How To Manage Digital Marketing At Your Small Business

Running a small business can be a challenge when you specialize in a specific area like sales or manufacturing. Digital marketing could be a foreign concept to you and it is a constantly changing industry in terms of best practices so taking it on in-house can be tough. Staffing an entire marketing team without the guarantee that they will provide a decent ROI on marketing spend can be disheartening. Agencies are usually the best option as they have connections with relevant online publications to help get the ball rolling on your campaign. The following are tips to help manage digital marketing at your small business. 

Ask For Previous Results Before Hiring an Agency 

Hiring a digital marketing agency should only be done if they have case studies of clients they have helped in the past. Agencies that do an amazing job like to create content using this as an example in sales materials. Being able to show that results have been garnered for a specific type of business can provide comfort that the agency knows what they are doing. 

Understand What Tactics Work For Your Business 

The comprehension of what tactics work for your type of business can allow you to target specific services. PPC services might be perfect for your business or simply might not convert like you want them to. Top PPC professionals and agencies tend to get results for any niche of business due to years of experience. Getting a consultation from a freelance marketing professional could be wise before you start searching for services. There are a number of professionals that freelance that have previously worked at large marketing agencies. 

Make Sure Content Aligns With Your Brand’s Voice

Content needs to align with your brand’s voice or values. A no-pressure sales approach followed by a marketing campaign that is pushy is a perfect way to alienate the current customer base. Content should also be top quality as generic content is a waste of time and money. There might be a small number of results if keywords are correctly incorporated into the piece but it will not generate any organic traffic. 

Reports Should Be Given In Simple Terms 

Multiple spreadsheets with abbreviations that you are unsure of are not the type of reports you want. You want simple reports like whether organic traffic went up or search engine rankings increased. Of course, online sales for an eCommerce website would be a perfect indication. The number of sales questionnaires or products put in a cart are other KPIs that make a difference. Traffic that has increased by thousands without more conversions is paid traffic that is worthless if no sales are generated. Being happy with a marketing agency means that fewer questions can be asked especially if sales continue to increase. The next question is how much more money do you put into marketing monthly? 

Digital marketing can drive a small business to new heights. Ranking higher on search engines can completely change the trajectory of a business with a few large deals landed. 

Chris Turn
 

Chris has experience covering the latest trends in the small business world, and has a reputation for being a knowledgeable, creative and strategic blogger. He has a deep understanding of marketing and branding principles and how they can be applied to small businesses, and is able to provide actionable advice and strategies for success. Chris has interviewed industry experts and covered major marketing events such as the SXSW Interactive conference and the Advertising Week conference. He is also a successful small business owner himself, which allows him to bring a unique perspective to his blogging and writing. His blog is known for providing valuable insights and tips on how to effectively market and brand a small business.