No matter what your goals are for the year ahead, here is a list of marketing essentials to help achieve your goals. If you are serious about being in business this year then you will be able to tick off at least 4 out of 5 of the below essential marketing strategies. If you have any questions about any of the information below please don’t hesitate to contact us or book in a marketing call with Teresa here.
Website
Starting with the platform that best represents your business and sits at the heart of all your marketing – your website. So first things first, make sure your website gives the best impression to your prospective customers. The content needs to be current and up to date with each one of your main services on a seperate page – for optimum SEO. The design and overall feel of your website needs to be engaging and aligned with your ideal customers. Google is placing user experience above all else which means every piece of your content needs to be intentional and purposeful. Do you know if your website is viewed mostly on mobile devices? If it is, does your website display well on mobile? Is your website personable? People want to do business with people, not businesses, make sure you have photos of the team or better yet videos! If you provide a visual product or service it is critical that you show a portfolio of your projects on your website – and lastly check to make sure you have very clear and easy to find call to actions.
Google My Business
This free platform is still such a hugely under-rated marketing tool! Make sure your page is claimed and all details are correct. Add your categories, products/services and add to your marketing strategy that your Google My Business page needs regular love and attention. This is done by way of adding a a post on a regular basis (weekly at least) and adding new photos. Make sure you are sending out the review link for your customers to rave about you and then be sure to reply to their review. Your efforts will be re-payed with improved SEO and if done well you could rank in the top three-pack on page 1 of Google – all for free!
Social Media
Whether you love or hate it social media has become a reliable platform to successfully market small businesses across the world and in NZ. Have a good look at who your ideal market is and then look at which platform will provide you the right audience to market your business to. If you are B2B then LinkedIn needs to be your platform of choice. You don’t have to do them all and don’t get overwhelmed, my advice would be to chose one or two platforms and do those well, rather than spreading yourself thin and doing a poor job of them all. It is a long game so expecting overnight results isn’t realistic, you will need to commit to the cause and ensure you are posting at least 3-4 times per week. Don’t forget to add links to your website to your posts.
Email Newsletters
If you have a database of existing clients it is critical that you keep in touch with them. These clients already know, like and trust you, they’ve already purchased from you and they have so much more that they can give you. If you’re products and services don’t allow for repeat sales or up-sells then think about what other value you can give them. Or better yet what other value can they give you? Can they become raving fans and refer their family and friends to you? Can you send them links to your Google and Facebook pages to give you great reviews? Or could they possibly give you some feedback on how they found your process? Nurturing your database can be an absolute gold mine if done right and email newsletters are a great way of getting traffic back to your website.
Google Ads
If your business operates in a competitive industry (which is most of us) then you’ll want to consider a Google Ads campaign. Showing up on page 1 of Google is no easy feat, and while it can be achieved with your website and Google My Business page, if you’re only getting started with you online presence than this goal will be out of reach. Google Ads however will not only get you on page 1, but on the very top of page 1. You must have a good website to get the most from a Google Ads campaign otherwise you could well be sending money down the drain each time your ad is clicked on.
Of course there are many more facets to the online marketing world and the key is to not get overwhelmed with it all. Get the basics right first and then move out from there. We can help you with any of the above so please get in touch if you would like to discuss your marketing strategy and make sure that 2021 is a rockstar year in business!
