In this new digital age, you can’t afford to miss out on the online space; whether you are a small business or corporate. But what does online marketing cost? And how exactly should you go about it? That’s what we are going to talk about today.
Planning
An important question to ask yourself is, which media will suit your business? For some, a website will work, while others, not all social media platforms will work for them. For example, if you want to run a successful recruitment firm, you don’t really need Instagram and Snapchat. But LinkedIn and a website are a must.
Some budgeting skills are also needed. You should have a long term budget, which has been allocated appropriately. Even if you are a small business owner without a marketing budget, also plan how much time you have for online marketing, and how you will spend it effectively.
Invest in a Website
For all businesses, a website helps you to reach your customers. Through proper SEO, you can reach the thousands of potential clients looking for your services online. The other day, I was looking for a moving company, so I went to Google and searched for moving companies in Birmingham.
Among the first results was movon.com which covered Birmingham, and Leeds, which is where I was moving to. I went to their website, and I was pretty impressed by their services. I asked for a quote, and within that week I was in my new apartment in Leeds. Just like that, Movon got business through SEO.
Everyone trusts the search engines, so a website should be a priority for any business. And gladly, SEO shouldn’t cost you anything; Whitehat SEO is free, and anyone can do it. Just follow the best content practices, and with patience, you will get there.
Go Social
A website is the best online marketing platform but requires a little investment. The easiest place to start is social media, and gladly, you can set up social media pages for free. No domain or web hosting expenses are needed. Plus it is easy to get your business on social media; no need for webmaster skills.
Be selective on the social media to use if you don’t have the resources for investing in all of them simultaneously. And as earlier said, you may not need all of them. For example, a local liquor store may not need LinkedIn, but Facebook is a priority, as you can also create a store with full checkout on Facebook.
Content Marketing
Whether you opted for a website only, social media alone or both, you will need a content marketing plan. Content is what keeps clients coming, and from an SEO perspective, it is part of what will make your business rank on the first results of searches on social media, and search engines as well.
You need to put out the best content for your audience regularly. An active presence is also crucial. Besides publishing fresh and engaging content, monitor online conversations, respond to mentions, and emails.