To celebrate the launch of Bartercard’s brand new campaign 2018 Digital Business Essentials, we’ve compiled this latest list of digital staples to attract new customers and keep your small business working around the clock.
Enjoyed this teaser? Download our free ebook, 2018 Digital Business Essentials.
Digital Business Essentials
1. Consider inbound Marketing
Instead of solely putting your brand in front of customers through advertising, your business will be more efficient if they’re also coming to you – it’s just the reality at a time when customers can find and purchase almost anything online. Today 81% of shoppers will research a brand before committing to buy (adweek.com), so if your brand isn’t ranking in searches or speaking to customers in the digital space, consider developing your digital presence through inbound content marketing.
Download our free ebook to see the 4 steps to inbound marketing.
2. Develop a digital marketing strategy
There are so many elements to digital but before you embark on a strategy, ensure you have the basics in place:
- A clear picture of your market and your competition. Who are your customers, what are their pain points and what solutions do you present?
- Strong and clear branding;
- The tools to track and measure your website is performance – Google Analytics and Google Search Console are excellent places to start.
Then consider these digital essentials when developing a strategy:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing rank websites based on what they consider most relevant to users. The easier you can make it for the end user (your customer) to use your site, and the more attractive and relevant the content, the higher you will rank and the more likely they will find you.
SEO ranking tips include keyword research, new, quality content and linking, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly.
Social Media
If your business isn’t on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram and Twitter, it’s missing out. Social media can create buzz and build a following, brand and sales. But it’s a crowded space, and it takes time to create relevant and original content tailored to your market. That’s why many businesses outsource social media and turn to digital content agencies. Whether you’re taking on the task yourself, keeping it in-house or outsourcing, our ebook contains a few social marketing essentials which can increase your exposure.
Digital advertising
There are many online advertising platforms all vying for your spend. Google AdWords and Facebook Advertising are platforms to take your brand reach further. AdWords remains one of the most highly advanced digital advertising platforms that let you put your brand in front of a highly-targeted audience in moments. If you want to stand out from the crowd on Facebook, you’ll need more than just great content and our latest ebook lists all the tips to stay successful.
Retargeting
Retargeting is a concept that puts ads in front of individuals who’ve interacted with your brand in some way, shape or form – either clicking an ad, vising your website or interacting with an email you sent. While retargeting is only a small piece of the marketing picture, it puts your brand in front of interested leads multiple times, keeping it front and centre of their purchasing decisions. Consider boosting your business by re-attracting your warmest leads through retargeting. There are several retargeting platforms to select from, whether you choose social media (list) or web retargeting. These include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google AdWords, and third party sites like PerfectAudience, AdRoll, Retargeter and Bizo.