Digital marketing advice for SMEs

If your small business is web-based, or simply in need of some digital marketing advice, we have some tips to help you make the most of your budget and improve your marketing strategy.

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Personalise. You have to know your customers, what they like and what they do. Think about how they're most likely to find your business online. Make sure your content is tailored to specific groups of users, and that your website, marketing and advertising strategies are designed with your target market in mind. Google now tailors your search results based on your area and interests, and online adverts are based on your browsing history. Personalisation is being touted as the next big thing, so jump on the bandwagon.

If your business has photos worth sharing, then definitely upload them. This could be because you have nice premises, or because you're building a product people are interested in, or because you're meeting people that others are interested in. If there's a likeability factor - share it!

Do a few things well, rather than doing many things poorly. Make sure you have a good website, and then pick and choose. For instance, select one social platform and utilise it properly, rather than using multiple platforms halfheartedly and without much benefit. If you're a customer facing business, consider Facebook. If you're more in the business to business field, LinkedIn would be a better choice than either Facebook or Twitter, for example. Decide to run one campaign online and then really focus on making it great, rather than coming up with multiple ideas and implementing an average one in a hurried manner.

Use SEO. If you don't know how to correctly tag all of your webpages with keywords and use them to drive visitors to your site, hire somebody to help or advise you. People will be finding you through Google, whether you like it or not, and making sure that Google will work to your advantage can only be a good thing for you.

Be polite and professional online. Just because the person on the other side of the screen isn't somebody you can see face to face, it doesn't mean you can treat them any differently. If you receive a private message, respond as promptly as you can. If you receive criticism on your public page, don't delete and ignore it. Instead, respond quickly and try to put things right in a courteous manner. You wouldn't ignore a customer complaining at your business premises, so don't do it online either. If you make potential and existing clients feel valued and important, and you are seen to practice good customer service, your reputation will be enhanced and you are more likely to build your customer base.

Finally, don't be afraid to employ a good advertising or marketing specialist and make use of their services. There is no shame in using professional help to your advantage. Sometimes the initial expenditure will seem a lot, but will more than pay for itself as well as saving you time and frustrations.