3 Ways to Leverage Your Business with Digital Marketing

3 Ways to Leverage Your Business with Digital Marketing:-

Whether you are a new industry player or an influential stakeholder, you need customers to grow your business and have sustainable income streams. Where marketing is concerned, businesses try to be expansive. They now consider Internet marketing as integral to their marketing plans. As more and more potential customers make online purchases, even traditional entrepreneurs are left with little choice but to join the digital bandwagon.

However, maintaining a website has its fair share of challenges. You worry about losing traffic, not having enough inquiries or lacklustre content. You wonder whether you did too much or too little.

On the brighter side, you are not alone. Several B2C and B2B companies out there face the same issues. Internet marketing is not rocket science and paying attention to best practices can move your business forward in many ways. However, rather than going digital without the right tools to support you, consider these steps instead:

1. Conduct a SWOT analysis to get you started:-

Businesses that conduct a SWOT analysis have better chances of succeeding. A SWOT analysis outlines your current strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats affecting your operations. It is an old management approach that helps businesses identify what they are good at and what they need to improve on.

This feature is usually attached to business plans. Whether you intend to build a company or reboot an existing one, a SWOT analysis is highly recommended.

You empower your business when you understand your limits. You become aware of what you can and cannot do. With this awareness, you know where your business stands and will strive to carry out your operations in accordance with your capacity.

Factor in the digital tools and strategies you will use to promote your business. Assess whether in your current capacity, digital marketing is feasible.

Although relatively more affordable than traditional marketing, there are still budget considerations particularly for start-ups. Unless you find a stable source of funding or sufficient ROI, your Internet marketing campaign should fit with your available budget.

2. Start an SEO Campaign:-

An important strand of digital marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) has turned many startups into established companies within months. SEO strategies are all geared towards increasing the online presence of websites, thereby creating more opportunities for exposure and earning.

Consistent and organic SEO, as opposed to automated SEO, can place your website at the top of search engine results, where more potential customers can see it. As a result of this exposure, your website will get more traffic and inquiries from customers interested in what you have to offer.

The downside is that many businesses are still sceptical about SEO. Even companies with a functional website. 

If you are in the throes of building your business and still unsure whether SEO will boost your reputation, here are some facts to consider:

·      Organic SEO has guaranteed return on investments (ROI); only the people who are genuinely interested in your website will click it and browse through web pages.

·     90 percent of consumers choose websites listed on the first page of organic search results.

·       Almost 50 percent of these consumers visit the first website on the list.

·      SEO gives you a better understanding of your target markets through their browsing habits, purchases or communication style.

·       Everyone who visits your site is a qualified lead.

·   Being on the first page of search engine results means your business is relevant.

·    Majority of SEO is off-page so allot only a quarter of your efforts to on-page SEO.

·      The first five websites appearing on organic search results get 75 percent of the clicks.

·   Meta descriptions (short texts written on your HTML source code that appear as snippets on search results) translate to better conversion rates if within 155 characters.

Costs for running SEO campaigns vary from one entrepreneur to another. That is why every business needs to map out their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats first before diving headfirst into a campaign. SEO can work wonders for any business but the right strategies must be in place to get the best results.

3. Increase your social media presence:-

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have driven growth and catapulted businesses to success in the last few years. Social media has leveraged millions of SMEs, contributing to their expansion and giving them a steady clientele to sustain their operations.

Though not exactly a walk in the park, increasing your social media presence is easier to execute than other digital marketing strategies. In most cases, social media marketing and SEO go hand in hand.

Be very careful in choosing social networks. Only a few will give your business the desired results. Below is a list of 5 popular social networks and their impact on small-medium entrepreneurs:

Facebook:-

       

Recent statistics show that Facebook has supported over 50 million small businesses. Through their Facebook business page, business owners connect with interested customers and set up ads targeted to specific audiences.

More than half of online users across the globe look to Facebook for purchase inspiration. Approximately 70 percent of marketers upload videos on Facebook to disseminate information about their product and service offerings. This social network is the second most visited site in the world next to Google.

Many online retailers prefer Facebook advertising to Google AdWords because they can better manage their budget. Facebook conversion rates are less costly. Moreover, you can include videos and images to add more appeal to your advertisement.

Twitter:-

Links posted on Twitter tend to generate more interaction than other other links shared on social media. Through hashtags, Twitter gives entrepreneurs an idea of current trends which can be useful to their business.

80 percent of Twitter users keep up with brands to know the latest offerings and consume exclusive content. They are also the first to adopt new trends.

This social network has now placed more emphasis on advertisements due to declining sign-ups. Now that ad placements have taken centre stage in Twitterverse, retailers with Twitter business accounts are expected to invest more on visibility.

While conversion rates are not as high as Facebook, Twitter can help you generate traffic to your website. A Twitter post with title has an average of 98 to 110 clicks.

YouTube:-

While SEO regards content as king, video content does give written content a good run for its money. And YouTube, the world's leading online video streaming site, is now monopolising viewer attention. 74 percent of online users between 18 and 49 years old prefer streaming on YouTube to watching television or cable. The third most visited site after Google and Facebook, this social channel slash search engine earns a billion mobile views daily.

Almost 10 percent of small businesses in the United States use YouTube to advertise their products and services. The site recently launched the YouTube Director Onsite to encourage more SMEs to open a YouTube channel. The feature targets small businesses willing to spend $350 USD or more on video advertising. Someone from YouTube will shoot the ad video on your behalf, make the necessary edits and upload the ad without extra charges within 10 days. Your ad will be exposed to users who recently searched keywords related to your targeted keywords.

Instagram:-

Instagram picks up where other social media channels have left off. A formidable stakeholder in the content marketing game, Instagram has nearly 60 times more follower engagement than Facebook and 120 times more engagement than Twitter.

People who follow brands on Instagram are clearly aware of your intent to sell products. Brand postings and business activities on Instagram are far higher than other social media platforms. Market studies also show that posts with product tags and locations generate more engagement.

Millennials are the driving force behind Instagram, occupying 90 percent of its user population.

Businesses need to manage at least one or a few social media business pages. Social media can affect users' purchase decisions and opening an accoutn is free. They also provide avenues where you can reach out to potential clients and obtain information about their preferences.

Cost-Efficient Marketing Method:-

The key takeaway here is that digital marketing has many dimensions. You have the option to select a single approach that works for your business or cover as much ground as possible.

If you prefer the latter option, this means you will include the most effective online marketing strategies – SEO, SWOT analysis and social media marketing – into your master plan.

The success of any digital marketing campaign depends on the strategies you use. By varying your strategies, you also vary your traffic and income sources.

The good news is that regardless of your chosen approach, digital marketing is more affordable than traditional marketing. At present, it is by far the most cost-efficient form of marketing for small and medium enterprises. 

About Author

Lancey Clemons is a content marketer and blogger for SEO Company Canberra, a leading provider of SEO services in Canberra, Australia. He likes writing about business, technology and Internet marketing.