When you’ve created a fantastic website, how do you get people to find it? When you’ve gone to the expense of creating a great website design for your small business, you need to ensure that it reaches your target market, so what are the most important and effective methods of advertising your website in this current day and age?
Advertising has historically been a vital part of running a business. The costs used to be stupendous, both in monetary and environmental costs. We used to chop down millions of trees to produce phone books, Yellow Pages, newspapers etc. And to advertise in these forums was horrendously expensive. Even when the cost was prohibitive, we still came up with the money year in and year out to get a block advertisement in Yellow Pages. After all, we let our fingers do the walking and we didn’t want to hear ‘Not Happy Jan.’
But for the last ten years or so, marketing trends have changed and the way we advertise has changed forever. Companies like Yellow Pages and newspapers have had to adapt and go online and any that didn’t adapt fast enough have virtually disappeared and given rise to newer, more user-friendly methods.
So if you’re not yet across current digital marketing methods, then here is a roundup of everything you need to know to set your business up for successful advertising campaigns.
Digital Marketing Methods in 2022
Email Marketing (EDM) – Utilising programs such as Mailchimp, emailing your customers or those who have signed up to receive communication from you is the most financially viable and least expensive method of communication. It is imperative that you have a method of email address capture so that when you have found someone interested in your products or services, that you are able to maintain the lines of communication. Your email can be designed to capture their attention, and remind them that you are here waiting to serve them. Then you will receive analytics and have immediate results on the efficacy of the program.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – When a prospective customer goes to Google to find a business like yours, they will enter the words that appear to them to best match your type of business. These are keywords, and it is vital that they are embedded in everything that is associated with your business. These keywords will help your business’s searchability on search engines. If you were to type in the 3 words that describe your business, what page would your business appear on with Google? If it isn’t on the 1st page, they will not find you.
Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) – Rather than paying for an advertisement in a newspaper that could cost thousands of dollars and not even guarantee you visibility or sales, you can pay per click to your ad Google or Bing are the most common providers of PPC advertising. People will see your ad at top of a search page when people enter keywords that are associated with your business. Then you are charged if prospects click on the advertisement, which should take them through to a landing page on your website where you can capture more information, like an enquiry form. You can track the effectiveness of a PPC campaign and see what money has been spent, where it is more effective and where it wasn’t as successful.
Social Media Marketing – This includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. These outlets provide you with a space where you can engage with people, display images that lead to branding for your company and offer content that can be shared. The more an article is shared the better your ranking and greater your recognition.
Affiliate Marketing – If you want to be found on other websites, you can use an affiliate marketing company to find partner websites who will advertise your business in exchange for a commission on every sale for a certain amount of time after clicking the link. It’s a great way for webmasters to earn some extra money and a good way for you to get your brand out there.
Influencer Marketing – This is a method whereby influencers (generally people with a wide reach of contacts) are able to promote or mention your business. They earn money from promoting your business or receive free or low-cost products in return for spreading your company name. Influencers have always been used, since the dawn of advertising, ie sports people to promote vitamins, race car drivers to promote cars and models to promote makeup. These days, influencers use Instagram and other social media platforms and brands can engage micro influencers to target smaller pockets of audiences. Successful brands collaborate with lots of micro influencers and drop a product at a coordinated time to saturate the market and create a buzz.
Reviews – Everyone’s a critic, and they have so many forums available to them to voice their opinions. It doesn’t matter how exemplary your service is there will always be one or two that will bad mouth you. You need to stay on top of this. When you receive a good review, you need to thank them publicly, and show them how you value them. When there is a negative review, take a step back and think about your response from a professional perspective. Your reply will dictate for future customers whether they feel you will be defensive and petty, or proactive and customer focussed. By not saying anything negative in your response and focussing on providing a good customer experience, people will be more likely to see a negative as a minor issue, and likely even the customer just being high-maintenance.
Google – It’s really important for your business details to be listed on Google. It can provide your address with a map to reach you (following verification) Your phone numbers and a link to your website. It is a valuable service that can generate you a lot of business.
Given how little we pay for advertising compared with 10 or more years ago, there is strong value in having an expert in these fields manage your digital marketing for you. You do what you do best, and you can let the experts in their field bring about amazing results. You can do it yourself, but you will get far more bang for your buck by using a professional.
