Great Online Presence Tools for SMEs and Startups

Can you think of any large and successful business not being present online? Every company that wants to develop has a website and is present on many different social media channels. 

Even if they tried avoiding it, it would be impossible. Reviews of different products are everywhere and digital marketing can help navigate the online presence. Moreover, everything about their business has become digital, and that is not a coincidence. 

Work from home has become popular for many reasons, especially since it enables companies to hire people from all around the world. Now, a web design agency from Miami can hire a web designer from New York without having to worry about paying for his travel expenses and such.

For all those reasons, every SME and startup must invest in digital marketing in order to keep up with the trends. 

All about digital marketing and why it’s important.

Digital marketing is a type of marketing that involves the use of electronic devices. While companies use different forms of marketing, there is something that makes digital marketing special – personalization.

Email campaigns and social media campaigns especially, if done properly, can help you build a trusting relationship with the users which then leads to loyalty. 

Now, let us just name a few reasons to invest in digital marketing:

You’ll save some money. Many studies have confirmed that retaining an existing customer is cheaper than acquiring a new one. Since digital marketing enables you to build a better relationship with your customers, they will be more likely to do business with you over and over again. 

Better business visibility. Everyone relies on internet research nowadays when it comes to trying something they haven’t tried before. If you want a haircut at the new hair salon, you’ll most likely search the hair salon on Facebook and Instagram to see the photos, then you’ll search for reviews and, at last, their contact info. 

Knowing your customers’ needs. Since social media allows you to interact with your customers and lets them express their opinions, it’ll be easier to know what the customers like. After all, their opinion is the one that matters, right?

Now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you to invest in digital marketing, let me tell you all about the tools that can help you navigate it the easiest way possible.

Build a website on your own.

Having a website nowadays is extremely important. Your website proves to the users that your business is legitimate. Aside from that, you can use it to advertise, by conducting a pay-per-click campaign, for example. 

We understand that sometimes it’s not possible to hire someone to design a website right away. You don’t need to sweat it, though. You don’t necessarily have to be an expert to create a simple website if you get the right help. 

There are many options available on the market, such as SquareSpace. You can pick the layout that you like, add different elements such as text, photos, videos, products, newsletter sign-ups, menus, forms, social links, etc. 

It’s worth mentioning that you should design a site that converts. Many different elements can come into play, such as the subscription form. For instance, put the Subscribe button in the right place. Make it easy for your users to subscribe and use the right color combination to attract them. 

Don’t forget to make your website responsive for devices like tablets and mobile phones. According to Statista’s research, nearly half of the respondents stated that on average they spent five to six hours on their phone on a daily basis, not work-related.

Find the right keywords.

After you’ve built your website, you have to pick the right keywords to optimize it. Keywords help the search engines recognize the content of your website and connect you with the right people – your target audience. Besides, if you decide to invest in a PPC campaign, high-quality and relevant keywords are one of the keys to success. 

If you’re a novice at SEO optimization, you might feel a bit lost in all that new info and that’s where apps like Ahrefs come into play. 

Using keyword research apps can help you find the right keywords in your industry. They also allow you to get a trafficking estimate. When you have thousands of keywords at your disposal, it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t fail. 

Most of these apps analyze keywords in different search engines which means that you won’t have to rely solely on Google but also Bing, YouTube, Amazon etc.

Run analytics.

Once you’ve found the keywords in your industry and put them in all the right places, you need to track the results. You won’t know if you’ve chosen the right keywords or if the content on your website is interesting if you don’t run some analytics.

Most businesses rely on Google Analytics and Google Ads to track their progress, but some other apps are available too, such as Chartbeat. 

There are a lot of options available for analytics and you can analyze pretty much anything, from the number of conversions, your conversion rate, bounce rate or the number of assisted conversions. 

You can even get demographic reports, see where most of the website visits come from or track down the average session time. All that can help you see if you’ve picked the right target audience and keywords, and if your content is interesting to your target audience. Without that, you won’t be able to progress.  

Social media presence.

Every serious company is present on different social media. Most of them have Facebook and Instagram accounts, but other social networks also make an impact, like YouTube, Pinterest, Tik Tok etc.

Step one is to choose which social platform will give you the best results in your industry. That also depends on your target audience. For instance, if your company is in the real-estate business, think about setting up a Pinterest account. Home décor is one of the top 10 trending categories on Pinterest now.

Now, as we’ve previously mentioned, digital marketing, especially social networks enable you to communicate with your current and potential customers. On Instagram and Facebook, you can track your engagement in the analytics section. 

You can get great engagement and many sales from just one post. The “stories” option is great when it comes to bonding with your existing followers and allows you to know what they like about the brand and what they don’t.

Now, you don’t get all of that from posting occasionally. You need to be consistent with your posting and stories and pay attention to the newest trends. 

Since Instagram users pay a lot of attention to aesthetics, it’s of great help to have apps designed to make the process of creating new content simpler. On that note, you can try using Canva since it has some great options for designing both stories and posts. Many video editing tools can help you create reels, which are now trending.

By the way, if you’re having a problem with being consistent when it comes to posting, we have some great news. Apps like HootSuite let you schedule posting which means that you can create in advance and when you’re feeling inspired.

Both Facebook and Instagram have advertising options that can be very helpful when you are starting to build your community.

Newsletter and email marketing.

We’ve already mentioned that email marketing and campaigns can be very useful. 

Email marketing is a form of marketing used to inform the customers and those that have subscribed to your website of products, discounts, and other services. It’s also a way to keep them engaged between purchases.

There are some great options to help you design a perfect email and review the results of your email campaigns like Constant Contact or Mailchimp. They offer contact segmentation, track what links people have clicked on in the email and who might be interested in a follow-up mail.

Authenticity

There isn’t exactly a tool that can make your content and presence online more authentic but it doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.

People just want to connect with someone and that someone could be you if you pay attention to what your current and future customers want. 

Show your customers that you appreciate them and make them feel special. 

For instance, send a personalized message to your customers along with the product they bought. You can even decide to attach a Makers card to each one of your products and let the customer know who made it. It strengthens the bond between the brand and the customer. 

Or, you can send new users a welcome email when they sign up for your newsletter. All that helps build brand loyalty which is the key to keeping your existing customers.

Social media platforms are great for tracking your success when it comes to being authentic. All you have to do is ask your followers and they’ll tell you.

Author bio

Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.