There is no doubt that community support is the cornerstone for small business success. But if you think you don’t need any marketing efforts because your audience is ”not that big”, think again. Digital marketing for small business has been a critical factor in overall conversion and visibility. 

But where do you begin? Should you build an in-house team or partner with experts? In this guide, we’ll demystify digital marketing for small businesses. We’ll also provide you with actionable insights to act on. 

Intro to Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

The term “digital marketing” is quite vague. First, we need to identify what exact components can help a small business. In no particular order, they are: 

• SEO through Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing

The idea here is to use online channels to stay relevant in the minds of your ideal customer profile (ICP). 

Arguably, digital marketing for small businesses is a lot less expensive than traditional marketing. You don’t have to worry about billboards, television ads, or radio (highly doubt who listens to radio anymore) exposure. 

If done right, the “organic” efforts can bring the best ROI for you. At least 49% of businesses agree. Sure, it takes longer than paid media (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, etc.) to show results, but organic traffic will always win in the end. 

When we say efforts, here’s what we mean: 

• Optimizing your website for a better user experience
• Publishing valuable content to educate your ICP
• Using your social media handles to share updates regularly (and utilizing the algorithm)
• Curate and nurture an email list for future repeat purchases

It’s a lot of moving parts that need constant attention. With the rise of AI in marketing, your competition is publishing way more content than you are. Some of this content is good, the rest is garbage. But simply because they’re publishing, they’re staying more relevant.  

How SEO Aligns with Your Marketing Efforts

Perhaps the most used word in the digital marketing industry. But SEO today is not the same as it was back in the day. You can no longer cram a f*ck ton of keywords on a page and expect to rank. It requires careful planning and execution with clever techniques. 

Similar to any other marketing efforts, if done right, SEO can bring up to 31% CTR (click-through rate) to your website. With 75% of online visitors never visiting the 2nd page of Google, SEO is where you start. 

In the context of digital marketing for small business, you need local SEO. It’s concentrated efforts targeted at a particular area. And Google Map Pack sits at the top of this hierarchy. Things like Google My Business (GMB) optimization, directory listing, and social proof (reviews) go a long way in local SEO. 

Then comes optimizing your website’s core health. This includes page load times and user friction during the journey. It’s crucial that you find areas of problem and solve them. A problem as simple as not having a meta title on a page can severely hamper your rankings. 

Once you tackle these things, you can shift the focus to getting more traffic. This is where clever copywriting and educational content, such as blogs come into play. 

Do You Need Content Marketing?

Although content marketing and SEO go hand-in-hand, I believe it’s best to separate them at least for the sake of this article. 

Generally speaking, “content marketing” is the process of creating relevant, valuable, and engaging content that elicits a reaction in your customer’s mind. And content is not just long-form blogs. Your social media posts, your website copy, your about us page, infographics, videos, etc., everything is classified as content. 

As we’re talking about digital marketing for small business, let’s stick to written content. And it all starts with keyword research. 

A “keyword” is simply a query your potential customer puts into Google’s search bar. But to find effective keywords to generate content, you need to look at: 

• Volume: How many searches are registered per month

• Difficulty: How difficult it is to rank for a keyword

• Cost Per Click (CPC): How much are business owners willing to pay to secure a position for the keyword

• Intent: Is the user looking for information (INFORMATIONAL), willing to make a purchase (COMMERCIAL/TRANSACTIONAL), or looking for a particular website (NAVIGATIONAL)?

After finding a good chunk of keywords through this method, you need to implement them throughout your website copy. 

For example, landing pages are a great place to use long-tail keywords. 

Then there are blogs. Many business owners believe blogging is dead. Even worse, some business owners opt for AI-generated content these days. It’s sheer pain to see how lifeless those articles are. 

Did you know that businesses with a blog have 434% more indexed pages? In other words, Google has an easier time ranking websites with a blog. 

Blogs are an amazing tool for addressing your customers’ pain points. For example, if you own a home improvement business (roofing, electrical, plumbing, etc.), you can publish blogs about DIY ideas and how-to guides. 

