Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. The list goes on …
When you put together a social or digital media marketing strategy, it’s important to choose the right channels to promote your business.
But how do you make that decision? In my mind, it all depends on where your target audience resides. If they’re business people, go to LinkedIn. If they’re new moms and trendsetters, try Instagram. But what if your audience crosses all boundaries? Or (gasp) you haven’t identified them yet?
Take heart! There’s hope. You can put together a bang-up marketing strategy with as few as 4 tools to get you started. A responsible friend once warned me to “Master one thing before you start another,” so if, like me, you don’t have a lot of time, money or experience, put these 4 at the top of your list to get started!
- Most experts agree you need a website to start with. A website (no matter how simplistic) is your visual business card and without it, your business may lose traffic that otherwise would choose to shop or buy from you! A professional-looking website is your first foot forward. Think about the last purchase you made…did you research the company on the web? I thought so. But a working website alone isn’t going to put your business in front of everyone you need.
- Facebook. If you’re a small business (B2B or B2C) you should probably have a Facebook Business Page. Facebook is a multi-faceted marketing tool with options for advertising, customer service, engaging conversations, customer feedback, and an astounding reach for a low cost per click (CPC). Facebook’s platform works for almost every business and it’s where your customers lurk. And the demographic of users is in pretty much everyone’s target audience. The average FB user logs in eight times a day and spends about 40 minutes browsing. Don’t you want them to see YOU?
- The third component of a good marketing strategy mix is to reach out to clients and potential customers on a regular basis via an email newsletter or texting platform. SCORE.org says there is a roughly 4,300% return on investment for direct email marketing! Say what?? As much as I’ve tried to debunk that number, I can’t find any evidence AGAINST email marketing. And it’s relatively inexpensive so your customer acquisitions cost isn’t going to shoot through the roof.
- Finally, to help yourself in search rankings (and also play nice with the big dogs at Google), a Google My Business listing is a necessity. Here, you can post news, photos, videos, and run reasonably priced social ads (called GoogleAds or AdWords). Since Google is where most people start out when they’re searching for anything, having your business name, hours, location, and pertinent information updated on a Google My Business page can only help your cause. Google also will see your business as more legit and, MAY, as a result, show your business in more search results. While you’re at this … be sure to delete any Google+ account you may have had in the past … they got hacked.
So you see, it’s not as overwhelming as some may lead you to believe. With a few good team members and the help of a qualified marketing strategist, your business can prepare a solid marketing funnel for your business or service.
To learn more about any of the channels above, reach out to your favorite social or digital marketing or Email the author at hannahgoldcommunications@gmail.com for questions.
