10 Tips for small business digital marketing for 2016
Fri 04 Sep 2015
By John Nayler
Having worked in Internet related business and marketing since the Internet began, I have watched the Internet grow into a fully matured marketing environment. Today, innovative practises offer short term burst of success or "viral" activity, while tried and true methods keep a business on the steady road to growth. Long gone are the days when you could kick a gold nugget by designing a web site using MS Word, export it to the web as HTML and have the phone start ringing
with orders from Dubai.
Today, Internet users have a world of choices when seeking products and services and a multitude of ways to seek them out.
Compare then to now:
| Presence | Traffic Source | |
| Until 2005 | Web site | Listing on Yahoo |
| Now: | Web site | Google organic search results |
| Facebook page | Google Awords | |
| Google place | Youtube search result | |
| Listings in online directories | Facebook social media | |
| Twitter account | Facebook paid ads | |
| Youtube video | Tweets | |
| Online directory searches | ||
| Affiliate marketing | ||
| Email database and newsletters | ||
| Incentives, coupons and lead generation |
I watch on as medium and large business struggle to manage strategy through to tactical effort in this ever expanding world of complex technology bracketed under "Digital Marketing". For small business it is simply impossible.
Here are 10 tips for small business for digital marketing on 2016:
Build a decent web site, cheaply - Wordpress is the flavour of the day, but in reality any well designed, easy to navigate and shop web site will do. Don't over spend and keep the extra for marketing.
Get a Facebook page - Have a Facebook page for credibility's sake, let people like it, but lock it down so people can't vent on it. Typically, you don't need to post any more often than once a week.
Don't worry about a mobile site - Lots of web development companies are up-selling business to have a mobile web site. If your budget is limited, cross mobile site off the list - you don't need it. People coming to your web site on their smart phone can pinch zoom all they want, as long as your web site is mobile friendly it will be fine.
Search Engine Optimise for product and locality - The most effective SEO that I have done has linked a trade service to every suburb in Brisbane. Its has taken some years to get into place, but it is now top 3 for each targeted search and the business gets more calls then he can handle.
Use Google Adwords for highly selective traffic - People wade into Google Adwords and follow the prompts only to find that they are spending $20 per day on poorly chosen ads and searches. The most effective results come from being the sniper with $5 per day.
Put an ad on Gumtree - Its incredible the number of people trolling Gumtree.com.au (in Australia ) and prone to acting impulsively. If you have a discount / introduction product or service that can be offered through Gumtree, then be sure to list something and get the phone ringing.
For the rest of the tips and a free consultation contact me via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/john.nayler. Optionally, call or message +61 407 15 13 11.
John Nayler is a career Internet Marketing Consultant. Working with a select clientele, John has a track record for quality results, original marketing methods and high levels of customer service.
