First of all, congratulations on getting through the website development process. I know there are a lot of details that go into creating a website that both accurately reflects the work you do and attracts visitors that convert into customers.
Your new website is the foundation of your marketing strategy, and everything should lead back to that website. It’s where you’ve put all of the information to help potential customers make an informed decision to hire you or buy your services. You have control of the content and this content can be changed and added to as your business shifts or grows.
How will you get people to that beautiful new website?
If you worked with me to build your new website, I’ve probably directed you here to think about your next marketing steps. If that’s the case, we have built your website with strategies to attract search engines and customer-centric copy to entice them to take action. But, there’s more you can do to get customers to your website and interest them in doing business with you.
Providing fresh content helps search engines AND customers
Your website may be bringing in plenty of customers now, but if you don’t keep your content fresh, search engines will wonder if you’re still in business. And, potential customers may get confused if you have old, irrelevant information on your website.
Depending on your business, your marketing strategy will vary. The more people come to your website, the more search engines take notice. You can manually drive people to your website through social media and marketing emails.
What do these additional marketing activities look like?
Marketing activities will look different for every business. The needs of your customers and your business will vary. You may want to emulate what similar businesses in your industry are doing, or do something out-of-the-box to stand apart. How much you do depends on how much business you would like to receive, how much time you want to spend, and your budget.
Please don’t feel overwhelmed by the need to do a lot right away. Your activities can match your availability or you can hire out for all or just part of these services. Many of my customers started small and then gotten into a routine. They have seen results from even the smallest amount of effort.
Which digital marketing strategies should you use?
Can you relax now that your website is complete? Sure, for awhile! Eventually, you’ll want to engage in marketing activities to keep that website fresh.
According to Google: “Effectively promoting your new content will lead to faster discovery by those who are interested in the same subject, and also by search engines.”
Digital marketing is any type of online activity that supports your business. These are strategies that can bring more credible traffic to your website, but these multi-taskers also can work on their own. Examples of digital marketing include social media, blogging, email marketing, your Google Business Profile, online ads and sponsored search, and adding more content to your website. Let’s talk about how these marketing activities work to bring customers to your website.
Social media
I want to share a story. I work with an amazing subcontractor who schedules my customers’ (and my own!) social media posts. One of her clients posts on social media every day. (Daily works well for her business, but you don’t have to post this often.) At one point, she decided to take a few months off of social posting to rethink her strategy. During this time, the number of leads she received dropped dramatically. What happened when she started posting again? Her leads went right back up to her pre-sabbatical numbers!
I just mentioned scheduling social media posts. This can be a game changer and save you a lot of time. However, when you’re doing this, you’re not actually spending time on social media. It does help to schedule time each week to read and comment on other people’s posts and respond to any comments on your own posts. I also recommend looking around for other people and businesses to follow while you’re there.
Blogging
Blogging can be easier and more effective than you may think. It keeps your business in front of your audience and provides search engines with more reasons to send traffic to your website.
I was surprised to learn how much people actually read blog posts when deciding to make a purchase or work with a company. I’ve also seen first-hand how many more leads my business receives the more I post.
For your blog to be successful, I recommend:
- Creating quality content people want to read. Search engines are getting smarter and they want helpful, reliable, people-first content.
- Researching what your customers want to know and creating a plan.
- Optimizing your blog posts for SEO.
- Distributing your content through social media and email marketing. This can make social media posting a breeze!
Email marketing
You may be tired of cleaning out marketing emails from your inbox, but marketing experts still agree that email marketing is one of the most effective strategies. I recommend keeping your email content valuable to your customers and maintaining a good contact list. For more information on quality email marketing, see my article: Stay on your customers’ minds with email marketing.
Google Business Profile
Our Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is a must for businesses that serve local clientele. It gives Google specific information about what your business does so that it can show you in its map results. I get many leads through my profile each month. It’s free to create and I share how to establish your Google Business Profile here.
New website content
Don’t forget to evaluate your existing website content along the way. Are you getting questions from potential customers that aren’t answered on your website? If you have a sales team, ask them what customers want to know. This information can be used on an FAQ page or multiple blog posts that provide valuable answers to website visitors. An informed customer is more likely to buy!
Have you added a new product or service? Have a case study to share? Received a great testimonial? These can be added to your blog or to the pages of your website. At one point, I expanded on my website with a page for each one of my services, and I have more expansion in the works. When organized well, additional content can attract people with specific needs and tell search engines more about what you do.
Don’t forget “old-fashioned” marketing tactics
Print materials like brochures, print ads, billboards, and flyers are still relevant. Make sure you put that new website address on everything you produce.
Get started
I know many small business owners and small nonprofit execs responsible for their own marketing activities, and I’ve seen first-hand how these activities can become a low priority. If you need help creating a marketing plan or implementing these marketing activities, we can help.
