Brian Soils has rightly said that- “Each business is a victim of Digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behaviour when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to exploit it. Digital Darwinism does not discriminate. Every business is threatened.” We live in an era where it is extremely difficult to predict the customer's demand and preferences, thanks to fast-moving technology. Let's get through some Online Marketing Strategies for small businesses.

Today it is almost impossible to survive in the market by adopting the same old methods of educated guesses for analysing the market. If a business has the intention of thriving for a long tenure and remaining competitive in today’s time, it must adapt to the dynamic trends in the digital marketing world. It does not matter what industry you belong to or what products you are dealing in, digital marketing has become indispensable for survival for all.

It was only yesterday when companies relied on a Facebook page and a website to make an online presence but today, times have changed. The digital landscape is evolving so quickly that it is hard to keep up. Read on to discover the best online marketing strategies for small businesses in 2020 to make sure that your business is not losing the competitive edge.

1.     Use Google My Business (GMB)

One of the most useful marketing strategies for a small business is to use Google My Business. Google My Business is a platform that combines all the Google marketing tools such as Google+, Google Analytics, Google Reviews Google Insights and Google Maps profile.

On GMB, a business listing seeks to get a promotion. For a business which is targeting local markets, this platform is a powerful marketing medium. The listing appears at the top half of the search page and is ahead of the other search results. So, if one is able to get his business listings in the top 3 listings, he is bound to get an enormous amount of traffic.

2.     Pair Strategy With Google AdWords

Google AdWords is an old but powerful online marketing channel. It may prove to be a bit expensive but it is competitive and effective. If a business is doing his on-page SEO perfectly, it will deliver him the relevant search results to drive traffic. It is a great marketing tool to get results immediately. For maximum output, it would be good if it is paired with other marketing strategies.

3.     Create Facebook Ads

Facebook advertising is another very effective strategy that a small business can benefit from immensely. For small entrepreneurs, Facebook is a very inexpensive platform to virtually reach out to the audience. One can place Facebook ads to target his specific set of consumers based on their location, online behaviour, sex, age etc. Only a few steps like creating a catchy headline and adding a brief description, an image and a link to the ad is enough to catch the attention of the audience to the ad and business.

4.     Use Social Media

A majority of the target customers are on different social media channels. Most of the target audience is using social media for customer support. A small business must be present on all the major social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc. Time and efforts must be devoted to the growth of a business’s social media audience. So, a small business must find out which social channels its audience is using more and it should then make special marketing plans to target such channels.

5.     Promote On Coupon Deal Sites

Coupon deal sites have a massive number of target consumers. One should explore the marketing opportunities presented by many big coupon deal sites like Groupon. The business can very easily target local advertising on the coupon deal sites. The brand awareness among the audience increases very rapidly and new customers come searching for your business.

The main purpose of using coupon deal sites however should not be to earn profit and increase sales. The purpose should be to generate awareness about one’s small and unpopular business by encouraging people to try out the business’s products.

6.     Explore Webinars

Webinars are also seen as a potential marketing strategy to draw new customers to a business. A webinar is a seminar which is conducted online in varied forms such as demonstrations, discussions and presentations. Often the marketers use webinars to generate a large email list. People who join the webinar have to provide their details such as name, phone number and email.

So, a small business can generate a larger number of emails through this. One can then use these emails to promote one’s products or services.  Also, webinars are very engaging because of the live Q&A sessions for subscribers. When they get answers for their specific queries, they feel impressed and satisfied.

7.     Email Marketing

Email marketing is a proven way to convince consumers about the usefulness and effectiveness of a product or a service. Customers want to have more information about the product and convincing to buy it before making a purchasing decision. Email marketing is a very low-cost strategy which can be used to enhance the global reach of a small business. One can send emails in an automatic way without wasting much time.

Kolkata School of Digital Marketing

Kolkata School of Digital Marketing is an advanced Digital Marketing Training Institute in Kolkata and its aim is to develop proficient Digital Marketers for the current digitally-driven era. Its digital marketing course is designed in the best way possible to suit the industry’s needs and preparing an individual accordingly. A good digital marketing course will, after all, be a very helpful addition to one’s CV as well as it will open up the various digital marketing jobs for one.

Kolkata School of Digital Marketing is the academic division of We Love Digital Marketing, which focuses on developing marketing strategies for businesses. It provides the best digital marketing course in Kolkata. After catering to the clients’ needs with immense passion and expertise for over 5 years, it now chooses to spread the knowledge of Digital Marketing. Its aim is to share with the people what it has learned while serving its clients, through this Digital Marketing Training Institute.