Small business marketing, where to start? – Advice from a marketing agency Dorset

According to Hubspot, a whopping 97% of people learn about local businesses online. This number could be an influential factor and determine the success of your business against competitors. If you’re a small business owner with little experience in online marketing, this might sound extremely daunting! Have no fear — we’ll go through everything with you.

As a small business ourselves, we understand the importance of small business marketing and how beneficial it can be to grow your brand and online presence. This article will cover the basics you should include in your marketing strategy as well as how we can help you implement them.

Develop an attractive website

This should be at the top of your small business marketing strategy as it creates a platform for all types of marketing. Having a professional-looking website is one of the most important assets you will create as it’s where you will show who you are, what you offer, where you are, and how a potential customer can get in touch with you. Your small business should budget for a good website if nothing else!

Once you have a website developed, you can include the following to increase conversions and brand awareness:

• FAQ page – This is a space to answer the most frequent questions you are asked and what’s important for customers to know. Your answers should include a call to action to persuade a potential customer to take the next step and buy whatever you’re selling.
• Link building – Gaining credible links back to your site can increase website traffic and make your business more trustworthy.
• Add a team page – This is particularly beneficial for small business as it makes the website more personal. Avoid using stock images where possible and showcase your team with friendly images and bios.

If you’re a small business in need of a new or updated website, contact our marketing agency Dorset! We specialise in the design and development of WordPress websites and can help you create a site to enhance your small business marketing. Contact our friendly team on 01202 888200 or click here >>

Start writing a blog and increase your rankings

A blog is a section of a website made up of topically related blog posts or articles. A blog is one of the most affordable and effective strategies for small business marketing as it has the potential to drive website traffic and leads/sales. A survey by HubSpot found that 57% of businesses who write regular blogs have generated a lead from it.

Once you start writing, it’s important to add call-to-actions on your posts to encourage the reader to check out other pages on your site and relevant keywords to help your search engine rankings. A blog is a great way to start collecting leads but also offers potential customers additional information for if they aren’t quite ready to buy yet.

Our marketing agency Dorset has a team of expert copywriters who write around 20-30 blogs a month for our clients. If you need help creating a blog for your small business marketing, contact our team who will be happy to help >>

Keep an eye on our blog for marketing tips and updates here >>

Manage social media platforms

Social media might seem like it’s just a fun platform for people to socialize and connect, but it’s actually a powerful business tool. Social media can help you increase traffic, improve your search engine rankings, and engage with potential customers.

For top tips on social media marketing, read our previous article here >>

If you’re looking for a marketing agency Dorset to manage your social media platforms, contact our team who will be happy to help!

Invest in email marketing

Email marketing is a critical part of your small business marketing plan. In fact, according to Hubspot, 73% of people prefer email communication from businesses than any other method. But good news, this strategy is easy, free, and is a scalable way to communicate with both new and existing customers.

The first step is to find a reliable email marketing tool. There are plenty of options out there, but we always recommend MailChimp as businesses can create a free account, it’s easy to create professional-looking email campaigns and allows for easy analysis afterward. Once you have chosen a tool, enjoy experimenting with templates (you can even incorporate links to your sleek new blog posts), and other promotions to your businesses database.

We know small business owners don’t have tons of free time to devote to digital marketing, so why not consider using an agency? Our marketing agency Dorset are experts in creating and delivering successful email campaigns that are sent to existing or purchased databases. If you’re interested in adding email campaigns to your small business marketing, contact our team >>

Create Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click campaigns

Pay-per-click or PPC is one of the marketing tools you can use to promote small business in the online world, especially if you don’t have the time to put into getting top organic rankings through written content such as the aforementioned blog posts.

If you didn’t already know what PPC is, it is a model of internet marketing in which you would pay a small fee each time one of your ads is clicked. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than earning visits organically.

Small businesses can benefit from a well-managed PPC campaign. Unlike any other form of marketing, you can target a specific audience to generate fast results and control your marketing budget. It’s also the easiest and the most cost-effective way to raise brand awareness and get new leads. Even if your business already has a good organic ranking, you can use your PPC campaign to dominate search results for specific keywords or search terms. Lastly, your ROI tends to be much higher than using any other form of marketing.

If you would like more information on the benefits of using PPC and how an agency can help, read our article here >>

We’re here to help!

Now that you know what you should be doing, the hard part comes down to finding the time or having the skills to implement these strategies! If you think hiring an agency to take care of your small business marketing could be the right decision for you, we’d love to talk to you about your needs, and answer any questions that you may have!

Our Account Managers are currently trusted with the marketing of over 20 businesses in a range of industries including travel, technology, education, retail and construction.

So why not speak to us today on 01202 888200, or by clicking here>>

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