumer expectations.
- Reach is amplified by the borderless nature of the digital world, as there are limited restrictions on social media and search engines.
What Are The Main Tactics Of Digital Marketing
Social Media
The holy grail of digital marketing, social media can be the ideal launchpad to kickstart a digital marketing campaign. Having a presence on all the platforms could be counterproductive so it is important to do some research about the social media activity of potential customers. Popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X all have their own analytical tools so it becomes easier for business owners to track the performance of their posts. The key is in putting out posts that help the business stand out of the crowd and resonate well with the audience.
Free tools: Using SocialPilot to manage all the platforms through a single app could save lots of time and also help manage the content calendar more efficiently.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
A good SEO strategy can lead to higher discoverability of the business and greater exposure to new potential customers. More and more people are buying on the Internet every year through e-commerce marketplaces and company websites. Sales of around USD 4.12 trillion (approximately 5.8 trillion AUD) are expected to be done on the internet globally in 2024. In such a booming scenario, having a functional website that can rank high for specific search queries attains paramount importance. A good starting point would be figuring out the terms the target customer is most likely to search for and then optimising the website to rank high for that specific keyword. This can be done by producing high-quality content around those keywords and attracting backlinks.
Free tools: Wix can be used to create a good looking website without any coding, whereas SEMRush could be very handy for the technical aspects of SEO
Content Marketing
After setting up the website and selecting the social media platforms to target, the next step is to consistently create quality content. Staying closer to the brand voice and having a consistent brand identity can pay off in the long run. Blog posts not only level up the SEO metrics but also generate quality traffic for the website. Well-crafted social media carousels can also improve a business’s social media presence.
Free tools: Canva is a great tool for beginners to generate polished social media posts. Grammarly can be integrated into the workflow to maintain a similar tone and style in writing.
E-mail Marketing
E-mail marketing continues to be an effective mode of marketing, with a solid open rate of 36.5% in 2024. To stand out in a flooded inbox, having a creative approach to subject lines can boost open rates and conversions. Strategising about ways to personalise the message and thinking deeply about what time to send the emails could enhance the impact. The Call To Action (CTA) should also be well thought out to ensure that the primary aim of sending the email is achieved.
Free tools: Mailchimp has an easy-to-use interface that can simplify email marketing for people new to the field. Additional AI features like subject suggestions and content analyser could also be of massive help.
Video Marketing
Over 3.4 billion people consumed video content in 2023. Video content, especially short-form vertical content, has started to dominate the feed of users across the globe. Behemoths like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X are all actively pushing their users towards the same. While facing the camera or creating video animations can be daunting, it has emerged as a necessary option to capture the target market’s mind share.
Free tools: Animoto can be leveraged to create attractive videos from a set of premade templates to begin with.
Acing these strategies would enable a business tobe ready for online success. Combining a fast-loading website, well-thought-out SEO keywords, concise emails, on-trend videos and relevant content can have a transformative impact on a small business’ topline. Having a strong strategy is the first step. Executing it with the right tools can boost the speed of impact.
