The ball has dropped, we’ve sung “Auld Lang Syne,” and toasted the arrival of another new year filled with possibility and potential. All too quickly, though, we realize that the year is dashing away through the snow and we’re not on board the sleigh! If you didn’t take time at the end of 2015 to map out a strategic marketing plan for this year, here are five ways you can use digital marketing to grow your small business in 2016:
• Make Mobile a Priority: If you have not yet reviewed your website using a mobile application and made revisions to make it easier to use and view, this must be at the top of your marketing to-do list for 2016. A 2015 report prepared by KPCB on Internet Trends revealed that there are over two billion smartphones in use worldwide. The vast majority of internet searches are performed using mobile devices, and your site must be optimized to make sure it shows up in these results.
• Utilize Content Marketing: Consumers today are more likely to work with businesses that provide information as opposed to those that are simply trying to provide a product. Content marketing is the way to satisfy this need. Share information, knowledge and respond to questions through content on your website and in social media, and you will build a relationship and maintain top-of-mind awareness with prospects and customers. A continuous stream of fresh content will also help boost your rankings in search engine results.
• Manage Your Social Media: Social media connections help you stay in contact with your target audience, but how do you keep track of everything? Hootsuite lets you do more with social media on over 35 of the most popular social media networks. You can use the intuitive dashboard to easily schedule your messages, manage social networks, interact with followers, and measure social media marketing ROI.
• Organize Everything: Take some time at the beginning of the year to outline a plan of attack for the next twelve months. What do you want to say to your target audience in January, February, and the other months? Come up with a broad range of topics that you can cover thoroughly each month, and then start filling in the calendar with topic ideas. In February, for example, you might want to write two blogs about showing love for your customers or romancing your prospects. You could then schedule Tweets, Facebook posts, and perhaps even a short YouTube video to correspond with this theme.
• Try the Personal Touch: In a world that seems to become more impersonal every day, the personal touch can have a huge impact. Use email judiciously to send a note of thanks, congratulate the customer on a particular occasion, or answer a question, and you will be likely to build a strong relationship. They will appreciate the effort you put into reaching out and connecting.