The COVID-19 pandemic has led most businesses to go digital. However, it isn’t enough for companies to rely on today’s technology. They must be strategic in using digital platforms to stay ahead of the competition during this pandemic.
The challenge is all the more posed to small businesses. Not only do they need to stay afloat, but they also need to grow their startups. It’s a good thing that the internet has leveled the playing field in business. Why? Businesses big and small have access to the internet and equal opportunity.
Today, it’s just a matter of taking advantage of digital platforms to grow your business. With that in mind, here’s how to grow your small business amid the pandemic digitally:
Increase Your Brand Awareness
When it comes to business, branding is everything. It’s not enough that you have products or services to offer; you must create a business identity and image through proper branding. Your brand must perform two key things: First, it must clearly represent your business, including its core, ideals, and philosophies. Second, it must resonate well with your target market.
Given the pandemic, it’s best to introduce the brand of your small business online. Be sure to have a business website and incorporate all the needed branding elements. Also, create social media channels for your startup. The key here is consistent branding elements on your website, social media, and other digital platforms. Ultimately, doing so will increase your brand awareness.
Build Your Online Reputation
As people stay at home and browse online, you must ensure your small business has a good online reputation. But how do you go about building your reputation?
It all starts with your business website. Be sure to have a great user experience (UX) on your site, so your visitors will have a good impression of your business. Also, be careful with managing your social media, as most of your customer engagements will likely be on these channels.
It’s best to collect social media evidence and publish these proofs on your website. Lastly, encourage your satisfied clients to post positive online reviews on third-party sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Foursquare.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
Scaling up your business online doesn’t end with creating a robust business website. Apart from this, you’ll make sure your target audience can find your business online.
In fact, you must strive to get the top ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs). By doing so, you’ll drive more and more traffic to your website. The more prospective customers visit your site, the more chances of converting them into actual customers. That is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into the picture.
SEO is the process of optimizing your website, writing quality content with relevant keywords, and building backlinks to increase a site’s authority. When done and implemented correctly, this will increase your business’s online visibility and site traffic. As a small business, these are what you need in these difficult times.
Generate More Leads
In sales and digital marketing, lead generation is a part of the overall equation. Simply put, it’s the process of attracting prospects into your business. Along with this is nurturing these prospects, so they’ll end up patronizing your business. These prospects are called qualified leads, the consumers who have shown interest in your business.
To track your leads, create contact forms on your landing pages. If they fill out your forms, you can keep their personal details like emails or contact numbers and reach out to them for future marketing. Also, utilize monitoring tools such as Facebook Pixel, which will allow you to track your visitors’ activities on your website.
Convert Leads into Sales
In line with generating leads, your ultimate goal is to convert these leads into sales. However, sales conversion is no easy feat. While it’s one thing to collect qualified leads, it’s another to convert them into sales. This process takes a lot of time, effort, and persuasion to do so.
One example of this is to perform remarketing. Also known as retargeting, it sounds what it does. You must retarget your ads to people who have already visited and/or taken actions on your website. This digital marketing approach is required during this pandemic.
The pandemic doesn’t have to stop your small business from thriving and flourishing. Thanks to advances in technology and marketing, you can now use digital platforms to promote your brand and sell your products or services. Be sure to increase your brand awareness, build your online reputation, and drive more traffic to your website. Also, don’t forget about generating more leads and converting them into sales. With the help of the internet, you’ll be able to grow your business, even amid the pandemic!
