Business

Because there are so many different ways to market your business online, you might think that coming up with a strategy would be easy. However, it’s because there are so many options for digital and online marketing that creating a successful and succinct strategy can be very challenging.

Luckily, with the right planning and forethought, you can come up with a great marketing strategy that can help take your online business to the next level. To show you how this can be done, here are three tips for developing an effective online marketing strategy.

Know Your Business And Campaign Goals

To really create an effective online marketing strategy, you have to first understand what your business goals and are how you can create a campaign that will help you accomplish those goals.

According to Elissa Hudson, a contributor to HubSpot.com, if your marketing goals don’t directly impact your overall business goals, you’re doing something wrong. So if your goal is to increase your revenue, you’ve got to find a way to get more leads or close more sales. For business goals that are related to growing your social media following, you’ve got to understand that social media campaigns should be supplemented with link building, which will be part of your marketing strategy.

Once you can figure out what you’ll need to do in order to reach your business goals, your online marketing strategy should come much easier.

Focus Your Strategy On Your Own Website

When you think about your online marketing, you might be tempted to focus all of your attention on how you can reach your audience on the platforms that they’re already spending time on. And while this can be a worthwhile venture, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in this basket.

Annie Pilon, a contributor to Small Business Trends, shares that if you invest too heavily in a social platform or other website that isn’t your own, you’re at the mercy of how this site chooses to run. Because of this, it’s wise to focus your strategy on your own website as well as branching out to other websites or platforms.

Consider Getting Some Outside Help

If you’ve tried to develop your own online marketing strategies in the past and haven’t had much success, there’s no shame in reaching out to professionals for help.

According to Laura Lake, a contributor to The Balance Small Business, there are tons of internet marketing consultants and coaches available who know how to create the perfect marketing strategy for a business. With their help, you might be able to get past some of your own roadblocks and hang-ups.

If you’re needing to create an online marketing strategy but aren’t sure where to start, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you with this.

In the United States, there are 56.7 million freelancers doing freelance work such as voice acting, translation and programming for clients in industries such as technology, healthcare and finance. The work done by these millions of freelancers makes around $1 trillion, and they are being paid around 70% more than other workers employed by companies.

After doing freelance work for years and making a good amount of money from it, freelancers may be ready to grow their business. Going from freelance work to a small business isn’t just about getting more clients though, and you need to be smart about it.

Create a Fallback Fund

Freelancers, whose work may vary each month, know that it’s important to save. A surprise payment for something like car issues could cost you hundreds of dollars, and if you don’t have savings and you don’t have many clients that month, it could leave you in a difficult spot.

Having a small business presents similar issues, but the surprise payments and bills may cost you much more. An article by Due reveals that some of the hidden costs of running a small business can be things such as taxes, the cost of the tools you use as a freelancer, and the price of computers and phones. More employees mean more equipment is needed, so if you’re making more money and need more powerful computers, that could all be very expensive.

Before you go from freelancing to a small business, you could create a fallback fund in case any bills are higher than you expected them to be. You could do this by waiting for longer before you decide to launch your small business and by putting some of the money from your freelance work into a savings account.

Ensure You’re Insured

When you work as a freelancer for another company, their insurance will often cover you too and so it’s something that you don’t really need to think about. However, if you are working with a larger number of people and are doing work that is making more money for you and your clients, you’ll want to get some sort of business insurance.

To get business insurance, you’ll first need to look at what you need cover for. Freelancers who mostly work online may want to get general liability insurance as this will cover you for advertising issues, which can be important if you produce creative content for your clients. If you run a freelance services business such as landscaping or decorating, then you may need professional liability insurance and auto insurance, which will cover you if you have a car accident or do any damage while doing your work.

Use an Accounting Tool

Hopefully, your new small business will make a huge amount of money and you’ll have so many new clients that you’ll need to hire several new people to help you. These all sound like good things until you have to track which clients have paid you and how much, which employees need to be paid, and how much you owe in taxes. None of that is easy, and as a freelancer just working on their own taxes, you may not have seen how difficult it can be.

If your business can’t afford an accountant yet, then are there business accounting tools that you can do that help you to keep track of things. Tools such as Bench Accounting, Zoho Expense, and QuickBooks Online have great features such as easy account management which lets you quickly edit and share accounts, expense reports, and apps that mean you don’t have to send people documents to get your accounting completed.

