There’s no denying it— the internet has become a platform that most turn to first when researching and searching for a reputable product or service. One Google search query yields upward of thousands of results that can be forked through in choosing the best option for whatever it is that we’re looking for.
Now you as a small- or medium-sized business owner may be thinking to yourself, “Eh, what’s it to me? How can I possibly compete with the big dogs out there on the internet that have all the money to get more clicks directly to their website?”
Well, we’ll tell you how. See, we understand why you’d think that way— capitalism does function as a dog-eat-dog world in which it’s easy for bigger businesses and corporations to monopolize their given market and grow even bigger. However, there are ways to combat this.
First, Google has updated its system of search queries and results pages in that it functions on a more localized basis now. In other words, each individual’s search results for any given service or product are tailored to fit their specific location as closely as possible.
For example, let’s say that someone types in “hair salon” into the Google search box. Sure, it’s very likely that big, nationwide chains like Supercuts are going to pop up and rank pretty high in the results and Google My Business page— but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the person will choose them to get a haircut.
Oftentimes individuals opt for the smaller businesses that have a pretty solid and reputable internet presence with an attractive, informational website and positive customer testimonials. (Think about it— when looking for top-tier pizza, are you going to go with the Pizza Hut with a 2 ½ star rating on Yelp or Google My Business, or are you going to go with the local mom-and-pop with the 4 ½ stars?)
So, now that you understand that the internet is a viable platform for marketing your business due to Google’s newly updated, localized search mechanism; it’s important to move onto the next step and strategize. Digitally strategize, that is.
How to Create a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy
Define Your Company
Obviously, you’ve gotten this far in building and sustaining your company successfully (congrats on that, by the way).
The thing is, however, is that the key to sustaining a company that’ll withstand the test of time and the ebb and flow of the market is having a strong sense of company identity, which leads to an inspiring company vision— a necessary part of leading your company into the future.
In this case, instead of focusing on what your company offers, you should really be asking yourself (and answering!) why your company exists in the first place.
Dig deep— what motivated you in the first place to start your company? This is important in building the story of your brand that’ll resonate with your audience.
In order to craft an effective company brand story, you’ll need to address the following:
- Who are you?
- Why does your business exist?
- What problem exists among your audience?
- How can you solve that problem?
Target Your Audience(s)
If you have no idea who you’re marketing to, then you’ll miss the opportunity to grow and expand your company.
In essence, you need to create buyer personas that are representative of who you view as your ideal customer base(s). When you do this, you’re better able to tailor your advertising and marketing efforts to engage with your target audiences, in addition to meeting their needs.
How do you do this? Well for starters, you’ll need to do some market research (or have the professionals do it for you). From there, once you have the necessary data, you can figure out what your business and marketing goals and challenges will be in the near to distant future.
Build a Reputable Online Platform
It isn’t surprising that a lot of consumers will immediately judge the credibility of a business solely based on the appearance and content of its website and social media platforms.
You may be hesitant about shelling out the necessary dollar amount to a professional website designer to build the foundation of this presence, but trust us when we say that it’s 100% worth the investment.
When you have an aesthetically pleasing and easily navigable website representing your business, you’re more likely to see an increase in business inquiries and opportunities in comparison to having a rudimentary, outdated website design.
In addition to enhancing your company’s website, it’s important that you do the same on various social media platforms— especially aesthetic-centric ones such as Instagram. If you find that you’re illiterate in social media altogether, it would behoove you to hire a marketing company that can handle the craft and content of all your social media handles.
Develop an SEO and Content Strategy
SEO? Search Engine Optimization— i.e. the bread and butter of the Google crawlers scanning your website for relevance to potential search queries.
In other words, the only way Google knows how to rank your website on the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) is through your website’s use of keywords relevant to the product or service you provide to the general public.
These keywords need to be weaved into the content that is posted 1) on your website’s individual pages and 2) through other content your page provides— namely blog posts and such.
Once you’ve crafted the perfect SEO and Content Strategy that optimizes your website to the fullest, the likelihood that it’ll rank at the top of Google’s first SERP over time increases significantly.
Hire Digital Marketing Professionals
The prospect of building an entire digital marketing strategy plan can seem overwhelming and impossible at first glance. We don’t blame you— it’s a lot of information to take in at once.
But you don’t have to do it on your own— you don’t even have to do it yourself at all.
At Ceemi Agency, we’ll do it all. Our professionals will build your website, optimize each one of its pages, write high-quality content, create a business blog, craft an email marketing campaign, handle and grow your social media platforms, set up your PPC campaign, and everything else digital-media-marketing-related.
Contact us today to take those important steps toward growing and expanding your business today.