Digital marketing tips for small business from the experts

 

Lately, I have the feeling that it is impossible to talk about digital marketing outside the context of COVID-19. And not just because the pandemic situation has emerged as a catalyst for digitalization, but because people's attention is focused on it anyway… why not take advantage? However, the purpose of marketing is to sell. But as much as I want to ride the COVID wave, today we will talk about small business.

Yes, many small businesses have been affected in the last year, and indeed digital marketing is one of the methods many of them have used to "save" themselves. But the truth is that before the pandemic, the power of digital marketing was the same (even greater because the audience was less aware). Information was collected, online shopping was not new, all major brands relied on social media for advertising, copywriters, SEO specialists, and digital marketing experts were sought. The virus simply did not give a choice to people who were not aware of things and were forced to understand how to digitize their services and advertise them online.

The Soften Digital initiative has been around for 5 years and aims to train digital marketers who are ready to get started right away. Many students who enroll in the overall program want to acquire skills with which to develop their small business in the most efficient way possible. Digital marketing is extremely diverse, flexible, and changing and there will never be a "recipe" for building a strategy. But some tips would be useful to absolutely any small business:

Choose a medium

 Many make a big mistake, in the beginning, is to rush to conquer all possible information channels and social media to which they have access. Now imagine being a person who has decided to maintain Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, while tracking your results on Google and at the same time running your business. One by one. Every business has a niche and after proper research, competition testing, and resource calculation, it is enough to choose a starting channel that will slowly move things. Social media marketing is not everything.

Appear in the search engine

 One of the most popular courses in Soften Digital is related to advertising on Google - SEO and Google Ads. Why? What is the first place you will check when you need a service? The good old "uncle" Google. One of the best things you can do for your business is to get it on the first page of a search engine. It's also nice to put yourself on the map (literally put in Google Maps) so that disoriented people like me can find you more easily.

Get to know your audience

 An important part of digital marketing is the relationship between seller and customer. It may sound strange, but you need to find a way to become a "brand". The brand is unique. If you are a simple grocery store, you are just another grocery store. But if you call yourself "Baklava" (or "Baklava") and come up with a way to tease your customers with a unique attitude and services (both live and online), you have a huge chance of success. What are your favorite little shops and why are they your favorite? Take an example.

Be different

 This is risky advice. Be different if you know that your customers are looking for something different. If you are a baker, you do not need to sell green bread… But non-standard marketing strategies can be extremely useful, especially if implemented correctly. Check out what guerilla marketing means and follow SoftUni Digital's courses.

Package your products uniquely

 

Understand this advice both literally and metaphorically. Whether you offer a physical product or not, it should be packaged so that your customer wants to take a picture of it and upload it to Instagram (or tell their friends about it). The packaging can be playful personalized words, attitude, emotion, and whatnot.