Proven Online Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses

Marketing your business online is the new normal. Whether you’re a big player in this space or just starting out, there are countless opportunities for growth and visibility that can be found through marketing channels like social media networks – which will help build relationships with potential customers right when they need it most!

In today’s blog post we’ll cover a proven strategy on how to avoid burning through cash while still generating quality leads without breaking any bank accounts; so make sure not miss reading this blog post completely and take action. Let’s get started

Create Visibility for your Business

When you’re first starting out, it can be tough to get noticed online. There are millions of businesses competing for attention, and it’s not always easy to stand out from the crowd. But there are some things you can do to improve your visibility and get your business in front of more people.

Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

One of the best ways to improve your online visibility is to use SEO. SEO is the process of optimizing your website for Google search with the goal of ranking higher in the search results. When people search for keywords related to your business, you want your website to appear as close to the top of the results as possible.

There are a number of ways to improve your SEO, but some of the most important include developing quality content, optimizing your website titles and meta descriptions, and building backlinks.

Use Social Media

Another great way to create online visibility for your business is to use social media. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer a great way to reach new audiences and connect with potential customers.

Make sure you’re posting high-quality content that aligns with your brand voice and messaging, and be sure to post regularly, so you can keep your audience engaged. You can also use paid social media advertising to reach even more people with your message.

Get Involved in Relevant Online Communities

In addition to using social media, another great way to create online visibility for your business is to get involved in relevant online communities. There are likely a number of groups and forums related to your industry that you can join.

Do a small research on platforms like Facebook, Quora to find out relevant communities.

These are great places to connect with potential customers, answer questions, and provide valuable insights into your area of expertise. When you participate in these communities, make sure you’re adding value and not just promoting your own business—no one likes a spammer!

Develop Partnerships with Other Businesses

Finally, a great way to create online visibility for your business is by developing partnerships with other businesses in your industry or complementary industries.

These partnerships can take a number of different forms, but some examples include co-hosting webinars or events, guest blogging on each other’s websites, creating joint marketing campaigns, or offering discounts to customers of other businesses who complement yours.

These partnerships can help you reach new audiences and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

Build Engagement & Relationship with your Potential Customers

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, then you know that social media is a powerful tool that can help you reach new potential customers. But what’s the best way to use social media to build engagement and relationships with your potential customers?

Here are three ideas:

Publish Valuable Posts

One of the best ways to use social media to build relationships with your potential customers is by publishing valuable content that they will find helpful.

This could be in the form of blog posts, infographics, or even just helpful tips and advice in video or infographic formats. Whatever you choose to publish, make sure it’s something that your potential customers will find useful.

Check out the Facebook page of Groww where they publish micro educational videos on a regular basis. Value addition like this helps to build trust & customers with minimal efforts.

Be Active on Quora

Quora is a great platform for building relationships with potential customers because it allows you to show off your expertise on a particular topic.

Answer questions related to your industry, and provide helpful information that can help solve people’s problems. By being active on Quora, you’ll be able to build trust and credibility with your potential customers.

Engage with your Audience on Facebook & Instagram

Another great way to use social media to build relationships with potential customers is by engaging with them on Facebook. This could be in the form of live Q&As, theme-specific & customer-centric memes, quiz, or even private messages via messenger chatbots.

Whatever you do, make sure you’re interacting with your audience and providing value.

Drive traffic to your website or opt-in page to build an email list

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

Email list building is essential for any business that wants to promote itself online. A strong email list full of engaged subscribers is one of the best ways to reach your target audience and generate revenue & profit.

One of the best ways to grow an email list is to use a single opt-in page with a lead magnet and promote that page through social media, Quora, and other online platforms.

Use the URL of the opt-in page everywhere, including Facebook, Instagram bio, Quora, and on your business WhatsApp. This will help you drive traffic to your page while you do visibility and engagement building activities for your brand as discussed in previous sections.

Tip: You can also use Facebook ads to drive traffic to your opt-in page & build an email list by providing a valuable lead magnet.

What is a Lead Magnet?

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

A lead magnet is a piece of content or an offer that is designed to entice people to sign up for your email list. It can be anything from a free PDF guide to an exclusive discount code.

The key is to make sure that your lead magnet is something that your target audience will find valuable. With that in mind, here are four types of lead magnets that are sure to help you build your email list.

4 Types of Lead Magnets That Will Help You Build Your Email List

1. E-books and PDF Guides

One of the most popular types of lead magnets is an e-book or PDF guide. This type of lead magnet is ideal for businesses in the B2B space or those with complex products or services. That’s because an e-book or PDF guide can be used to provide in-depth information about your business, product, or service.

If you have expertise in a particular area, an e-book or PDF guide is also a great way to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

2. Cheat Sheets and Checklists

Cheat sheets and checklists are another great option for businesses looking to build their email lists. These types of lead magnets are typically shorter and easier to digest than e-books and PDF guides. They’re also ideal for busy entrepreneurs who don’t have a lot of time to read lengthy pieces of content.

Cheat sheets and checklists can be used to provide quick and easy tips, tricks, or advice on a particular topic. For example, if you’re a web designer, you could create a cheat sheet with your top 10 tips for designing an effective website.

3. Exclusive Discounts and Coupons

People love getting discounts and coupons, which makes them an ideal lead magnet for businesses in the B2C space. If you’re looking to entice people to sign up for your email list, try offering them an exclusive discount or coupon code that they can use on their next purchase.

You could also offer access to exclusive sales or promotions not available to non-subscribers. This type of lead magnet is especially effective if you run an online store or eCommerce business.

