Effective Small Business Marketing is Not What it Once Was
Small business marketing has drastically changed over the last few years. Traditional marketing methods, such as TV ads, radio, and direct mail are becoming less and less effective.
The way consumers connect and consume information is completely different than it once was.
In order to capture their attention, you have to nurture them through more subtle, permission-based marketing tactics.
Inbound marketing encompasses this type of permission-based marketing of attracting, engaging, and converting as opposed to just disrupting and shouting.
In order to reach consumers organically, you have to do so through a mix of SEO, blog posts, social media, newsletters, opt-ins, and email sequences. Essentially, you’re gently guiding people to your website where you can then pull them through the sales process.
So, how do small businesses start utilising inbound marketing? Here are 4 things your business must do in order to succeed:
- Create your content strategy
The first step in inbound marketing is to create valuable content. To create this content, consider who your ideal client is.
What questions do they ask? What do they need and want? What are their interests? Understand what they’re looking for and then create content that drives them to you.
- Grow your social media following
Creating a social media following and building your email newsletter subscriber list are two of the most effective ways to release your content. Through research and trial and error, you’ll uncover the type of content that resonates with your audience across your platforms and the times of day that are best to post.
In addition to what you post, the way you post matters. Short real estate videos, infographics, image quotes, and links get the most views, shares, and clicks.
In fact, content with visuals receive 94% more views than without and it’s 40 times more likely to be shared than other content.
Create a social media marketing strategy that helps you master the top social media networks, grow your following, and increase your effectiveness.
- Capture leads for your email list with opt-ins
Once you’ve attracted visitors to your website, you need to capture their emails. You do this by providing an enticing, valuable free offer that gets them to exchange their contact details for the information you’re providing. This could be an eBook, a printable checklist, a short email course, etc.
You can say something, such as: “We love to share our resources with you. Download our free moving checklist by clicking here.” Then, you can provide visitors with a great quality (nice copy and design) downloadable pdf.
- Nurture prospects into raving customers
Whether you generate leads through blogging, paid or organic Google search, social media or social media advertising, you get a higher return on investment for your efforts if you nurture your leads once you’ve captured their email address.
Not everyone will become a customer right away. In fact, many won’t. Set up a drip email marketing campaign or a series of automated emails that trigger once someone has downloaded your free opt-in, to begin nurturing through the process.
When you nurture your leads, you increase your conversion rate over time.
Inbound marketing is highly effective and these steps are 4 steps that every small business should be taking to capitalise on the online opportunities for attracting clients.
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At iProperty, we provide leading online property management and real estate software, responsive websites, and more.