Business Marketing Strategy - Social Media, Content, Website (SEO), Search Engines (SEM), E-mail, Video, Mobile, Community
There are several ways small businesses can get an edge these days. Marketing strategy is key to getting things done in a productive manner. You want to make sure that what you invest in marketing shows a return in new prospects and the ability to turn those prospects into clients and customers.
Social Media - First, let's talk about social media. At this point there is no way to deny that social media is now the fastest growing connection to clients and customers. More and more businesses are realizing that we are living in an age where you have to be connected to your clients/customers via social media. More than 50% of the population will have a profile on a social network. More and more of our customers and clients are coming to us through digital means. Using social media is a great way to promote your business by engaging with customers and prospective customers to deliver information on your business, provide assistance with problems and questions concerning your products or services, and of course a quick and easy way to make your current sales and promotions known to everyone at once. This gives you a direct line to your clients and customers. Be clear, it is all about engaging your prospects and customers these days as opposed to "selling". Posting on a regular basis to social media sites and updating your blog holds great value to business and even greater value to small business. It also gives a cool new way for the best marketing tool there is to bolster your business (Word of Mouth Marketing). Customers can easily share your information with friends and followers giving you a direct line to new prospects.
Content - What is it that you are trying to engage them with...? Content. Content marketing is what everyone is looking to do. Content marketing is the creating and distributing of relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage your target audience. Consumers are becoming more and more intelligent. They want to be educated on the products and services they receive. If you are a vitamin store, buyers want to be educated on the products you sell and how and why they should use them. If you are a real estate agent, buyers want to know about the neighborhood, the current mortgage rate, and if it is a buyers' market -- while sellers want to know how to calculate the worth of their home and what other homes in the area are going for. If you are a day care, parents want to know the best way to potty train their child, what foods help promote growth and nutrition in young children, and why Johnny keeps sticking things up his nose. My point is, this is information that your business should have and consumers want to know and want to know that you know. It goes to credibility. If you are a reputable and credible business then you should be engaging your customers and prospects with content that is meaningful, educational, and interesting.
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Braden Pilling
Canada