4. Free Trials and Samples

Another great option for businesses in the B2C space is offering free trials or samples of their products or services. This type of lead magnet allows prospective customers to experience what your business has to offer before making a commitment.

It’s also an excellent way to upsell existing customers on higher-priced items by giving them a taste of what they could be missing out on. For example, if you sell luxury skincare products, you could offer potential customers sample size versions of your top-selling items.

This is the kind of lead magnet we are offering to build our email list at 99designstore. We offer a set of Free Canva templates related to important international days, not just once, but every month to our subscribers.

You can also visit our opt-in page to subscribe & receive attractive Canva templates for absolutely free.

Nurture the Leads using a Sequence of Messages

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

The best way to nurture your leads is with a sequence of emails. These emails should provide additional value and education about your product or service.

They should also include a call-to-action so that the recipient knows what the next step is. For example, you could include a coupon code for 10% off their first purchase.

If you collected phone numbers when you acquired the lead, you can also nurture the relationship via WhatsApp. WhatsApp has high open rates, so this is an effective way to reach your potential customers.

Just like with email, your WhatsApp messages should provide value and education while also including a call-to-action. For example, you could include a link to your online store or a landing page where they can learn more about your product or service.

You can also use retargeting ads to nurture your leads. These ads should be tailored to each individual lead based on their interests and needs. For example, if you know that a particular lead is interested in your product but hasn’t made a purchase yet, you could create an ad specifically for them that offers a discount on their first purchase.

The main goal of your lead nurturing strategy should be to build relationships with your leads and move them further down the sales funnel. By providing value and education, you’ll be able to establish trust and credibility with your leads.

And by including a call-to-action in each of your messages, you’ll be able to guide them towards becoming paying customers.

Pitch your Product or Service

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

Once you’ve built a relationship with your lead and established trust and credibility, it’s time to start pitching your product or service.

You should only do this once you’re confident that they are interested in what you have to offer and that they are ready to make a purchase. Otherwise, you risk coming across as pushy or sales-y, which will damage your relationship with the lead.

When pitching your product or service, be sure to keep the following things in mind:

  • Only pitch products or services that are relevant to the lead. If you try to sell them something that’s not a good fit, they’ll be able to see right through it.
  • Be clear about what your product or service is and how it can help the lead. Don’t use too much industry jargon or make things too complicated.
  • Be transparent about pricing. Don’t try to hide the price or trick the lead into thinking your product is cheaper than it actually is.
  • Include a call-to-action so that the lead knows what to do next.

If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to pitch your product or service in a way that’s both relevant and helpful to the lead. And by including a call-to-action, you’ll be able to guide them towards becoming a paying customer.

And if you feel your products are not affordable to your leads, prepare and pitch a tripwire offer through which your leads can get a sense of value they get through your main offer (product).

For example, if you are offering a yearly membership which is priced at ₹14,999, give a 7-day trial as a tripwire for may be ₹199 or ₹299 which helps your potential customers to explore & realize the value of the membership.

Upsell your Products

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

After you’ve made a sale, it’s important to upsell your products. Upselling is the process of selling additional products or services to an existing customer.

By upselling your products, you’ll be able to increase your average order value and generate more revenue for your business.

There are a few steps you can take to successfully upsell your products.

You need to identify what additional products or services your customer might need or want. To do this, you can look at their purchase history or ask them directly.

Once you’ve identified some potential upsells, you need to pitch them to your customer in a way that’s relevant and helpful. For example, if they’ve just purchased a product from your online store, you could include an upsell offer for a related product.

It’s also important to make sure that your upsell offers are reasonably priced. If they’re too expensive, your customers will be less likely to take advantage of them. But if they’re priced just right, you’ll be able to increase your average order value and generate more revenue for your business.

It is also important that you need to have a solid follow-up strategy in place. Once you’ve made an upsell offer, you need to follow up with your customer to make sure they’re happy with their purchase. If they’re not, you could offer them a discount or a free trial of your product.

Cross-sell Complementary Products

In addition to upselling your products, you should also cross-sell complementary products. Cross-selling is the process of selling additional products that complement the product the customer has already purchased.

For example, if someone buys a pair of shoes from your online store, you could cross-sell them a pair of socks. Or if they buy a laptop, you could cross-sell them a computer case.

The key to successfully cross-selling your products is to make sure that the products you’re selling are actually complementary. If they’re not, your customer is likely to be turned off by the offer and may not purchase anything from you.

Create a Referral System

Online Marketing Strategy for Small Business

A referral system is a great way to market your small business online. A referral system is when you give your customers a discount or some other incentive for referring new customers to your business.

For example, you could give your customers a 10% discount off their next purchase for every new customer they refer to your business. Or you could give them a free month of your service for every new customer they refer.

Referral systems are a great way to generate word-of-mouth marketing for your business. And the best part is, they’re relatively easy to set up and maintain.

All you need to do is create a simple online form where your customers can submit their referrals. And if you have an online store, you can set up a referral system using readily available plugins.

Conclusion

It’s no secret that small businesses need to do more with less. And one of the most efficient ways to get the word out there about your business is through social media marketing. Not only will you gain visibility, but you’ll also build relationships and drive traffic back to your website or opt-in page, so you can start building an email list.

Once you have leads, it’s important to nurture them using a sequence of messages until they’re ready to buy from you.

Then, pitch your product or service in the most convincing way possible. Then upsell them on a complementary product or cross-sell a related item. And finally, create a referral system, so your customers can help spread the word about how great your business is!

Don’t miss exploring our store where we offer a wide range of DFY social media graphics that can help you save time, efforts & money along with increasing engagement on social media platforms. Take a look around and find something that fits your brand’s personality!

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