There’s never been an easier time to be an entrepreneur. Given just how many tools and resources are available for startups and small businesses today, it’s not hard to see why. With marketing being so essential to the success of a business, it’s important for entrepreneurs to have a good grasp of techniques available to them. Here are five digital marketing techniques that every entrepreneur should know about.
Visual Content Marketing
The digital age is ruled by visual media. Research shows that consumers are more likely to respond and engage with visual content compared with text-only content. Thus, small business owners should ensure that they’re making the most out of their posts.
In our article ‘The Technology of the Visual Content Marketing, we outlined a few basic rules to effective visual content marketing. These rules include beginning with engaging content, ensuring that your content is of value, and posting consistently. Entrepreneurs can start out slowly with simple graphics or infographics, and then eventually branch out into video or interactive media.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the backbones of digital marketing today, making it an essential part of any marketing campaign. Nearly every company today offers a newsletter or subscription to interested customers. Standing out from the crowd is easier said than done, however.
You need to consider the content of your emails carefully if you’re aiming for better results. Triadex Services suggests looking at customer segmentation and creating specific material for targeted groups. Approaches like these, which are more personalized and thus more impactful, can be a great way to increase effectiveness on email campaigns.
SEO Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has quickly become a foundational aspect of marketing. With over 500 million companies in the world and many of them online, it can be difficult trying to get your brand on the first page of search engine results. SEO is key to making sure customers who are looking for your products and services are able to find them.
Although SEO is essential in modern marketing, it can be difficult to figure out for small business owners. Shawn Byrne writing for Business.com outlined a few tips for entrepreneurs starting out with SEO. These tips include helpful descriptions of terms like on-page and off-page optimization, white hat and black hat SEO, and options for different kinds of content. Effective SEO can often spell the difference between success and failure for a business, making it well worth the time and investment.
Voice Search
With advancements in technology come new marketing techniques, and voice search is definitely one of them. Studies show that more and more consumers are interested in hands-free technology. Voice search is a technique that offers consumers convenience and speed. It’s likely that it’s going to grow in popularity within the next few years.
What can small business owners do to anticipate this? The answer is simple: start optimizing for voice search now. Search Engine Journal has prepared a helpful guide on the evolution of voice search and what companies can do to prepare for increased voice search usage. The key to this is understanding customer behavior, focusing on conversational keywords, and building FAQ pages.
AI Chatbots
A huge part of effective marketing can be found in customer relations management. Creating positive relationships with your customers increases the chances of them making repeat purchases and recommending your products and services to friends. Big companies invest a lot into customer relations, with dedicated departments and strategists to manage it all.
For entrepreneurs, however, spending time on customer relations issues can take out a huge chunk of the workday. This problem can be solved through chatbot technology. In this article for Entrepreneur, serial entrepreneur and business advisor Murray Newlands outlines the basics behinds chatbots and how entrepreneurs can make use of them. AI chatbots are a great way to address basic customer concerns through automated responses, freeing up more time for focusing on other aspects of your business.