You might think you’re missing out on business by telling people how to do YOUR job. But that’s not the case at all. 

Most people are not willing to do these things by themselves. 

But when you portray your expertise via blogs, you establish yourself as the go-to. 

To answer the question from the header, yes, you need content marketing. It’s a great canvas for SEO and guarantees more traffic. 

What About Social Media Marketing?

This is a no-brainer when it comes to digital marketing for small business. Social Media Marketing, or SMM, is when you meet your customers where they are. 

The average US adult spends about 2 hours on social media EVERY DAY. It’s just an average, so it’s possible that your customers are spending way more. 

There was a time when you could isolate the channels where your prospects are more active and focus your efforts there. Not to say that approach doesn’t work anymore, Omnichannel seems to be the way to go. 

The good thing is you don’t necessarily have to create unique content for every platform. It’s a “nice to have” only when you have the resources to spare. 

It also depends on what kind of business you have. If you have a visually driven business, such as a clothing line, it’s best to focus on Instagram and Pinterest. If you’re a service-based business, on the other hand, Facebook appears to be a better place. 

Another benefit of using social media to market your small business is that you can be closer to the audience. Data suggests there’s a disconnect between big corporations and the end user. If you publish content addressing the exact pain points, you’re more likely to see conversions, fast. 

Social media channels are a great tool for ICP analysis as well. You can identify and segment your audience based on their age, preferences, profession, gender, location, etc. You can then use this data to develop content for your website. 

Last but not least, SMM is a good place for paid ads. Facebook Ads have long been the cornerstone of paid media. If you target them right, a small budget can stretch a long way to bring you the reach and engagement you want. 

Does Email Marketing Make Sense for You?

If there are practically any “free” marketing channels, that would be email. If 87% of businesses are distributing their content via email, there must be something to it, right? To be precise, email marketing is known to bring $36 to $40 for every $1 you spend. That’s a mind-boggling 4,000% return on your investment. 

For many small and medium businesses, it may not make sense on paper to invest in email campaigns. But it’s one of those things that apply to every industry. 

Own a restaurant? Send your next week’s menu in advance. 

Own a moving business? Send discounted rates before a busy session.

Own a bakery? Send images of freshly baked cupcakes. 

You get the idea, right?

The first thing you need to do is create an email list. That’s where a lead magnet comes into play. This is perhaps the hardest code to crack. The lead magnet must offer value to your customers, and you need to give it for free. 

Once you find a good lead magnet, blast it out through social media and other channels to entice visitors to give their email address. 

Then, you segment those emails based on demographic details. You can send daily, weekly, or monthly emails depending on your business model and audience pain points. 

Keep in mind that email marketing is a numbers game. The more you can grow your email list, the more conversion you can expect.  

How Do You Know Your Efforts Are Working?

After all is said and done, how do you even know your digital marketing for small business is working? Well, the simple answer is analytics. Here’s what you should track:

• Traffic: How much has your organic traffic grown since you started marketing? Usually a 6-month metric.

• Conversion: Visitors → Leads → Customers. The higher the percentage, the better.

• Engagement: How is your audience interacting with your content?

• ROI: How much return are you getting against your investments?

In-House Team vs Outsourcing

Apparently, the average local business spends 5-10% of its revenue on digital marketing. Depending on your business size, the final number can be anything. And that number decides what you do. 

In-House Team

An in-house team means you hire a marketing consultant, a copywriter, a content writer, a visual artist (designer), a website manager, and whatnot. 

In the US, the salaries are going to run you dry. Unless your bottom line is in millions, it doesn’t make sense to hire a team. 

Outsourcing

This is the ideal route to go for most small businesses. Outsourcing means delegating your marketing task to a team that’s not on your payroll. The primary benefit is that you have to pay a lot less than a full team’s salary.

Let Outlawed Narratives Help

I created OLN with a simple goal in mind – to make marketing affordable for small businesses. Instead of costing an arm and a leg with bloated packages, we customize services according to your budget. 

Ready to stop wasting money and start growing? Send us an email and we’ll show how it’s done.