Your storefront is put together, you’ve got rows of products lining the shelves. Now you’re ready to open your doors to the public. The only problem? Nobody knows you exist yet. Advertising your small business is no small thing; just because you build it, that doesn’t mean that they will come. The internet is here to stay, how can you use online marketing tactics to sell your business to the public?
Use Social Media For Digital Business
You might hate the idea of having a personal Twitter or Facebook feed because you don’t understand it. But when you run a business there are people who are searching for certain hashtags and trending topics. By using social media outlets you are projecting to a wider audience. You are also reaching the whole world via the world wide web.
Instagram. It doesn’t matter what you sell — red superfood powder, or hand-painted shoes — a picture is worth a thousand words. Show off what you have to offer by regularly updating your company’s Instagram account with new and exciting pics.
Facebook. The OG social media giant, Facebook helps you connect with people via different interests and groups and helping you to get in touch with different businesses and customer bases.
Pinterest. Don’t roll your eyes and assume that the digital corkboard concept only exists for Pottery Barn DIY projects; Pinterest is a hugely successful marketing tool in the business world. Pins that you create can last a long time and reach a huge audience. Try to regularly add to your Pinterest feed with new ideas.
Take Advantage of SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a big buzzword in the small business community in this digital era. If you’ve heard of it but aren’t quite sure what it is, here’s a quick breakdown:
Google searches are triggered by keywords. You might have noticed that when you search for a specific keyword, the same websites tend to float to the top of the results. This is thanks to clever use of SEO: The keywords that you have searched for show up numerous times on the company website, meaning that the more times they show up the higher they will be in a Google search. In short, you are optimizing your search results.
There are online widgets that you can download and help you to figure out what keywords your clients are using in their search engine searches, etc, but remember that even though it’s tempting to stuff keywords into your content over and over again, do not do that. It will sound repetitive and robotic and clients will definitely notice.
Texts and Emails Can Do The Job
You take time and energy to write out your newsletters and flyers, so how can you help to ensure that your automated texts and emails don’t end up straight in the spam folder?
- Make sure that your subject is clear and not at all misleading, but is also free of excess capital letters and exclamation points (this can trigger automated spam filters).
- Your content is clear, interesting and to-the-point. Nobody wants to waste their time struggling through something boring and pointless and you don’t want clients to associate your messages with the junk folder. Keep it interesting.
- Stay on topic. If you are a professional caterer it wouldn’t make much sense to send out emails offering lawn care services. You will lose your audience if they’re not engaged.
The world of advertising today isn’t your grandpa’s newspaper-and-print campaign that it was back in the day. Know what trends are hot for digital advertising and take advantage of them to the best of your ability. If you want your small business to grow into a big business one day, you need to do your job as the founder to get the word out and drum up new business. Thank goodness the internet can help you do that and reach the widest audience of all.
