2020 has been full of challenges and surprises. For thousands of small businesses, surviving the crisis was an achievement. Now that the economies are reopening, the business landscape is vastly changed. Here is a look at some small business growth strategies to make the most of this new economic climate.
Social Media Marketing
Using social media for business is no longer an option. Each social platform has unique features and is suited to specific types of businesses. Know which platform to use and how can help make a big impact.
Facebook has more than 2.7 billion active users. The first step to using Facebook is to create a business page. Give enough info about what the business does. Carefully optimize the site preferences. The next important step is to generate lots of “likes”. Post relevant content every day.
Make it interesting and attractive. Insert graphics, images, animations, and video. Facebook’s algorithm automatically promotes these types of content. Engage with customers and understand their preferences. Increase chatter, create buzz, and get more people involved.
Facebook ads can help the content reach a wider audience. The platform collects vast amounts of user data. It targets advertisements to those users who are most likely to be interested in the product or service. The platform has robust analytics tools to help businesses create adverts that can drive interest and sales. Use all of Facebook’s business tools to maximize reach, such as Facebook stories, videos, and ‘live’.
Twitter is currently ranked 8 in the US and 13 internationally among the most popular social media platforms. It offers many tools for businesses. ‘Twitter Amplify’ allows advertisers to share real-time television content. Promoted videos let businesses become more creative with their campaigns. Mobile app promotion has obvious benefits. As with all social networks, it is important to post relevant and engaging content at least once daily on Twitter. Keep followers and customers constantly engaged.
Instagram has nearly a billion followers. 83% of the platform’s subscribers use it to find products and services. With the right marketing strategy, businesses can boost their brands and increase sales on Instagram.
Start by creating an Instagram business profile. Give relevant information and add some photos. It is important to create engaging posts with Instagram tools to reach a wide audience.
Like Facebook, Instagram ads target relevant audiences for products and services. In November 2020 Instagram added a ‘shop’ tab which allows users to purchase products directly through the app.
Get a Google business profile
A Google My Business (GMB) profile allows your brand to show up in maps and other search results. Verify ownership of your business with a free GMB account. After that it essentially promotes itself. The average GMB profile shows up in 1,009 customer searches each month. 84% of these come from discovery searches, while the remaining 16% are direct. Besides being free a GMB profile comes with some great benefits:
- It allows businesses to maximize visibility in local organic searches.
- It allows customers to review the business, adding to the visibility and recall.
- Businesses can add images to their listings.
- It gives insights into what people are searching for and how customers respond to the profile.
Search engine optimization
SEO is a proven way to rank favorably on Google. It increases the quality and quantity of traffic to your site through organic search engine results. Optimize your content so that it ranks higher on search engine results. A Keyword is a targeted phrase that helps relevant content feature in matching searches. For example, a business that sells soft toys can use keywords like ‘soft toy’, ‘soft toys for less’, and ‘quality soft toys’.
Examples of long-tail queries for the same business could be ‘best soft toys under $50’ and ‘affordable soft toys online’. Optimizing for long-tail queries can be more effective than just using keywords. This is because long-tail queries reveal intent while keywords are generic. According to Moz Blog websites and blogs get about 70% of their traffic from long-tail queries. It is important to sprinkle keywords and long tails naturally into articles and blog posts while answering FAQs directly in the content.
Create a blog for the business
Start a blog on one of the many blogging sites or create one of your own. WordPress and Bluehost are among the popular options. Contribute instructional posts and ‘how-to’ articles. Interview industry experts and post Q&As. Share the content via email and social networks. According to the SEO Tribunal, there are over 409 million monthly blog readers. A good, informative, and current blog can create a lot of visibility.
Give great customer service
Millions of migrants live and work in the US. They regularly transfer money to their home countries as remittances. After every transfer customers get a chance to rate the service. Satisfied customers give good ratings and upvote the app. All those ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ and stellar ratings add up. Positive online reviews build trust and loyalty among customers. Getting good reviews is a sure way to increase the credibility of your brand. It is the best kind of free publicity. The only way to get good reviews is to keep customers happy.
Join online communities
Online communities are free platforms where people post their questions, socialize, find content, and explore. Some examples are Reddit, Stack Exchange, Quora, and TripAdvisor. Potential customers go to these sites looking for answers and advice. Communities give contributors access to people interested in topics relevant to your industry. Find the communities that are pertinent to your business. Invest time in building authority and reputation in such communities.
About the author:
Hemant G is a contributing writer at Sparkwebs LLC, a Digital and Content Marketing Agency. When he’s not writing, he loves to travel, scuba dive, and watch documentaries.
