Digital marketing solutions to enhance your business growth
Updated July 2024
Read Time: 17 minutes
According to a recent study by BSC, 49% of small business owners aren’t sure if their marketing efforts are effective, and 14% know that they’re not.If you’re reading this, chances are you’re looking for ways to boost your online presence and grow your business. Well, you’ve come to the right place. In the current digital landscape, having a solid online strategy is no longer optional – it’s essential. That’s why you need digital marketing solutions.
As a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner, you might wonder, “What exactly are digital marketing solutions, and how can they help my business?” Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. We will walk you through everything you need about digital marketing solutions and how they can transform your business.
Digital marketing solutions are the secret weapons that can help you reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive more sales. Whether you’re a local brick-and-mortar store or an e-commerce startup, the right digital marketing strategies can take your business to new heights.
Understanding Digital Marketing
It has been established that having a strong online presence is crucial for businesses of all sizes. Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of strategies and tactics designed to reach and engage customers through various online channels.
However, navigating the complex world of digital marketing can be challenging, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs who may lack the resources or expertise of larger corporations.
To understand the complexities, let us primarily try to understand some of the common digital marketing challenges faced by businesses and provide practical solutions to overcome them.
We’ll delve into various types of digital marketing strategies, discussing their unique challenges, solutions, and digital marketing tools to help you make informed decisions about your marketing efforts.
Common Digital Marketing Challenges and Solutions
Steering through the digital marketing landscape poses intricate challenges, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Here’s a glimpse into the most common challenges faced and the user-friendly digital marketing solutions to tackle them.
Difficulty Getting Found Online (Low Organic Traffic)
Imagine scrolling through endless channels on your television, desperately searching for that one programme you love. That’s what it’s like for potential customers trying to find your business in the vast online world. Millions of websites are for attention and the key to unlocking organic traffic in this competitive zone can feel like a bit of a maze.
First and foremost, you need to keep up with the constantly changing search engine algorithms. Search engines like Google frequently update their algorithms, which can send your website’s ranking tumbling down. Staying informed about these changes and adapting your strategy accordingly can feel like a full-time job.
Then there’s the technical side of things. From optimising site speed and mobile responsiveness to implementing structured data and ensuring proper indexing, all the technicalities can be quite complex and overwhelming for many businesses.
Solution
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is the cornerstone of any effective digital marketing strategy. It’s all about making your website more visible and attractive to search engines like Google. When done right, SEO can help you attract more organic (non-paid) traffic to your site, which means more potential customers find your business naturally.
Think of SEO as the process of making your website the perfect answer to your potential customers’ questions. When someone in your area searches for “best plumber in Northampton” or “organic coffee shop near me”, you want your business to pop up at the top of the search results.
According to a report by Hubspot, it is found that nearly 64% of marketers actively invest in SEO solutions.
The key objectives for SEO best practices to elevate your online presence are as follows:
Start by getting to know what your audience is searching for online
Spruce up your website with some SEO-friendly tweaks
Craft content that’s both useful and relevant to your readers
Lack of Engaging Content to Attract and Convert Leads
Driving traffic to your website is only part of the equation. It’s crucial to have content that engages visitors and encourages them to take action. Many businesses struggle to create content that truly resonates with their target audience and effectively moves them through the sales funnel. There are some key content engagement challenges that a small-sized industry and medium-sized industry might face.
Creating valuable, original content regularly can be quite time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially for smaller businesses with limited staff. It requires a lot of creativity and dedication to keep producing content that your audience finds useful and interesting.
Moreover, the trickiest part of the content is determining the ROI. The effects of content marketing are often indirect and can take time to manifest. It involves tracking various metrics and understanding how they contribute to your overall business goals.
Solution
Content marketing is all about creating and sharing valuable, relevant content to attract and engage your target audience. It’s not about hard-selling your products or services; it’s about providing information that your audience finds useful and positioning your business as an authority in your industry. Almost 70% of businesses are actively investing in content marketing. It’s no surprise.
For example, if you run a boutique fitness studio, instead of just advertising your classes, you could create blog posts about nutrition tips, video tutorials for at-home workouts, or an e-book guide to staying fit for busy professionals or case studies. This kind of content helps build trust with your audience and keeps your brand top-of-mind when they’re ready to make a purchase.
