September 5, 2019

A Digital Marketing Guide For The Digitally Illiterate Business Owner

The world we live in today is changing at an incredible rate. Social media marketing and digital marketing services have exploded in popularity in the years since the first home computers were developed. A few decades ago, a new business was dependent on billboards, direct mail, and newspaper ads to reach their target audience. Now, entrepreneurs can leverage Google search results, Facebook ads, and Youtube videos to reach their target customers. Of course, while there are many new tools available to market your local business, not many business owners actually know how to take advantage of digital marketing tools such as SEO.

In fact, many business owners know next to nothing about search engine marketing — and that’s nothing to be ashamed of! Even the most successful small business owners will need digital marketing help.

If you don’t know the difference between search engine optimization and paid search advertising, then we’re here to help. Keep reading for a simple introduction to the exciting world of digital marketing.

What is digital marketing and how do I tap into this progressive industry?

Well, digital marketing lets your business use the internet to gain new customers. It’s an umbrella term that includes a variety of strategies.

Some popular digital marketing techniques include:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): the practice of optimizing your website so that potential customers can find you on search engines like Google.
  • Social media marketing: using social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to attract new customers for your business (or to bring back existing customers).
  • Paid search engine marketing: This can be done on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram. It involves placing paid digital advertisements where your target audience spends their time online.

In addition, content marketing is a popular strategy. Content marketing can involve any type of creative content your business produces for the web. This can include blog posts, graphics and similar visual assets, and videos. Today, we get bored quickly. The average internet use and will stop scrolling after 10 seconds if their attention has not been grabbed. Compelling content can be a great way to attract new customers to your website, which is why content marketing is growing fast this year.

When producing videos, articles, or infographics for the web, be funny and humorous. The internet can be a silly place, and if it’s too serious, the public will lose interest quickly. No matter what type of content you produce, you need to consider SEO. Without an SEO strategy, the content you produce will be impossible to find in the vast ocean of content available online. If you are a tech-savvy person, then this will be a breeze. Of course, this blog post is for people who definitely aren’t tech-savvy.

Ultimately, if you want your business to succeed online, you’re going to need to ask for digital marketing help. While some small business owners do manage digital marketing themselves, most will turn to a local SEO company or digital marketing agency for assistance. In the same way, business owners in the past would turn to a local advertising agency for help designing and placing billboard ads or TV commercials. And, compared to traditional media, digital marketing is incredibly affordable.

We’ve discussed a lot of different digital marketing strategies in this post, and we haven’t even touched on data analytics, custom web design, or software development. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert in any of these tools. You just need to know when to ask for digital marketing help. If you’re missing out on business because of a lackluster digital presence, then the time has come to ask for help. If you find the right partner, your business could soon be generating hundreds of new leads with the power of the internet.