Online Marketing Beginners Tips

Are you a small business owner who is just starting out with online marketing?

If so, you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed. Don’t worry; you’re not alone! Digital marketing can be complex and confusing, but it’s also a powerful way to reach new customers and grow your business. And it’s not just for the digital marketer, it’s for you, the small business owner.

In this post, we’ll give you some tips for getting started in online marketing.

We’ll cover everything from creating a website to using social media marketing to drive traffic to your site. So read on for some helpful advice from the experts!

1. Define your goals and target audience

Before starting any digital marketing campaign, it’s important to first define your goals and target audience. This will help you determine which marketing channels to use and what type of content to create.

How to define your digital marketing goals

As a small business owner, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of marketing options available to you. Where do you even start?

One of the most important first steps is to define your digital marketing goals. What do you want to achieve with your online marketing efforts? More website traffic? More leads? More sales?

Defining your goals is essential to create a successful marketing strategy. Without clear goals, you won’t be able to measure your progress or determine whether your marketing efforts are successful.

Here are some tips for how to define your digital marketing goals:

1. Start with your business goals

Your digital marketing goals should be aligned with your overall business goals. What are you trying to achieve with your business? Do you want to grow your revenue, expand into new markets, or increase brand awareness?

Your digital marketing goals should support your larger business goals. For example, if you want to grow your revenue, your digital marketing goals could focus on generating more leads or increasing conversion rates.

2. Be specific and measurable

Your goals should be as specific and measurable as possible. This will help you track your progress and determine whether your marketing efforts are successful.

For example, instead of setting a goal to “increase website traffic,” you could set a goal to “increase website traffic by 10% within the next month.”

3. Set realistic goals

It’s important to set realistic goals that you can actually achieve. There’s no point in setting a goal that’s impossible to reach. This will only lead to frustration and discouragement.

4. Make sure your goals are achievable

In addition to being realistic, your goals should also be achievable. This means that you have the resources and knowledge necessary to achieve them.

For example, if you’re a new website with very little traffic, it’s probably not realistic to set a goal of increasing website traffic by 100%. However, a goal of increasing website traffic by 10% may be achievable.

5. Set time-based goals

Your goals should also have a timeline attached to them. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you’re making progress.

For example, instead of setting a goal to “increase website traffic,” you could set a goal to “increase website traffic by 10% within the next month.”

By following these tips, you can ensure that your digital marketing goals are clear, specific, and achievable. This will help you create a successful marketing strategy and measure your progress over time.

Next, you want to define your target audience.

The Importance of Your Target Audience

The importance of defining your target audience cannot be overstated. After all, if you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, how can you hope to engage them? There are a number of reasons why it’s essential to take the time to define your target audience.

First, it helps to focus your marketing efforts. By understanding who you’re trying to reach, you can develop messages that are more likely to resonate.

Second, it allows you to tailor your content to specific needs and interests. And finally, it gives you the ability to track your progress and measure your success.

So if you’re not sure who your target audience is, now is the time to find out with customer research. Otherwise, you may be in for a long, frustrating journey.

If you’re not sure where to start, check out How to do Customer Research for Your Small Business.

2. Create a strong website

Your website is often the first point of contact between you and your potential customers, so it’s important to make a good impression. Make sure your website is well-designed, easy to navigate, and contains useful and relevant information about your business. Pay special attention to your site’s content, as this is what will help you attract visitors and convert them into customers.

5 Tips To Create a Great Website

If you’re new to creating a digital marketing strategy or are looking to improve your website for better online visibility, there are a few key things you should keep in mind. Here are 5 tips to create a great website for digital marketing:

1. Have a clear purpose and focus for your website

What do you want your website to achieve? Whether it’s generating leads, selling products, or promoting your brand, make sure your website is designed with your goals in mind.

2. Keep your content fresh and relevant

Regularly update your website with new blog posts, articles, product info, or other relevant content to keep visitors engaged. Google also favors recently updated content, so this will help your website rank higher in search results.

3. Make your website easy to navigate

Use clear and intuitive navigation so visitors can easily find what they’re looking for on your website. If your website is too complicated or difficult to use, people will quickly click away.

4. Use visuals to capture attention

Along with well-written content, use images, videos, and infographics to break up your text and add visual interest. People are more likely to remember information that is presented in an engaging and visually appealing way.

5. Pay attention to your website’s design

First impressions matter, so make sure your website has a professional and modern design. This will help build trust with visitors and make them more likely to do business with you.

