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Table of Contents
If your small business is ready to take the dive into digital marketing, you’ve come to the right place. Our ten-point checklist provides the framework and necessary steps to launch a successful digital marketing strategy for any company. With this checklist, your business is primed to launch a successful online presence.
Design or refine your logo
A business logo is incredibly important for digital marketing. Logos convey professionalism, a brand promise, values, and the mission of a company, all from a few words and strategic graphics. To properly brand your digital marketing materials, including a well-designed logo is the first place to start.
Select fonts and colours
Just like your logo, incorporating your branded fonts and colours into your digital marketing endeavours is a must. Consistency across print and digital marketing materials feeds into a positive brand perception, and instils trust within customers and potential clients. Double-check your hex codes and font names to guarantee your marketing materials are complementary.
Build a website
A small business website is the perfect launching point for a digital marketing strategy. People do online research before making purchases and having a professional website helps them make their decision. Give your customers what they are looking for with a website that reflects well on your brand.
Make sure you include relevant and helpful content, such as contact information, product and services offerings, an ‘About Us’ page, and whatever else feels right for your small business. Give your visitors everything they need to make an educated decision to work with your company.
Do a little research and figure out where your target audience is most active on social media, and create business accounts on those platforms. With Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it’s simple to start and maintain profiles, and review user data to adjust your social media strategy.
Again, use your brand’s colours, fonts and logos on your profiles, so when customers search for your business, they see a consistent brand across every platform.
Expert tip: Decide on a posting schedule for each platform and stick to it. The best way to naturally increase the number of followers you have is to provide insightful and topical information on a regular basis. Don’t go crazy; just find a cadence that works for your business and stay true to it.
Activate email marketing
Start planning your email marketing campaigns using design templates that include your contact information, hours of operation and, of course, your logo. If you have quite a sizeable customer list, consider splitting it into segments according to certain criteria, such as how often people buy from you or the particular types of products or services they tend to go for. It might take a little more effort, but targeted emails perform much better than blanket emails, so it’ll be worth your while.
Create a schedule so you’re regularly communicating with your subscribers, and remember to always include something useful to the reader, such as a quick tip or how-to. These little touches will help build loyalty and increase your email open rates over the long term.
Start a blog
Blogging is a great digital marketing tactic. A small business can show its personality and address topics that would not necessarily fit in an email or print campaign. Design a webpage that fits with your brand standards, and begin posting. Set a publishing schedule, so your readers can expect and anticipate new posts. A successful blog is about quality, not quantity, so don’t feel pressure to post every day, just enough to keep your readers engaged without the need for too much time on your end.
Automate everything
One major benefit of digital marketing is that many components can be automated. Commit to scheduling social media posts in bulk or designing several email campaigns all at once. After they’re set, you can move on and focus on other areas of your business.
Set aside time every week or month for these activities to maximise productivity and minimise the actual time it takes to implement your marketing endeavours.
Calculate ROI (Return on Investment)
Once your small business has deployed an email campaign or social media push, evaluate its success. Each marketing effort should have a specific objective and intention behind it. Measure how well it did against your goals by reviewing insights and metrics within your social media platforms or email marketing provider. By understanding what resonates with your audience, you can continue to tailor your marketing efforts to their needs and wants.
Hone your target audience
As a small business grows, so does its target audience. While reviewing ROI, pay attention to any demographic information, buyer behaviour, and other notable details you have about your customers. Their tastes and needs will evolve, just like your business. Keep ahead of their trends by knowing who is interacting with and buying from your business.
Continually develop content
Content is the core of a digital marketing strategy. From your business website to social media posts and email newsletters, good, practical and useful content is what piques consumers’ interests. Establish a content calendar to keep your business on track with your plans to publish regular and relevant content for your customers. The best part about good content is that a business can slice, dice and repurpose it multiple times so it feels fresh and new, not simply repackaged. Get the most of out of your digital marketing by continually generating new content while simultaneously repurposing your most popular and successful pieces.
Digital marketing doesn’t have to be complex to be successful. With some simple yet thoughtful planning, combined with a consistent approach to your branding and an understanding of your customers, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can start reaping the rewards of digital for your business.
About the Author
Julie Chomiak is the Content Marketing Specialist for Vistaprint Digital, the digital services division of Vistaprint. When she’s not scouring the web for small business trends, Julie loves traveling, interior design, and animals of all kinds.
