Got a small business? Do you have your website? Great! That’s the first step in acquiring clients online.
But that doesn’t end there. You still need to market your goods online.
Diving into digital marketing can often feel like entering a costly affair. Between the costs of tools and hiring experts, the price tag can skyrocket faster than Usain Bolt.
But what if you could harness the power of digital marketing without the expenses by doing it yourself? Intrigued? Keep reading!
Table of Contents
But first, know thy audience
Ever heard of the marketing advice, “Everyone is not your customer?”
Powerful statement, right? If you’re marketing to everyone, then you’re marketing to no one. The first step in tailoring your marketing strategies is understanding who your audience is.
This process involves creating customer personas for each major group you intend to reach. It is a semi-fictional character card. It represents a significant segment of your audience, backed by market research and real data from your existing customers.
Here’s a sample I made for free, using Canva:
When you’re done creating your customer personas, you are ready to tailor your marketing messages.
Social media marketing
Did you know that 63% of the world’s population uses at least one type of social media? That translates to around 5.22 billion people! And if you’re not engaging in social media, you’re potentially missing out on reaching a vast audience.
Go where they gather
Here’s the catch: it doesn’t mean your business should be present on all social media platforms.
Review your customer persona cards to determine where your target audience spends most of their time. The key is focusing on one or two. For instance, if your target audience is mostly younger individuals, Instagram and TikTok are likely your options. If your focus is on businesspeople, then LinkedIn could be your BFF.
Follow a non-selfish content-sharing rule
Once you’ve pinpointed the appropriate platforms, shift your focus to fostering organic growth and engagement. This involves creating high-quality, relevant content tailored to the needs and interests of your target audience and engaging with them regularly.
One good strategy is to apply the 5:3:2 rule for content sharing. For every 10 posts, five should be content from others that is relevant to your audience, three should be content from you that is relevant but not a direct sales pitch, and two should be personal, fun insights to humanize your business.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and keep a clearly defined audience.
This approach is much less in-your-face than direct advertising. Instead of selling directly, the aim is to educate and engage potential customers, providing them with information that addresses their needs or solves their problems.
Develop valuable content
The cornerstone of content marketing is being useful.
Go back to your customer persona. What do you think are their problems and their desires? If you can relate your product as a solution to these pain points, then you have a powerful message you can transform into content.
Here are some of the basic types of content you can take advantage of with zero budget:
- Blog posts: Answer common questions, teach how to do things, or explain how stuff happens.
- Videos: Demonstrate how to use products or how to move towards their desires.
- Infographics: Break down complex data into digestible visuals.
- Podcasts: These are audio programs that talk about topics of interest to your audience. Great for busy people who multitask.
- Research Reports: These provide detailed insights and analyses based on original research or aggregated data.
The goal is to offer content that is not only interesting but also useful to your audience.
Be consistent
Consistency in publishing content helps establish your brand as a reliable and authoritative source of information. Consistency also multiplies your chances of getting found.
Choose the right kind of consistency, though. Be consistent with the quality of your content. Quality should never be compromised for quantity. High-quality content enhances your credibility and encourages viewers to come back for more, building trust over time.
Repurpose old content
I know. Creating smart, creative, and useful content is hard, so if you have winning content, you should expose it to different kinds of audiences by repurposing it.
Repurposing content involves reformatting or reusing your existing content to extend its life and reach new audiences without significant additional resources and republishing the same in different platforms or different formats.
For example, you have a blog post that had a lot of engagement. You can take bits and pieces from it to create social media posts or take the same content and rewrite it into a how-to video or a point of discussion in a podcast.
This approach not only saves time and effort but also keeps your content fresh without wasting too much energy on ideation.
Use SEO to your advantage
Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing your website’s visibility in search engines like Google. By optimizing your site, you can attract more visitors without the need for paid advertising.
Knowing how to perform basic SEO is crucial if you want free traffic. Here’s a quick rundown.
Know basic keyword research
A successful SEO strategy relies on effective keyword research. Identifying the right keywords (terms your potential customers are searching for) allows you to tailor your content to meet their needs.
Optimize your page content
Each individual page intended to capture traffic from search engines should be optimized. It is easy if you already know your target keyword. Sprinkle your keyword and its variations in these key places:
- Title tag
- URL
- Introduction
- Once in one of the headings (H1, H2, etc.)
- At least once at the page content
Remember to maintain the readability and natural flow of your content. Avoid outdated SEO practices like over-focusing on keyword density or forcing a specific word count. Modern search engines can understand synonyms, context, and content quality.
Build backlinks
Backlinks, links from other websites to yours, are crucial for SEO. They’re like little votes of confidence that signal your content is valuable and useful to search engines. This can boost your site’s ranking in search results.
Focus on acquiring backlinks from reputable sites within your industry—the best kind. The quality of backlinks can often matter more than quantity.
Optimize conversions on your free traffic
Improving the effectiveness of your landing and product pages can significantly boost your business goals by converting more of your existing traffic.
Here are some straightforward strategies to enhance these critical pages:
Use clear call-to-actions
Your CTAs should be prominent and compelling. Use action-driven language like “Get Started” or “Shop Now” to clearly guide visitors through the steps they should take next.
Show social proof
Integrating customer testimonials, reviews, or case studies on your pages can greatly enhance trust and credibility. These elements reassure potential customers by showing that others have had positive experiences with you.
Use copy that speaks to your audience
Tailor your page content to meet the needs and solve the problems of your visitors. Crafting messages that resonate with your audience can significantly affect how they perceive the value of what you’re offering.
Use images wisely
The visuals on your landing and product pages should support your messaging and help illustrate the benefits of your offering. Opt for images like product screenshots, workflow diagrams, or photos of satisfied customers that align with and enhance your textual content.
Videos? Scratch those. They steal conversions. (We tested.)
Leverage free tools
Free tools are a gift from the digital marketing gods, especially for small businesses with limited budgets. Here’s some you can use for your CRO:
- Google Analytics: This powerful tool provides insights into how users interact with your website.
- Google Optimize: Google Optimize integrates with Google Analytics and allows you to run A/B tests on your website.
- Hotjar: While not entirely free, Hotjar offers a free version that includes heatmaps, session recordings, and basic polls.
- PageSpeed Insights: This Google tool evaluates the speed of your pages and offers suggestions for improvement.
If these are all too confusing to you, you can get an eCommerce conversion agency to help out in research, planning, testing, and interpreting.
Parting Words
Your small business website’s success online doesn’t lie in the size of your budget but in the creativity, consistency, and dedication you bring to the table. Start small, think big, and scale fast. Your customers are online—go get them!