By following these tips, you can create a great website that will effectively promote your business online.

Want more traffic to your website? Check out 19 FREE ways to increase website traffic that you can do today.

“Your website should be your calling card, or your business front door.” — James Schramko

3. Use search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool for any business that wants to be visible online. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can increase your visibility in search results and attract more potential customers.

There are a number of things you can do to optimize your site, including adding relevant keywords to your content and making sure your site’s structure is easy for search engines to index.

If you want to learn more about Search Engine Optimization for your small business, check out my SEO for Beginners Series to get started.

4. Invest in pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great way to generate leads and sales from your website. With PPC, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it a cost-effective way to reach your target audience. Google AdWords is the most popular PPC platform, but there are other options available as well.

If you want to get started with Google Ads, check out Google Guide to Ads.

5. Use social media marketing

Social media marketing is a powerful tool that can be used for both marketing and customer service. To effectively use social media for marketing, you need to create valuable content and post it regularly. You should also interact with your followers and customers, answering their questions and addressing their concerns on social media platforms.

Additionally, you can use social media marketing to run promotions and giveaways, which can help increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.

Not sure what are the best social media platforms to start on? Check out What Social Media Platform Is Best For Small Businesses?

“Social media requires that business leaders start thinking like small-town shop owners. This means taking the long view and avoiding short-term benchmarks to gauge progress. It means allowing the personality, heart, and soul of the people who run all levels of the business to show.” — Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO, VaynerMedia

6. Start a blog

Blogging is a great way to generate leads and sales from your website. By creating helpful and informative blog posts, you can attract visitors and convert them into customers. Additionally, content marketing, like blogging can help improve your SEO by adding fresh, relevant content to your website.

Be sure to add your blog to your current website and not use a third-party blogging platform. You want to keep all of your website visitors on your site. Your website is the foundation of your digital marketing strategy.

If you are just getting started with content marketing, check out the  15 Blog Post Ideas for Beginners and What is a Blog?

7. Use email marketing

Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your customers and promote your business. In fact, it has one of the highest returns on investment of any of the digital marketing strategies at 4200% ROI. And you can’t beat that with traditional marketing.

By sending regular newsletters or promotional offers, you can keep your customers up-to-date on what’s happening with your business and encourage them to make a purchase.

Just be sure to use a reputable email service provider so that your emails don’t end up in spam folders.

If you are just getting started with Email Marketing, check out How To Start Email Marketing From Scratch

“Not viewing your email marketing as content is a mistake.” — Chris Baggott

8. Use Google My Business

Google My Business is a free listing that appears in the local results of Google searches. By claiming and verifying your business on Google My Business, you can improve your chances of appearing in local search results. Google My Business is an essential tool to manage your online reputation as many customers leave reviews on Google.

If you haven’t set up your Google Business Profile, check out my tutorial on Google My Profile.

9. Claim your listing on directories and review sites

In addition to claiming your listing on Google My Business, you should also claim your listing on other directory and review sites, such as Yelp and Angie’s List. This will help improve your visibility online and give customers another way to find your business.

Additionally, you can use these listings to manage your online reputation and interact with your customers.

To get started, check out the following review and directory sites to claim your free listing:

• Google My Business
• Bing Places for Business
• Facebook Ratings and Reviews
• Better Business Bureau (BBB)
• Yelp
• HomeAdvisor
• Yellow Pages
• TripAdvisor
• Angie’s List
• TrustRadius
• Trustpilot
• G2

10. Use Social media paid advertising

Social Media advertising is a great way to reach new customers and promote your business. With platforms like Facebook Ads, you can target potential customers with specific keywords and interests. This ensures that your ads are seen by people who are most likely to convert into customers.

Additionally, you can use retargeting ads to keep your brand top of mind for people who have already shown an interest in your product or service.

Get started with each social media advertising platform:

• Get started with Facebook Ads
• Get started with Instagram Ads
• Get started with YouTube Ads
• Get started with TikTok Ads

Online Marketing for Beginners

By following these tips, you can get started with digital marketing and see results for your small business. Just remember to focus on creating valuable content, building a strong online presence, and using effective marketing strategies.

With a little effort, you can reach new customers and grow your business online and beyond.

And remember, you don’t need crazy tech skills, buckets of cash, or a dedicated staff to market your business. In fact, you don’t even need a lot of time.

What you need is to be smart.

And online marketing is a smart way to grow your business and reach more customers.