A strong digital marketing strategy can help your business attract new customers and earn more sales.
Digital marketing isn't one-size-fits-all: The ideal digital marketing strategy for one business may look completely different from your own business's ideal online marketing strategy.
This is largely because digital marketing is an umbrella term that encompasses online marketing tactics, such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and native advertising. How many resources you devote to each of these digital marketing channels depends entirely on your business industry, goals, and customers.
It really boils down to the question: Where are your customers? Whether they're on social media, your website, or email, you'll want to meet them wherever they already are.
Level up your digital marketing strategy
Everything depends on your business's starting point when developing a digital marketing strategy. Gartner suggests viewing your business's digital marketing maturity in terms of five pillars— strategy, culture, organization, execution, and operations—and their corresponding indicators.[1]
For example, if your small business acts on a medium-term strategy (between one to two years), then it is at the intermediate stage for this pillar. To get to a more advanced stage, develop a longer term strategy. If your small business is at a beginning level for executing digital commerce, start small. Set realistic and achievable digital marketing goals to get the ball rolling.
Whether you're a small-business owner just starting to develop a digital strategy or one trying to level up the strategy you already have, here are some tips from other business owners to help you achieve your digital marketing goals.
From business owners like you: 4 digital marketing strategy tips
We talked with small-business owners from around the world to collect the tips and tricks they've learned on their own digital marketing journeys to help yours be a little smoother.
Here are four strategies these fellow small-business owners shared with us.
Tip 1: Develop a Google My Business listing
Kam Talebi is owner and CEO of Kaskaid Hospitality, which operates restaurants throughout the U.S. Talebi encourages businesses to create a Google My Business listing as a low cost way to achieve high impact digital marketing results.
"The vast majority of our business has come from local press and word of mouth," Talebi said. "But if a potential customer hears about us and can’t find our address and hours online, that doesn’t do any good."
Kam Talebi
owner and CEO of Kaskaid Hospitality[2]
Google My Business is a free service through Google that boosts your visibility online. Businesses can sign up, provide info such as business name, address, hours of operation, and photos, and manage their profile.
Google My Business allows businesses to create and manage profiles[3]
This service allows businesses to connect with customers and respond to reviews.
"Every local business needs a Google Business listing, and they have to maintain their reputation in the reviews." Talebi said. "This allows you to pop up when someone is searching for your business type, and if you are one of the top three in the reviews, you'll be at the top of the page."
Tip 2: Start a blog
When Eric Jones, CEO of Couture Candy, and his team first decided to invest in digital marketing, they identified their goals: increase website traffic, generate more leads, and increase sales.
"We knew that in order to achieve these goals, we needed to be active on social media, have a strong email marketing strategy, and invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to improve our website's search rankings,"
Eric Jones
CEO of Couture Candy[4]
One of their most effective strategies has been creating content that engages their target audience, including blog posts. Couture Candy is a special occasion fashion e-commerce business that sells wedding, quinceanera, cocktail, and prom dresses.
Their blog is relevant to those who may have stumbled upon their website looking for a special occasion dress.
Couture Candy prom guide[5]
If a consumer is in the market for a prom dress, they may find Couture Candy's blog, which includes guides for consumers on how to choose a dress, what to expect with cost, and how to accessorize.
"We focus on creating content that's both helpful and informative," Jones said. “"This has helped us build a loyal following and increase engagement across all of our digital channels."
This approach to content marketing has helped them reach new customers within their target audience, build their brand, and grow their business.
"I'd encourage any small-business owner to invest in digital marketing and to be open to experimenting with new strategies and tactics in order to find what works best for them," Jones said.
Tip 3: Leverage email marketing
James White, managing director of Media First, says email marketing is an efficient and cost-effective method for small businesses to not only connect with customers, but also boost sales.
White and his team develop email marketing campaigns to promote sales, highlight new products, and advertise upcoming events.
To do this, they segment their email list according to the actions of their customers to make sure their customers receive material that is relevant to them and their interests. Additionally, White encourages businesses to add a personal touch to their email marketing campaigns for increased engagement and brand awareness.
"To grab the customer's attention, personalize your emails by using the customer's name and including visually appealing content in their messages,"
James White
managing director of Media First[6]
"To grab the customer's attention, personalize your emails by using the customer's name and including visually appealing content in their messages," White said. Also, consider other personalized flairs such as sending out special birthday offers, offers for customers who haven't shopped with you recently, and rewards offers.
Tip 4: Invest in ads or local marketing
Subodh Doharey, associate director of SEO at RepIndia, encourages businesses to invest a portion of their budget into pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
"Paid advertising, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads, can help you reach a broader audience and drive more traffic to your website,"
Subodh Doharey
associate director of SEO at RepIndia[7]
But like everything else in digital marketing, there is no singular approach to PPC and finding what works often requires first figuring out what doesn’t work.
For example, Doharey's digital marketing services company worked with an eCommerce business specializing in apparel. This apparel company was investing in PPC ads, but its return on ad spend (ROAS) was only 150%, not enough to justify how much it was spending. The apparel company wanted its ROAS to be in the 300% to 350% range.
Doharey and his team used two key PPC ad campaign strategies to increase the company's ROAS: They retargeted users with ad campaigns across platforms and turned to location-based targeting.
"Nationwide targeting wasn't working as well as they thought," he said. "So, we changed the strategy a bit and implemented location-based targeting, which reaped great results."
As a result, Doharey says this apparel company was able to increase their ROAS to 319%.
Although PPC advertising can help you reach more potential customers, Doharey advises small businesses to think about their options, target market, and budget before diving into the world of PPC ads.
"For a small business, running a PPC advertising campaign can cost roughly around $1000 to $3000—however, the exact amount will depend on the campaign specifics and bids," he said. "Online marketing can burn through your budget if you are not implementing the right strategies. Take care not to fall into bidding wars and spending more than you are capable of managing."
Narrow your search for digital marketing agencies with our list of companies in the following areas:
Track and analyze metrics to measure progress toward your goal
There are an infinite number of ways you can approach digital marketing strategies for your small business. Whether you're just beginning to move away from traditional marketing to online marketing or looking to build onto your existing internet marketing strategy, it's important to always track and analyze the key performance indicators that make sense for each digital marketing channel.
This will give you insight into what works and what doesn't to help inform how you invest resources in digital marketing tactics in the future.
To assist with your digital strategy goals, consider investing in digital marketing software or the services of a digital marketing agency. Either of these options can help you manage your digital content, track important metrics, and help you implement strategies that will work for your business.