The Benefits of Digital Marketing for Local Businesses
You may be wondering why your business should invest in digital marketing. Many businesses who are targeting local customers are often focused on traditional forms of marketing such as local networking, print advertising, sponsorships and might post on social media once in a while. While these methods are all great, improving your efforts in digital marketing allows you to leverage your traditional methods to reach and engage a wider audience.
95% of the UK are internet users and 82% purchase products online. No business should overlook the power of digital marketing to grow their business. There are many different strategies to marketing and channels to tap into including SEO, email marketing, social media advertising and Google Ads. We are going to look at how you and your business can explore these methods.
Increase Visibility
Digital marketing offers several ways to massively boost your businesses visibility to reach more customers. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a free Google Business profile. A Google Business profile enables you to share information with your customers such as a business description, contact details and links to your website. Having this information available to potential customers automatically creates a level of trust as people can find out more about your business and will know how to contact you, making them less likely to shop elsewhere.
Another way to improve your visibility is to optimise your website and Google Business profile for SEO. This is done through regular posting, using backlinks, and keywords so that your website ranks higher in Google searches. For smaller businesses, you can optimise for local SEO through location pages, online reviews, and local directories to rank higher in local Google searches and attract more locally based customers. Check out our Local SEO blog to learn more about increasing your Google ranking.
Check out what your local competitors are doing
You can learn a lot by looking at your competitors online. Check out their social media profiles and Google business profiles. Are they doing anything you wish you were doing? What sort of content do they post? Where do they rank in Google? Which social media posts gets the highest engagement and how do they communicate with their audience? Do some research into what your competitors are doing so that you can aim to do better and outperform them.
Run your business 24/7
Many businesses only operate from a physical store and overlook the benefits of having a website or any online digital presence. A website creates an online marketplace operating 24/7 meaning customers can make enquiries and purchases at any time, so while you and your team are out of office or store, your website is busy with potential customers learning about your business, browsing your products and services, and making purchases. Offering a round-the-clock service is a great investment for a small, local business.
Why not install a chatbot on your website to offer instant, automated responses to any customer queries to provide on-demand answers to questions and drive even more sales. Using Facebook? Take a look at their automated messaging functions so customers can get the answers they need quickly and easily without your input.
Target the right customers with advertising
Running a Google Ads or Social Media Ads campaign is a great way to reach your target market. Targeting customers this way allows you to use specific demographics such as age, gender, hobbies/interests and location so you can reach out to the people who are most likely to shop with you. This maximises the potential of your advert, converting more leads into sales and growing your customer base.
Use Google Analytics to understand how your campaigns are performing
One of the benefits of digital marketing over traditional marketing is data analytics. Analytics provide statistical data into how well your business is performing online by tracking your website traffic, engagement, user behaviour and trends as well as SEO performance. Analytics are incredibly helpful when making business decisions as you can evaluate what works well and what doesn’t so you can be strategic and make informed decisions to improve business performance and reduce risk.
You can also use analytics to track the performance of your Ads. With Google Analytics you can track the number of people who reached your website, which marketing channel they have arrived from and even which type of Ad converted them into a customer. This is very beneficial for businesses as you can understand how well your adverts are performing and whether they are giving you the best ROI. This helps to create even more powerful campaigns moving forward.
You might want to read our latest blog on switching over to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
How we can help with digital marketing for local businesses
We help to expand your digital presence and fuel business growth to make the most out of your digital marketing investment. Whether you’re looking to boost enquiries via Google Ads, increase brand awareness through social media campaigns or looking for website design, we can help.
Are you a small business looking to grow your business? You might also be interested in exploring our small business marketing packages.
About White Communications
White Communications are an award winning marketing agency based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire who work closely with businesses and charities across the UK and internationally.
We specialise in working with SMEs who sometimes need a sounding board as well as a Marketing Agency to help drive their business forward. If you’re looking for a company that cares about their clients and the work they do, then please get in touch!
If you’d like to get a taster of how we can help you and your business, why not get an touch for a complimentary marketing audit.
