5 Digital Marketing Must-Haves for New Businesses

America is experiencing a startup boom. The U.S. Census Bureau stated the third quarter of 2020 had the highest business application numbers they have ever seen according to Planet Money.

This unprecedented growth also coincides with a decline in print, TV, radio, and direct mail marketing. Instead, savvy business owners are using digital marketing to reach prospects. Digital advertising spending is expected to grow 6% this year contrasted by an 8% decline for traditional advertising.

Established business owners and entrepreneurs alike are taking advantage of digital marketing because it offers higher ROI, it’s easy to scale, and you can still get a great return even if you don’t have a large advertising budget.

If you’ve recently started a new business or you’re an established business owner who wants to start using digital marketing, this article will break down five digital marketing must-haves. Keep reading to learn more.

Digital Marketing 101

You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t digital marketing just online marketing?”

Not anymore!

These days digital marketing goes beyond your online presence. Any method of contacting customers through digital means such as text messaging, email marketing, social media marketing, search engine advertising, and apps are all included in digital marketing. 

Digital marketing can go along way in helping your business appear more established and trustworthy. Any type of business can benefit from digital marketing strategies.

Analytics available in digital marketing campaigns make it a lot easier to track the results of your campaign. It offers greater targeting options and allows businesses to see results in real time.

So where do you begin? These are my top five digital marking must-haves.

1. A Website

No matter how you chose to spend your advertising dollars, your business website is of primary importance. It’s the “home” of your company online and a great method of controlling your business messaging.

When properly designed and optimized it can generate leads by establishing your expertise and reputation in your field of business. 

Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile. Approximately 83% of the U.S. population are mobile internet users and that number is projected to grow significantly in the next two years.

A website is mobile friendly when it is easy for someone to use and navigate on their smartphone. When your website is easier to use, more people are likely to use it and for a longer period of time, and Google is likely to rank it higher in the search engines. This brings me to my next point.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of increasing traffic to your website by “organic” means, not paid advertising. It utilizes key words and phrases to tell search engines what your webpage is about so it can be cataloged correctly and served to users who are researching those topics.

SEO has many moving parts. Having a solid SEO strategy in place can help your business jump ahead of your competition in search rankings making your website easier to find by prospects.

Most important in SEO is keeping up with trends and analyzing the data received from your analytics. This is the complexity of SEO and why many business owners do not utilize this valuable asset.

Investing in SEO places your business in front of more prospective customers and in doing so, generates more valuable leads. 

3. Local Search Engine Optimization

According to SmallBusinessTrends.com, since 2015 more searches are done on mobile devices than laptop computers. Google searches on-the-go are done by consumers looking for local businesses. Your website must contain valuable information including your location to rank on Google in local searches.

In addition to optimizing your website for local search, claim your business location on local search directories such as Google My Business. Make sure your name, address, and phone number are listed exactly the same way on all local search directories; for example, don’t use Street in one place and St. in another.

If your contact information varies from one listing to another, Google may not recognize it as the same business hurting your search results. 

4. Email Marketing

More than half of all businesses use email marketing making it one of the most popular marketing methods and rightfully so. Over the 2020 holiday shopping season retailers experienced a 32% jump in conversions from their email ads on Black Friday as homebound shoppers responded to digital promotions.

During the pandemic, marketers are pushing hard to reach people at home and email marketing has been a favorite strategy. Nearly half of your potential customers access their email from their mobile devices. When designing your email campaign make sure it is optimized for mobile use as well.

Keep your emails short. Include a clear call-to-action. Design in a single column format. Use plenty of strategically placed white spaces to highlight your CTA buttons and avoid making your email appear too busy.

5. Social Media Marketing 

When social media popped up on our radar it was initially a way to connect with friends and family. Nowadays, it serves as an invaluable tool for marketers.

According to the latest research, social media marketing is the number one communication channel choice for small and large businesses alike. Why social media? Pew Research states 77% of all Americans report using social media. Keeping your business in front of your potential customers is the job of social media. 

Most, if not all of your target audience has at least one social media account. These days people are not only logging on to see pictures of friends but also research businesses, shop, and connect with brands online.

So what does this mean for your business?

If your business is on at least one social media platform it is easier for your prospects to find you. These platforms allow you to connect with your prospects, learn their pan-points, hear their questions, and build trust. It allows you to build a community centered around your business or products. Social media is a great vehicle for word-of-mouth advertising in the digital age.

Start Using Digital Marketing Today

If you have a new business venture or a more established business now is the time to take advantage of digital marketing. With digital marketing’s analytics and tracking you can see results as they happen and target your strategies to reach your target audience.

ROI is higher on digital marketing strategies and it doesn’t take a ton of money to move the needle. Start seeing results today with digital marketing.