New Small Business Guide To Digital Marketing

I often get asked why my business partner and I decided to focus on branding, marketing and advertising for small business opposed to larger companies with higher budgets and bigger revenue opportunities; it’s quite simple; effectiveness. A lot goes into a full scale digital marketing plan, and when we get hired by small businesses, that’s where we can effect the largest change.

Most new entrepreneurs are overwhelmed with launching their business that the marketing gets swept under the rug and becomes an afterthought. Use this article as a reference point to make sure you’re on track as you launch your business. Some items are “no shit” items and others are “God bless you James, you amazing human” items. You be the judge. Let’s jump right in.

How’s your Brand Identity?

I’m sure you’ve thought of a name and probably even have a logo, but if you haven’t consider usage of the name and visual aesthetic of the logo as you do. Long ass business name equals long ass domain; and for the love of god, don’t put “LLC” in your logo. Make it on brand but make sure it’s clean, trendy, visually appealing and that you have different versions for web and social.

Use resources such as Behance and Dribbble to see what the design community is dishing out. It will give you an expectation of what you should expect or inspiration for your own brand.

Create other assets accordingly such as business cards, letterheads, rack cards, etc as needed. Start with these basics.

• Logo
• Color Palette
• Fonts
• Mission Statement

Secure Domain and Handles

Straight forward section here. Purchase and secure your domain, as well as any other domains you may want for the future related to the business. By now, most domains are taken so get creative. If you had a restaurant called “The Grove” for example and the domain is taken; try something catchy and memorable like “visitthegrove.com.” Think outside the box.

You’ll also need to secure social media handles. Get creative with these too if the handles are already taken. We want to secure the same handle for all platforms. Facebook, Linkedin, Insta, Twitter, TikTok, etc. This is a huge advantage to have. More info regarding social later on.

• Domain
• Social Media Handles

Is Your Website Effective?

It’s 2021, I will fight you if you disagree, get a website that accomplishes your businesses goals. There is no room for poorly designed or ineffective websites in this day and age. Isolate your goals, write effective copy, place real organic photos and videos ( no stock ), optimize, add a newsletter popup/signup, connect Google Analytics, Ads, Search Console, etc, Facebook Pixel, Yoast for SEO, Mobile Friendly, etc. People judge brands and form opinions of their services and products simply by the aesthetic and functionality of their website. Please don’t lack in this area. It’s crucial. 99% of most businesses digital marketing efforts lead back to their website. Don’t quote me on that statistic; just trust me, I just need you to know it’s that important.

• Kick Ass Website

You Viral Yet?

Probably not, but you can be! This section is not about that however, it’s about engagement, setup and value. Create your social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Add cohesive and aligned profile pictures, descriptions and information. When it comes time to start posting, try to focus on these key areas when you get started.

Posts about your brand. Position your brand the way you want to. Talk about your company, the team, philanthropy, events, testimonials and culture. Use these posts to connect to your audience on an emotional level.

Posts that educate. Assume your audience doesn’t know the details of your service or product. Teach them about it. Position your brand as the leading expert. If you know your industry, then position it as so.

Posts the acquire sales. These are your Call-To-Action posts, the “Buy Now” posts. Utilize these for specials, sales, offers, discounts, new products, etc.

As a basic rule of thumb, if you use these content ideas are your baseline for your posts, you should have most of your bases covered. Pair these with great visuals, photography and video, and you’ll be on your way to organic engagement bliss.

• Create Social Media Accounts
• Upload Profile Pics and Cover Photos
• Add Compelling Descriptions and Information

Run Ads

This is crucial. Don’t overlook this. Organics are great and important, that’s what social media is for but ads will allow you to reach your untapped audience. Set aside a budget strictly for ads. Facebook and Instagram are great for businesses to get started on, but please DON’T BOOST POSTS.

Facebook is powerful and has the tools for you to be powerful, so use Facebook Business Manager to run your ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. Run long-term Lifetime Campaigns with a plan and strategy opposed to boosting individual posts. It’s probably the most affordable way to reach untapped audiences.

Consider running Google Ads if you’re breaded and have the funds. Google is a long play; more expensive too but it’s extremely effective depending on your business. The main difference between Social Ads and Google, specifically Google Search Ads, is that in Social, your ads are placed in front audiences based on what you think. You tell the social platform that I think my audience is in the age group, in this location and they may interact or like these things. Sometimes it can be a guessing game when you don’t have existing reliable data. On the flipside, with Google, audiences are intently searching Google to find something they’re already researching, and will then place your ad. The difference is intent.

Let Me Get Yo Number

…or email. I wrote another article strictly about the importance of acquiring first-party data but implementing strategies to gather data yourself and then using that data to learn, strategize and advertise is key. Although the article slightly criticises Facebook and Google, let me clarify by saying that using Facebook and Google ads is important, but collecting your own data is even more so. Check that article out to learn more about that.

• Implement Data Collection Strategies
• After sometime; Implement Marketing Plan Using That Data.

In Conclusion

Let me first say, congrats on getting to the end. You may have landed on two sides of the fence. If you read this and confirmed that you’ve already established all this, good for you, I hope your data is rich and your wallets are full.

If you landed on the other side, I’m here for you. It can seem overwhelming and you don’t know where to begin; don’t worry. You can begin to self-educate using Youtube and online articles or take online courses such as Facebook Blueprint or Google Skillshop. If you don’t have time for that and would rather just have someone else take care of all this, look no further.

Crane The Agency builds bridges between companies and customers. We design, develop, wonder, strategize, manage, idealize, optimize–and we do it because we’re passionate. Passion grips us, enamours us, motivates us, pushes us to seek truth and meaning and reason and that’s why we give a shit.

Contact us for information on how we can establish and transform your business.