Should, should, should. We need to quit shoulding on ourselves.
Small business owners face an overwhelming number of things they should be doing.
Rather than heap guilt on you about the million things you aren’t doing, let’s pick a couple of things that will move you forward in your local digital marketing.
So, here are some digital marketing tactics to consider doing in the coming year as a local business:
Update Your Google My Business Page
Make sure all your information is correct on your Google my Business page. This is super important and easy to change if you have access to your Google My Business page.
The next thing to do is to add photos and start doing posts every so often. It is also good to get reviews on your Google My Business page, and we’ll look at that in a second.
Refresh the Content on Your Website
Be more concise with your website content. Clarify the content of your most profitable and popular services. Most likely you haven’t done this for a while and there is probably some info that would be helpful for your potential clients to know.
On the flip side, take out the less profitable services you don’t want to do any longer. By taking these services out, you will give greater attention to the more important services.
Start Sending Out a Regular Email Newsletter
Even if it’s just something very simple, start sending out an email newsletter at least once a month. I like using a service called MailChimp. It’s a free service if you have less than 2,000 contacts and send out less than 5,000 emails per month.
For me, I’ve recently started sending out an email newsletter every week. And I narrowed down my audient to local service professional companies. I’ve reduced the number of people on my list and made it clear in the email they should unsubscribe if they aren’t interested in my info.
My point is, I’m started to be more consistent in my email newsletter and am not afraid to narrow my focus so the people who are really interested in my work are getting my info.
Start Writing a Blog
If you aren’t a writer, hire someone to write a blog at least once a month. And then start sending it out through your email newsletter and social media.
Get a great main image to go with your blog post. I like using Unsplash. They have some beautiful pictures and are free to use. Just make sure you give credit to the photographer.
Start Getting Local Citations for Your Website
Here is a definition of citations from Moz:
“A local citation is any online mention of the name, address, and phone number for a local business. Citations can occur on local business directories, on websites and apps, and on social platforms. Citations help Internet users to discover local businesses and can also impact local search engine rankings. Local businesses can actively manage many citations to ensure data accuracy.”
So, you can see why they are so important for local businesses. There are a couple of ways to find citations.
One, do a Google search for places to find local citations. Here’s one I found.
Two, use a citation building and auditing service. Some that I’ve looked at or used are BrightLocal, Synup, and Whitespark.
Become More Active on Social Media
Pick the right social media to be active. There’s nothing worse than spreading yourself too thin and spending a lot of time in a place where your customers aren’t hanging out.
Do content curation by sharing articles your customers would find helpful. Also, you can share projects that you’ve done and events you’re a part of.
Ask for reviews and testimonials
Ask as many current and past customers as you can do to a review of your company. This will help with your ranking. Read this article I wrote about getting customer reviews on Google. Also, ask for written testimonials you can put on your site. It’s even better if you can get a video testimonial.
Refresh the Design of Your Website
This can be a big thing or just some minor adjustments, depending on the quality of your current site. Add new, relevant pictures to your site. Also, make sure it’s fast and mobile-friendly.
Set up Google Analytics and Search Console
These two services help to figure out what’s going on with your site and clean up technical issues you might not have known existed. Both of them are free to use but they take a bit of setup.
Get a Secure Website
Google is placing higher priority these days on having a secure website. This is where your site begins with HTTPS, rather than HTTP. If you don’t know whether your site is secure, talk with your web designer.
Review Your Marketing Plan
Talk with a business coach or digital marketing agency about where you want to go with your business to get more leads and sales.
There are plenty of other things to look at, but this is a good start. I’d suggest starting with just one or two of these and then move onto the next priority.
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Photo credit: Edewaa Foster