There is so much to running a small business that being freelance may not have shown you, and having your own company means that you will have to solve all of the issues that come up. It’s also incredibly difficult to know which issues you’ll face, but by planning as much as you can before you launch and by getting the right tools and insurance in place, you can spend more time working and finding clients if they do come up.

If you know anything about digital marketing, you know it is heavily influenced by the ways in which the major search engines sort and sift through the endless content online to produce a reliable list of informative results.

When you enter a search for new shoes, for example, Google’s search engine algorithms will (in a fraction of a second) identify and generate a list of useful results.

Digital marketing centers heavily around learning how to create content that pleases search algorithms. Take a moment to fine-tune your digital marketing knowledge, and check out a few helpful and relevant tips for your next big push.

Build your website for mobile

The vast majority, 80 percent, of web users today use one of many various mobile devices to browse the internet. Google also inflicts a rating penalty for web content that isn’t optimized for mobile users. The reasons for mobile optimization are clear.

If you have video content on your pages, make sure you have high-quality video content for your business. Make sure your website is well-suited to the needs of mobile users as well.

Invest in building your Facebook presence

Facebook is a dominating force in social media today, and your business has much to gain from utilizing the platform. The marketing potential of Facebook surpasses that of most other social media giants.

Design a Facebook profile for your business, but don’t stop there. Delve into what it takes to cultivate a lucrative return from Facebook Ads. If you manage your profile and the ad campaign properly, you’ll see a large response.

Work your email rolodex

Use your website to grant web users the change to opt-in on your email mailing list. You can add opt-in opportunities elsewhere, but make certain your website highlights the connection point.

Once you’ve gathered a collection of addresses, regularly disburse engaging content. For instance, send out a weekly (or monthly) newsletter with relevant information regarding your business and the industry in which you operate.

Invest in Pay-Per-Click ads

Pay-Per-Click (or PPC) ads are an effective way to get the word out about your products or services. You’ll get your money’s worth utilizing PPC opportunities, as the design of this particular marketing tactic is built to produce results.

Build a blog for readers

Blogging is one of the most effective ways to create rapport online. People read their news and investigate new concepts online.

Offer web users stimulation for their minds, and build some new connections with the brilliance you choose to share. Once you’ve built a strong collection of posts, your readership will gradually begin to build. Your blog will generate new opportunities to ease users down your conversion funnel.

 

Business marketing does not come naturally to most people. Even if you have an excellent product or service, you might not know how to get your brand name out there. That is very unfortunate. You have the perfect product for someone, but that someone doesn’t know about you because you’ve never presented your information to them. It is a very typical problem for most business people to have to figure out how to hurdle over.

Good thing for you that there are pieces of advice to follow from various professionals who are specialists in this arena. First of all, make sure that you establish yourself online with perfect search engine optimization. If you have to contract this process out, then so be it. Second, utilize big data and analytics to your advantage.

There is more data out in the world than any human could ever fathom keeping in mind. However, with the appropriate analysis software, all of that data comes to you in a usable format. And lastly, make sure that you recognize the importance of social platforms. Marketing is not what it used to be – now, those who excel in social media platforms are the winners.

Specialized SEO Contracting and Services

What happens when your product or service is prevalent, or perhaps it is in a highly competitive field otherwise? You have to figure out some way to differentiate yourself. As an example, if you’re a lawyer, you need to work on search engine optimization for lawyers. If you are a dentist, the same thing goes.

Any highly competitive industry means that you are not that much different from anyone else. Establishing yourself online through high-tech search engine optimization methods is a great place to start.

Big Data and Analytics

When you begin looking into big data, you would be amazed at what you find. On macro and micro levels, big data is running the decisions that large corporate entities make every day. Trillions of data points are flowing from one point to another all around the globe at all times.

If you want to be a part of the benefit of this, you have to learn to use big data to your advantage. Beyond absorbing all of these data points, you can also use various analytics to help you out as far as business decisions as well. One particularly useful tool is if you use Google analytics to judge the data concerning your website traffic.

How Well Do You Know Your Social Platforms?

