Online sales grew by 44% last year. COVID-19 had a role to play in that growth, but it’s clear that consumers love the convenience of online shopping.
Even if consumers shop in person, they still want to research products and stores before they make a purchase. You can still get more business just by having a solid online presence.
There are plenty of ways to grow your business online, whether you have an ecommerce or brick-and-mortar business.
Do you want to learn the top online marketing strategies to grow your small business? Read on to learn how to grow your business online.
1. Know Your Brand
How well do you know your brand? That doesn’t mean your logo. Your brand is what sets you apart from all of the other businesses online.
It’s the one word that people use to identify with your company. Look at large brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Subaru.
Subaru’s brand means united. The company lives this brand by bringing its dealerships and communities together.
Pepsi is all about coolness and popularity. You can see how that’s reflected in various endorsements since the 80s.
Coca-Cola sells happiness. The warmth of the polar bears at Christmas and Choose Happiness campaigns demonstrate this.
Think about what your company stands for. Then think of ways you can show that online.
2. Go Deep With Your Audience
Online audiences want to be able to relate to your business. You have to give them the experience of working with your company online.
The best way to do that is to understand their needs and challenges on a deep level. Ask yourself what it is that they really want.
It’s probably not your product or service. Your product or service is a means to an end. Take weight loss for example.
People say that they want to lose weight all of the time. Is it that they want to lose weight or do they want to feel confident? They might want to feel healthier.
Once you figure out what your audience is really looking for, you can create content around that. Tell stories about how you overcame similar challenges and achieved what they’re looking for.
That’s how you get people to relate to your business and trust you.
3. Focus on Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of the best marketing strategies you can use right now. People consume hours of video every day.
Video stories on Facebook and Instagram are a great way to engage your audience. You can grab your phone and record short clips and post them quickly.
Service businesses can create DIY homeowners with maintenance and common problems.
4. Don’t Recreate the Wheel
Small business owners get overwhelmed when it comes to social media marketing. That’s because they feel that they have to be on every social network.
That turns into a ton of content that needs to get produced on a daily basis. The good news is that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel for every single post.
You can have one long-form video that’s posted on Facebook or YouTube. Then pull quotes from the video to make quote graphics.
You can also edit the video to create shorter clips. That means you can have two dozen social media posts from one video.
5. Run a Website Audit
Your website is the one thing that determines if a customer does business with you or not. It also determines how your site appears in search engines.
A website audit lets you identify the areas where you need to improve. This helps you grow your business.
Don’t think your website makes that much of a difference? For every second your site takes to load, conversions can drop by 20%.
If your site takes longer than three seconds to load on a mobile device, 53% will abandon it.
If you want to grow your business, you have to improve your site’s performance. Look at a website from the user’s perspective. Learn what search engines look for and make sure that your site is up to par.
6. Leverage Other Audiences
Influencer marketing is a powerful way for small businesses to expand their reach. The reason why it’s so effective is because of trust.
Businesses see a return on investment because the influencer’s audience trusts them. That trust carries over to brand promotions and endorsements.
As a small business, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to hire an influencer. Look for people and brands that share the same audience as you.
Don’t judge the accounts by the number of followers or subscribers. Look for the level of engagement.
Get a clear understanding of what the influencer will do and for how much. They might do only one post or a series of promotional posts.
7. Adjust With Analytics
Small business owners like to throw money at marketing tactics and hope that they get sales. They have no idea what’s working and what’s not.
Without tracking and analytics, you’re throwing things against a wall. Your best bet is to use reporting and measure your marketing.
Figure out what the most important KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are and have software in place to track them.
You can use tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and industry-specific tools.
Creative Ways to Grow Your Business
Online marketing strategies are the best ways to grow your business. That’s because your customers are online before they make a purchase.
Your job is to deliver the right message at the right time to build trust. That leads to a purchase.
The tips presented here show you exactly what you need to do to grow your business. Follow them and you’ll find success.
For more online marketing tips, click on the Marketing tab at the top of the page.
