5 Online Secrets to Help Small Business Owners Succeed in 2015
If you run a small business, time must be the most valuable asset you have. Actually, time and money. With these tips our experts from NetStripes strive to save them both.
Have a perfectly engineered website
It is your online home. It will give the first impression of your business and you must get the strategy and design right as first impressions are crucial. Just like in the real world. Statistics show that you have only 2-3 seconds to engage a user before they leave your site. Immediate engagement is therefore vital to get customers to spend more time and money on your site. Pay strong attention to the content, design and layout of your site as well as loading time.
Be mobile ready
More than 50% of searches today are done via mobile phones. What’s more important, 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action and more than a half lead to sales. So if your business is not mobile enabled, you will lose them all. As most of the mobile searches happen on the go, customers will not browse a standard website on their mobile screens as usually the information required is difficult to quickly find. A mobile site optimised to deliver information in a fast, user-friendly way is the key to winning more customers and business.
Get found on Google
How often do you go to page #2 of your search on Google? Actually how often do you go to the very bottom of the first page? Statistics show that page #1 results garner more than 90% of all traffic from the average search while the top listing in Google’s organic search receives one third of the traffic, compared to 18% and 11% for the second and third positions respectively. So if you can’t be found on Google, do you really exist online? It is also very important to pick the right keywords. What’s the point to be at the very top of Google if only few people search for that particular keyword or phrase?
Engage your customers on social media and email
Nowadays Facebook presence is a must. Other social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram also have hundreds of millions of registered users. But how do you attract and engage the audience when the competition is getting fiercer every day? Well, don’t post only your deals, product info and special offers.
Let customers have a glance at your dirty interior, introduce them to the people who actually create your product. That will definitely be more interesting and engaging than your fancy facade. Share some photos and videos instead of just posting plain text. With Facebook videos now playing automatically in a news feed it is a great opportunity to catch your customers’ attention. And don’t forget email! It’s still the king. Email delivers the best results as long as it’s strategic and useful, not spam.
Develop an acute understanding of your customer
You must know who your clients are intimately: age, likes, dislikes, interests, gender, etc. That focus is crucial, it enables you to tailor your digital marketing activities to meet their needs. Integrate online and offline marketing efforts to achieve the best result. One deeply engaged customer will give you more benefit than 10 passive ones. And word of mouth advertising online is spreading by the speed of light. Just be ready to manage the flock of new buyers.
Any questions?
Feel free to talk to one of our digital strategists today. We are more than happy to help! Contact us now.