It is hard to overestimate the importance of using social media for business. Social media platforms are the pinnacle of technology right now when it comes to online interaction, and it is very easy to leverage that to your advantage. Whether you are using paid services or not, putting your brand name out there in front of hundreds of millions of people is a good idea no matter which way you slice it. The higher-tech aspects of this technology involve you using algorithms to your advantage as well.

 

Success is a term that many businesses strive for, but it has many different variables. Success for one business is not always determined the same way for another. However, there are certain factors that are part of the formula to success in a company. Here are a few things to keep in mind when trying to ensure and emulate a successful business.

Have a Marketing Plan in Place

A marketing plan might sound basic, but it’s a crucial part of ensuring a successful business. Proper marketing means people can find out about the company, and what it has to offer. Although marketing efforts might need to be strong for a while, once you develop word of mouth from happy customers, you might be able to cut back, if desired. Make sure you know who your customer base is. Although it might sound better to appeal to all individuals, having a small base can work in the company’s favor, and establish you as an expert in your field. Don’t just think about your customer base when writing your marketing plan, though. Figure out how you want to spread the word. This could include print ads, TV or radio commercials, and social media efforts. Having a variety of ways to market to customers makes it easier to spread the word.

Get a Website

Almost every business these days has a website. If your business doesn’t have one, it is time to think about what you need in order to make your successful. For example, you would need some kind of logo that makes your business easily identifiable, your contact information, and any products or services you offer on your website, along with a description. If you don’t have these things, it can be harder for potential customers to find you, and some might be reluctant to use your services, no matter how good they might be. Consider putting these basic items together and find a professional who can help you set up and develop your website. Having one that includes social media could take your company to the next level and allow you to expand your marketing efforts with less cost and work for a greater return.

Find the Right Employees

Finding the right employees can be tricky, particularly if this is your first business venture. While it might take a while for you to find the right people, know that this is a process, and growing pains are part of having a successful company. In general, you want to seek out potenital employees who are reliable, trustworthy, and willing to solve problems. One way you can measure how well employees are doing is to use performance management software. This can help you track performance, any issues, and help you in documenting anything you or your employees go through.

Be Willing to Revise Your Business Plan

As time goes on, you’ll discover what works in your business and what doesn’t. You should have started the company out with a business plan, but don’t expect it to stay the same for years. You’ll want to revisit the plan and change as you discover areas that need additional help, such as changing up your marketing to bring in more customers or perhaps even open up a second location depending on how well the business is doing. There is no right or wrong when it comes to revising a business plan, only what is best for your business.

There are a variety of factors that can help a business be successful. Having marketing is important, as is a website since these are the main ways to attract customers in the digital age. However, you’ll also need employees who are ready and willing to help you move the company forward through a variety of efforts. Finally, looking at your business plan and changing it up as needed can make a difference between remaining stagnant and having success in your company.

 

No business is too small to benefit from SEO and it would be a shame for successful businesses to be left behind by the changing marketing world from ignoring their SEO.

Digital marketing is the way of the world in 2019, however thousands of businesses have been in existence long before the internet was an accessible tool. This is part of the reason why small business SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is so important, no business is too small to benefit from SEO and it would be a shame for successful businesses to be left behind by the changing marketing world.

The Digital Shift All Businesses Feel

The digital shift is a positive evolution for businesses and when you embrace this form of marketing you will soon find that it is:
• Less expensive
• Global
• Highly effective
• Able to increase ROI
• Easy to learn

Small Business SEO as a Means to Ride the Digital Wave

The best part of SEO for small businesses is that it may seem complex but it is easy to find the help you need in order to make sense of the changing marketing platform. Business still remains competitive, but in order to compete you need to give the people what they want. How do people find what they want in the digital marketing space? Search engines.

For small businesses operating in any industry, SEO has the ability to help them reach their clients, no matter how niche the products or services may be. That is the beauty of SEO, it helps to ensure that those specifically searching for your services can easily find them.

Small Business SEO Can Put You on the New Map

Another unparalleled benefit of SEO for small businesses is that it evens the playing field as long as you participate and stay on top of your SEO. Without SEO your website is a needle in a virtual haystack. By implementing SEO for your small business it is up to users to choose the company they would like to do business with. They can base this on anything from reviews to your website, but getting them there in the first place and making your website easy to reach is entirely up to SEO.

Whether you choose to take on SEO independently or with the help of a professional SEO agency you will very quickly see the role and importance of SEO for small businesses.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.