Digital marketing can quickly become overwhelming and confusing. Especially when you’re a new business trying to lay the groundwork for success. Here’s a list of 5 Things You Must Do for Digital Marketing Success. The best part? They’re mostly free!
01: Get a website
81% of people research a business online BEFORE they make a purchase decision. Having a website instantly adds credibility to your business. You don’t have to drop thousands of dollars on a fully customized website in the beginning. There are more affordable templated options that would allow you to have a branded and professional online presence without your budget going up in flames.
02: Set up Google Analytics
You can’t make informed decisions without the data to back it up. Google Analytics will give you a wealth of knowledge about the people visiting your site and how they interact with your content. For example, you can figure out where visitors are coming from and then spend more resources distributing content and paid ads there. Google Analytics will tell you how long a visitor is on a certain page or post of your site, letting you know if they find the information relevant. The information provided to you by Google Analytics can be incredibly valuable when making decisions. It’s free, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t jump on installing it. Go here to get started.
03: Install Facebook Pixel
Similarly to Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel is a code you place on your site that collects data from website visitors that helps you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads, build targeted audiences for future ads, and remarket to people who have already taken some kind of action on your site. It enables you to create better, more targeted Facebook/Instagram ads. Even if you’re not ready to run a Facebook/Instagram ad right now, you should go ahead and install it. Once it’s set up, it will begin collecting data immediately and will be ready for when you decide to run an ad. Go here to learn how to create and install a Facebook Pixel.
04: Add or claim your business on Google
If you’re just getting started with local SEO, your Google My Business listing is a great place to start your early efforts. It’s a free tool that allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. Considering Google is the most widely used search engine, you’ll want to ensure information such as business location and hours are listed and easy to find. You can also reply to customer reviews, add photos, learn where and how people are searching for you, and more.
Note: To utilize Google My Business, your business cannot operate solely online. You must have some face-to-face interaction with your customers. For example, although I serve some of my clients online and never meet them, I can still use Google My Business to attract local clients. If you don’t have a local market and are 100% online, then skip Google My Business.
You can sign up and learn more about verifying your business on Google here.
05: Decide on an email marketing tool
If Instagram or Facebook were to shutdown, would you be able to reach any of the contacts you’ve worked so hard to make there? We do not own our followers or our followers information. Social networks come and go…remember Myspace? By building an email list, you’re putting yourself in control. You’ll be able to reach those contacts whenever you need to. There are several email marketing providers that offer free versions that will enable you to collect and segment email addresses. This will be critical when you decide to launch an email campaign.
There are many email marketing providers to choose from. Some of the most popular are MailChimp, Constant Contact, ConvertKit, Drip, ActiveCampaign… the list goes on!
This is just the beginning…
Of course these aren’t the only 5 things that contribute to a successful digital marketing strategy. However, they are critical and are a great place to start. It’s important to lay a solid foundation that you can build upon with time. Don’t worry about trying to do it all in the very beginning. That’ll only leave you feeling overwhelmed and burnt out.
If you’re looking for someone to help guide you along this journey, I offer one-on-one trainings and strategy calls that will ensure you’re taking the right actions and putting your best foot forward. If you’d like to learn more about this service, send me a message!
