10 Tips To Help Small Local Businesses Thrive Online

It's a big wide world out there on the internet, and for small local businesses like us, it can seem incredibly intimidating at first. But there are ways you can build up your online marketing and promotional skills to thrive online. 

Today we're going to let you in on some incredible tips for small businesses that are designed to help local companies compete in the online space. 

Take a look at these ten tips so you can start making your mark in the online marketplace! 

Set goals for your marketing - SMART goals

Without goals, nobody would get anything done. Goals are an essential part of running a business, and with them, you'll be able to streamline your business practices and feel like you’ve accomplished something everyday. 

By setting goals for yourself, you can even increase your productivity by 20-25%, which can help you get to where you want to be with your business a lot faster. 

The best types of goals to set are SMART goals. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timely 

By setting SMART goals, you can avoid setting unrealistic goals that are nearly impossible to achieve (and make you feel terrible when you don’t reach them). You can set goals that you'll be able to reach, and every time you achieve one of your goals, you'll get fired up to do bigger and better things with your company. 

Goals are a lot easier to accomplish when they're specific. This means asking yourself:

• Who - who are you accomplishing this goal for?
• What - what are you achieving?
• Where - where are you achieving it?
• When - when should it be completed by?
• Why - why do you want to accomplish this goal?

Then figure out how to measure this goal.

• How much?
• How many?
• In what timescale?
• How do you know if you've reached your goal?
• What is your progress indicator?

Next, ask yourself if it is an achievable and realistic goal to set for yourself? If the answer is yes, then move on to giving yourself a time limit. How long do you have to achieve this goal? When's the deadline for your goal?

Now that you've set up your SMART goal, you'll be able to push yourself forward and reach new heights in your industry. 

Make sure your website is updated

Keeping your website updated is incredibly important to your online success. An out-of-date website looks unprofessional, untrustworthy and if you don't regularly update your security, it could be dangerous to your customers. 

The top three things to keep updated on your website at all times is:

• Security
• Content 
• Design

Updating your security will keep your data and your customer's data safe from malicious hackers. 

Keeping your content fresh will improve your SEO (search engine optimization). It'll also position you as a knowledgeable company to work for!

Staying up to date with your website's design means you'll look professional and trustworthy at all times. This will encourage more and more of your visitors to work with you. 

Create a social media strategy

Did you know that 4.48 billion people are on social media? That's a lot of people, right! If you don't have a social media strategy set up and ready to go for your company, then you're currently missing out on a whole lot of potential clients. 

A good social media strategy for small businesses includes:

• Posting regularly
• Creating a publishing schedule
• Updating your bio
• Highlighting your USPs (unique selling points)
• Uploading high-quality images
• Offering practical and valuable content 

Build an email list & send regular email marketing campaigns

Emails should never be underestimated, and with the power of emails at your side, you'll be able to reach more and more of your target audience. 

But, how do you build an email list for your great email marketing campaign?

Easy!

You can use that excellent social media strategy we just talked about to get your hands on some of your potential clients' emails. All you have to do is host a giveaway or two, and you can watch the email sign ups pouring in. 

You can also create a lead magnet to attract your audience. Create a freebie to give away on your website in return for their email. They'll happily give their email to you if you offer them something valuable like:

• A free guide
• Access to a private course
• Exclusive content 
• Video tutorials 
• A discount on services
  
  

Improve your organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You won't get anywhere online if you don't work on your SEO. 

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it's how you're going to get your company's website to the very top of the search results. 

You can improve your SEO by:

• Writing high-quality content 
• Doing in-depth keyword research 
• Writing meta titles and keywords for all your pages
• Adding keywords to your content 
• Updating your blogs 
• Enhancing your Google Business Profile
• Getting other websites to link to your website
  
  

Don’t forget about your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profiles are one of the best ways to improve your local SEO. They're also brilliant for showing your audience that you're an authentic business that's reliable, trustworthy, and genuinely does what it says on the tin. 

Optimize your Google Business Profile by:

• Updating your bio
• Adding high-quality images
• Checking your opening hours are correct
• Updating your location 
• Encouraging customers to leave reviews
• Responding to reviews (good and bad)

Google Business Profile is also completely free, so if you haven't claimed yours yet, we'd recommend doing it ASAP, as you're missing out on a massive marketing opportunity. For more information on how to optimize your Google Business profile check out our other blog post here.

Ask for reviews and referrals

Reviews and referrals are a great way to secure new clients - word of mouth is advertising gold! When you get positive reviews from clients, display them on your website. 95% of customers read reviews before considering buying from a company - so they're really important for generating sales!

Negative reviews can also help propel your business forward (yes, really). If you respond to a negative review professionally and ask how you can resolve the issue, your audience will see that you have no problems fixing things if they have any issues. 

If you receive a positive review from your clients, don't be afraid to ask them to refer your company to their friends or colleagues too. You can even offer them a small incentive to do so, like a coupon or refer a friend program. 

Use consistent branding

If you're consistent, you're recognizable, and if your audience can recognize your brand out of the sea of others, they'll think of your company first when they need your services. 

Consistent branding also makes your company look a whole lot more professional and will give your audience faith that you're a trustworthy and reliable business to work with.

Consider using influencer marketing

Influencers have been around for a while now, and they're not going to be going anywhere any time soon. Why? Because they're a fantastic tool to use for your marketing strategy. 

Influencers are basically influential people on social media. They have thousands upon thousands of followers that eagerly hang on their every word. Their followers will happily try out any product or service they suggest, which is why using them in your marketing is a clever move to make. 

Find an influencer in your niche with a relatively powerful following and message them with an offer. You can offer a free sample of your product or service to try out, and sometimes they'll take it, review it, and that'll be it. If they're a more significant influencer, they may charge you a small fee, but it's worth it for the tremendous exposure your company's going to receive. 

90% of businesses say that influencer marketing has worked for their company. 

Always keep track of your analytics

By keeping on top of your analytics and checking them regularly, you'll be able to see your improvements online. 

This will also help you keep on top of your SMART goals, and you'll be able to see your progress towards achieving them. 

Thanks to analytics, if you notice something that isn't working, you'll be able to fix it quickly. Without analytics, you could easily end up running a campaign for months without it making a difference to your business. 

We hope this blog has helped you figure out a plan of action to improve your small business's online presence. 

Start putting together your strategy today by developing a list of SMART goals, improving your SEO, and updating your website and social media. 

If you need some assistance with all that, our team is the perfect choice to help you out. We're masters at improving the visibility of small businesses online, and we can help you get to the top of the search engines in no time at all. 

Start thriving online with some help from our team - get in touch today.