There’s no question that you should be integrating digital marketing into your small business marketing plan. Digital marketing will help your small business gain maximum exposure. 

As you’ve probably already noticed, there aren’t many small businesses that are thriving without a strong online presence. 

Digital Darwinism is a harsh reality, my friend. And if your business doesn’t adapt to the digital landscape, you will undoubtedly lose customers and revenue to your competitors.

If you’re not already convinced that you need to have an online presence, this blog post will undoubtedly change your mind. 

You’re in the right place if integrating digital marketing strategies into your marketing plan is already on your to-do list.

Strategies to consider when integrating digital marketing into your small business:

I’ll start by saying that the average American spends over 10 hours on their electronic devices every day. 

In order for someone to buy from you, they need to know you exist. As American’s are already spending most of their day on electronic devices, it’s clear that getting your brand online is a no brainer for increasing your visibility.

Use social media marketing to your advantage.

Neil Patel said it best, “Social media is the fastest-growing trend in the history of the world”. Think about it: Who do you know that isn’t on any form of social media? I personally can’t think of anyone.

Americans are spending 82 minutes per day on social networks.

With Americans spending increasing amounts of time on social media, it’s the perfect opportunity for marketers to attract their ideal clients. 

As a small business owner, you’re often the one managing your own marketing efforts. Take a page out of the professional marketer’s playbook and start to market your business on social media.

Free vs. Paid Social Media Marketing

Your business honestly doesn’t need to spend a penny on social media for it to be effective.

When you create high-quality content and provide your audience with insightful information, people will like, follow, and stick around for more.

Please note that creating content and showing up consistently on social is definitely for those in it for the long haul.

You should never expect to publish one piece of content and instantly turn complete strangers into raving fans. That’s not how any of this works, my friend. 

I recommend small businesses start with organic (free) social media marketing. 

With paid social media marketing, you pay for consistent traffic. This traffic can be to a blog post, lead magnet, or a paid product. The biggest problem with paid traffic is as soon as you stop paying, your traffic will cease. 

And if you want outstanding results from one piece of content, you’re going to have to pay the big bucks. This isn’t always an ideal or feasible situation for small business owners. This is why I always recommend that you should start with organic social media marketing.

I also like to remind people that even if you’re using targeted ads in your social media marketing, you’re not guaranteed the exact results you want. Your money only guarantees that people will VIEW your ad.

Whether your ideal customer takes the action you desire is a different story. 

Create a consistent posting schedule for your digital content. 

Whether you’re planning on creating content for a blog, a podcast, or a video channel…you need to create a consistent posting schedule. This helps to manage the expectations of your audience.

If publishing a new piece of content every day is out of reach for you, don’t start your content creation journey this way. 

I recommend starting by publishing a new piece of content once a week. 

By focusing on creating a single strong piece of content each week, you give yourself plenty of time to outline, draft, and finalize the published piece.  

I personally like to be ahead of my content by at least two weeks. This saves me from having to worry about creating content the week it’s due to go live. 

Not only does this save me from a lot of unnecessary anxiety, but it also comes in handy if I become sick or mentally unwell. My content will still be published on time and my audience won’t get frustrated from a lapse in the information. 

---

Don’t forget to pop into your customer’s inbox.

There’s an overwhelming amount of content available online. Even if your audience loves what you have to say and the information you provide, they might forget to check in. 

By curating an email list, you’re able to stay top of mind with your audience. Popping into their inbox once a week to remind them of newly released content is a great way to do it. 

Email marketing is an essential part of your digital marketing strategy. 

As you should know, you don’t own your followers on social media. What I mean by this is that if one day Zuckerberg decided to close up shop and shut down Instagram or Facebook, you’re out of luck. All of your followers would disappear and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

Unless you managed to get your followers to subscribe to your email list, those followers are gone forever.

How do you start to obtain new subscribers to your email list? 

You provide immense value…for free! 

Create a lead magnet (a digital download containing highly valued information) that your audience will opt-in to gain access to.

You’re essentially trading valuable content in exchange for their contact information (name and email address).

Once they’ve opted-in to receive your free download, they become an email subscriber and you can now send them updates or additional information. I personally send my email subscribers one email per week alerting them of new content available on the blog. 

Email marketing is a perfect way to stay top of mind with your subscribers and turn your cold leads into warm leads. 

Nurture those leads! Eventually, your email subscribers will become your customers if you nurture them properly.

---

After reading this post do you feel better prepared to enter the digital marketing world?

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.

The digital marketing sphere is definitely a complex place to enter, but I’m hoping these tools encouraged you to take the first step in the right direction.