After hearing what I do, it’s only a matter of time before a certain question gets asked by a small business owner.
“What should I be focusing on the most when it comes to my marketing?”
As much as I want to keep things simple, there really is no right answer to that question. A great marketing strategy entails many different elements, with the major ones being social media, SEO and websites. Advertising, a PR strategy and blogging are also crucial.
Like me, you probably have a limited budget to spend on marketing your business. As a result, you’re pressured to make decisions about where your money will be best spent.
Although each business is unique, there are more effective ways to spend your marketing budget than others. Here’s where I think you should focus your marketing strategy – and more importantly, why.
Marketing Strategy #1: Website
You need a certain product or service, but don’t know where to get it. How do you complete that research?
If you’re like the majority of shoppers, the internet is your go-to source for information. With 93 percent of online experiences starting with a search engine, it’s vital that your business has a chance of showing up on page one.
Having a website helps make that happen. If your website’s content meets the needs of a search engine user’s query, your business has a chance of appearing in search results.
But a website does more than generate new traffic from search engine result pages. It also helps form a positive perception of your business. Of course, that’s only possible if it’s a well-designed website that features great copywriting!
Marketing Strategy #2: SEO and Blogging
Okay, I admit. I cheated a little bit by choosing SEO and blogging as the second most popular marketing strategy aspect.
Having a website is not enough when it comes to showing up on search engine result pages. A website needs to be properly optimized to improve its visibility to search engines.
To help get found by Google, drive traffic and generate leads, an effective SEO strategy needs to be implemented. This strategy should include both on-page and off-page SEO.
On-page SEO includes everything from a well-integrated user experience (UX) to proper keywords, meta descriptions and image ALT tags. This is also where the importance of blogging comes into play. Google favours websites that constantly churn out fresh, engaging content but readers do not like confusing, difficult to navigate sites. Having one page on your website devoted to publishing new blog articles fulfils this Google preference, without turning off potential leads.
Blogging also provides a great opportunity to build trust with your audience and develop authority in your industry.
Off-page SEO, which includes fostering valuable backlinks to credible sites, is viewed highly by Google. Popular ways to increase your off-page SEO include sharing your website content on social media sites and acting as a guest blog writer on an influential blogger’s site.
Marketing Strategy #3: Social Media
Each month, more than three billion people globally use social media. To capitalize on that traffic, your business needs an effective social media strategy.
Social media platforms are wide and varied, with popular ones being Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. The social media scene is constantly changing, too – witnessed most recently by the introduction of video-sharing social networking service TikTok.
Knowing which social media platforms your business should be on depends on your industry, your target audience and your overall business goals. Create a social media strategy to help answer these questions and keep your social game strong.
Link your social media to an effective SEO website and you’ll soon be on your way to increasing your business’s sales!
Conclusion
I completely understand that you have a limited marketing budget and want to get the best value for your dollar. That’s why I offer all of the services mentioned above – at affordable prices.
To learn more about my website and copywriting services that help businesses in Toronto and the surrounding areas, contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.