For Small Business Owners in NJ: Online Marketing Basics
Digital marketing can sound like an overwhelming concept –especially for small businesses. But it does not have to be! Do you know how “new” this concept is? Around 100 years old! It started approximately around the time the radio was invented. You’re scratching your head right now, but here’s the truth: Digital advertisement is –by simple definition –that which is made through digital channels. This used to refer to radio and TV and later expanded to websites, search engines, mobile applications, and, of course –the King of the Hill –social media. Complex or not, you ought to be aware that everyone needs online marketing, especially if you have a small business in NJ. Online marketing is the modern way to thrive, reach more customers, and keep with the trends. Reclaim Digital is an expert in helping organizations and businesses enhance their online presence.
What’s our core value? To treat your business like our own.
There are tons of examples online that talk about self-made people who –using the favors of the Internet –have succeeded. They are publicized as successful and independent. Why would you need advice on how to grow your business? A plain reason: digital marketing moves at the speed of light. The market, more than ever, changes its preferences faster than one person alone, would be able to adapt to. Remember that the main objective is to have as many eyes looking at your business –and then turning that attention into customers. It doesn’t matter if you manage your business from the comfort of your mattress in Arizona, or an edgy, modern corporate office in NJ. Online marketing will be a useful tool if you a) Have an Agency or a Consultant to manage your strategies –(this is where Reclaim Digital comes!) And b) you have a basic –but strong –foundation of knowledge to discern which channels and resources you want to pursue and why. You can have the most creative team working with you, but unless you also have those other two assets, your chances of success diminish considerably.
Of course, for the second one –your pool of knowledge on the subject –you can consult the endless lists of tutorials, classes, and videos out there. Nonetheless, the most reputable NJ online marketing agencies would agree about this: you first need to learn the ropes on the basic terms. Get acquainted with them. That’s what this article aims to do; to provide you fundamental definitions and concise beginners’ tips before you venture out on a digital crusade.
To recap, you can define online marketing as the advertisement tools or methods to get your company’s name out to the public. Here comes the first tip: what the word “public” means to you can differ diametrically from what it means to your neighbor. The ultimate goal is to increase your revenue by attracting more customers. Some businesses could be attempting to reach a different part of the market, whereas some others are trying to retain what they already have; or reach an entirely different cohort. The key is to know whom you’re speaking to. The more you can define it, the sweeter your words will seem in the ears of your customers. Let’s proceed to explain a bit more bout the most popular concepts and a few tips:
CREATE AMAZING CONTENT
Hands down, content marketing is the most popular and effective way to create valuable media. This content is distributed to current and potential customers. You may refrain from it, thinking you have nothing to talk about. But here’s the trick: no one knows more about your niche than you. And the audience wants to read the expert’s opinion. Surely, you’ve got an arsenal of topics to discuss; there is no one better to guide your clients than you. You have all the tools to explain things to your audience, if, let’s say your client wants to know about a particular service or product, specifically in NJ. Online marketing has a bit of psychology involved; customers want to be understood.
Research shows that 61% of people are more inclined to buy a product or a service from a company that produces engaging content. So you need to tailor your knowledge into content that your clients can use. The other aspect of it is how you present this useful information to your customers; the form is sometimes as crucial as the content. If the last text you wrote was your college essay application, you might need to hire the pros.
Articles and blogs are impressively successful in providing credibility and authority to your company. They are also the number one way to become attractive to search engines.
BECOME AN EXPERT ON SEO
Speaking about becoming the search engines’ favorite, you must dedicate yourself to perfect your SEO techniques, both in your content and on-site. The trick is to be sure that the keywords on the website are the ones you want to be searched for. This is crucial for search engine rankings.
One more thing: Google loves making the life of its users more straightforward, and by that, it aims to provide websites that are near or in the browser’s specific location. So don’t be afraid to sound local, because that’s precisely what the search engines are looking for! For instance, a person will get the same local results if they search a broad term like “wedding planners” or a more specific location: “wedding planners in NJ.” Online marketing is about bestowing your customers with the answer they’re looking for, so be as specific as you can be.
LEARN TO MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA (not the other way around)
Social media is both venerated and hated in the business world; the hate part comes from employers complaining about how much their workers spend on it. Its appeal is utterly undeniable; it’s networking taken to the highest –and most fun –way. Don’t let the endless hashtags or the jargon freak you out. Use it as it was intended to do: to connect with people.
Clients have become keen at recognizing when someone is desperately trying to push a sales agenda. Of course, you will use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to advertise your product or services; but trying too hard can get you an immediate “un-follow.” The more natural you appear on social media, the more inclined the public will be to network with you.
The trick here is to be constant. If you upload an article to LinkedIn every other month, people will lose interest in you. Keeping up with current trends is also a must. Try to be as relatable to your customers as you can.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF AN EMAIL
You want to know what happened when you sent a cold pitch email, and you did not receive an answer? Your potential client took a couple of minutes from his or her precious, valuable time, and spent them on your email. Then somewhere within the text you lost him. Not figuratively, literally.
While emails are still an excellent choice for call-to-actions, poorly written ones can not only deprive you of the benefits but also hurt your reputation. It does not get said enough: put yourself in the shoes of your client, who receives hundreds of emails like yours. What will set the difference? Again: the content and the form in which you present it.
More than half of your clients will open your email based on the subject line. So, the first advice would be to work considerably on it. The more targeted your email, the better it will work. Maybe your audience is keen on click-bait lines. Perhaps you are speaking exclusively to seniors who dislike or are intimidated by phrases appealing to younger crowds. Only you know it. Lastly, stick to the point. Leave the long discussions, examples, and details for a one-on-one business meeting. You need just a few lines to become desirable, useful, and attainable.
KEEP AN EYE ON ANALYTICS
Measuring your results, it’s the best way to analyze what is working and what’s not. You want the channels that send you more web traffic; to access this type of info, you need to understand how well your strategies are working. If your articles and blogs are generating the most traffic, then keep doing them. If social media is getting little attention, you may need to refurbish your accounts with more exciting features and content.
COHERENCE IS THE KEY. CALL THE EXPERTS
Mediocre marketers will design isolated strategies; great ones think in terms of frameworks. If your efforts are pulling to their side individually, you may get mixed results. Or even negative ones.
You want to make sure all of your resources are aiming at a common goal. Coherence in your strategies also builds up your credibility, not to mention, it makes your life and that of your employees easier. So, before jumping from one tactic to another, you need to ask yourself the fundamental question: what do I want to obtain from digital marketing? Do I want my brand to be more recognizable? Increase revenue by 15%? Boost sales of a particular service? Once you have that answer well delimited, then you can start.
Gone are the days of shallow marketing. Modern strategies involve in-depth analysis, common sense, and coherence. Especially if you are running a small business, it is advisable to unite your efforts into the voice of expertise. If you’re looking for the best in NJ for online marketing, Reclaim Digital is ready to begin the journey with you.
