Today, I want to talk about small business marketing. There are a lot of things you really need to do for your small business or professional practice if you want to be successful online.

Basically, think of digital marketing as all of the following activities performed together which ends up with a result–the result being you get sales. That’s the name of the game. It is not a single activity; it’s a collection of activities done in harmony that will get a great result. Here’s what you need to do.

1: Don’t just have a website – have a great website

Your website is going to be the focal point of all your marketing strategy. It’s yours, you control it. Nobody can take it away from you. It’s a great tool that you can send to people to as a reference, use it for sales, and so on.

2: Keep using traditional marketing – it has its place

When it comes to traditional/offline marketing, some of the activities you’ve probably done for many years still work. It could be attending trade shows or networking groups or any other types of groups you belong to. If these strategies still work, you should absolutely still do them. Look especially out for opportunities when you’re offline, like when you’re talking to people at a meeting. Get their business cards so you can add them to your e-mail list. Which brings us to the next action:

3: Take e-mail marketing seriously

E-mail is still a fabulous tool. Do not discount e-mail, newsletters, tips, special promotions, and so on. You need to place a lot of attention on collecting new e-mail addresses, because if you have to grow your list, you need to have a system in place within your business so that you’re collecting e-mails.

4: Get as many referrals as possible

Referrals are an excellent part of any digital marketing strategy. You get referrals by delivering great products and services to people and being engaged with them. If you never ask for a referral, nobody’s ever going to give you one. I’ve found that once you get referrals, the sales process is so much easier. You have a much higher closing rate. So, bottom line, put your attention on referrals. Don’t hesitate to ask people.

5: Create content for your website’s blog

Blogging is the act of writing and publishing articles on your website. You’re an expert in your field – take advantage of that fact by creating content based around your expertise. Once you get your blog posts written, you will now have content that you can post and share with others on social media accounts.

6: Get the aforementioned content posted on your social media

These are the big ones: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. All of them are slightly different. LinkedIn is particularly helpful for business to business. Facebook has got its advantages. Even Google+ is helpful because it helps you with your search ranking. Instagram and YouTube appeal to people who are more visual and prefer to look at pictures or watch videos.

With all of these actions, if you can do them all, then that’s fantastic! If you can’t, pick the one action that’s most appropriate and successful for your small business and go with it.

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