4 digital marketing tips for small business owners

Boost your local business with digital marketing

Each business needs marketing, from the florist next door to the world's largest company. The budgets are different but, believe us, the result are the same: greater customer awareness and increased sales. Interesting, isn’t it?
 

Step one: local visibility or nothing

“76% of people are visit a shop after seeing it on Google My Business”

You must have a Google My Business (GMB) account for your business: people are searching local and buying local.

"From 2015 to 2017: a 900% increase in the use of the search term “near me” in the USA!"

A listing on GMB is free, but you should take the time and effort to thoroughly populate it with all the correct information for your business: contact information, description of your activity and products/services, opening horus, pictures and videos, etc. The more optimized your GMB is, the better your local ranking will be. Take it a step further by soliciting customer reviews, and reply to them all, good and bad.

There are other "local" websites that you should manage your presence on - Yelp, for example. Get to it! 

Step two: Social network(ing) to create proximity

Real estate agencies, clothing stores, bakeries, restaurants, florists, etc. Most local businesses and services still under-use social networks to establish a direct relationship with their customers and promote themselves.

Here's an example: you are a bakery; you just finish a new cake and you publish it online. One of your customers likes it and asks you to keep it for them. So simple, but everybody's happy!

Facebook and Instagram are waiting for you!

Step three: Create your own website

Your own personal website is the best way to showcase your business. You can incorporate a variety of content and media: text, pictures, videos and more. With a well-designed website and good quality content, you can find new customers and retain existing ones. It’s a perfect way to list all your services and products in a more extensive way than is possible using social networks.

Step four: Sell your products/services online

“88% of purchasers who make a local search on their smartphone will visit a shop the same day”

Depending on your time and budget you can, therefore, choose to create an e-commerce section to sell your products directly online. This will require precise management of your stock and it will require you to have good logistics in place. If you don't want to go as far as full e-commerce, you can still consider an online quotation form or, at a minimum, an enquiry form.

To conclude, you can easily manage to boost your visibility online. Indeed, Google My Business and Social Networking (except for sponsored ads) are free! Then with time, you can improve your visibility and sales with a website and even a mobile app. What's keeping you?!