Content marketing is all about getting the right message to the right people:
Start with identifying – Who’s your ideal customer and what their needs are?
Plan your content like you’d plan a party – with a well-organised calendar
Mix it up! Blogs, videos, infographics – variety is the spice of life
Make sure search engines and social media can find and love your content (Focus on E-E-A-T factors).
Inability to Convert Leads and Build Customer Relationships
Once you’ve attracted potential customers, it’s crucial to keep the lines of communication open and guide them through the buyer’s journey. Nearly 61% of businesses struggle with effectively generating leads and building lasting relationships with their audience.
Solution
Despite being one of the oldest digital marketing techniques, email marketing remains one of the most effective. It allows you to nurture leads, keep your audience informed, and drive sales through personalised communication.
For SME owners, email marketing can be a cost-effective way to stay in touch with customers and drive repeat business.
Imagine you run a small bakery. You could use email marketing to send out a weekly newsletter with your special offers, share recipes, or invite customers to upcoming events. This keeps your bakery fresh in their minds and gives them a reason to pop in for a treat.
If you plan to make your email marketing shine, here are a few tips.
Treat your subscribers like individuals – segment that list!
(It was reported in a study that, segmented emails drive 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones.)
Craft subject lines that make people curious to click
Personalise your emails – nobody likes feeling like just another number
Set up clever email sequences to guide folks through their buying journey
Limited Budget for Advertising
For many businesses, especially, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), another challenge often lies in making every penny count. When it comes to advertising, budget can be a significant hurdle. Larger companies might have the luxury of spending on expansive campaigns, but SMEs need to be more strategic with their spending.
You’re offering fantastic products or services, but without a hefty advertising budget, getting the word out can feel like an uphill battle. Competing with industry giants who have seemingly endless resources is daunting, but there’s a solution for that.
Solution
PPC advertising is a model of Internet marketing where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. It’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically.
PPC can be a brilliant option for SME owners to get immediate traffic to your website and generate leads or sales quickly. For example, if you’ve just opened a new restaurant in Northampton. With PPC, you could have your ad appear at the top of search results when someone searches for “best new restaurants in Northampton” or “where to eat in Northampton tonight”.
According to a report, it is said that, when optimised effectively, PPC ads can yield £2 for every £1 you spend. That’s 200% ROI, compared to most of the other methods.
If you want to make your PPC campaigns efficient and effective, try these tips:
Do your homework on keywords – find the gems that won’t break the bank
Write ads that speak directly to your audience – make them feel special!
Create landing pages that deliver on your ad’s promises. A personalised website landing page can be 5% more effective.
Keep a watchful eye on your campaigns and fine-tune them as you go.
Difficulty Building Brand Awareness and Engagement
Social media isn’t just a trend—it’s a fundamental part of our daily lives. For businesses, this means there’s a massive opportunity to connect with customers in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. However, the reality is that many businesses, especially smaller ones, find it challenging to build a strong social media presence and truly engage with the audience. But, on the other hand, 90% of social media marketers say building an active online community is essential for an effective social media strategy.
Let’s face it, social media can be a bit overwhelming. With so many platforms to choose from and constant changes in algorithms and trends, it’s no wonder businesses sometimes feel lost. You might have a brilliant product or service, but if you’re not able to cut through the noise and capture your audience’s attention, it can feel like you’re shouting into the void. This is where social media marketing and strategy come into play.
Solution
Social media marketing involves using social media platforms to connect with your audience, build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. This is one of the most versatile digital marketing solutions, as it allows for both organic (free) and paid strategies.
As an SME owner, social media can be a powerful tool to build a community around your brand. Let’s say you run a small bookshop. You could use TikTok to share beautiful photos or videos of your store and new arrivals, Instagram to engage in conversations about books and reading, and Facebook to promote events like author signings or reading clubs. Even LinkedIn to connect and engage with the professional crowd.
Figure out where your audience likes to hang out online
Develop a consistent voice that reflects your brand’s personality
Mix up your content – photos, videos, polls, stories, and even live, as it has a higher success rate.
Be social! Respond to comments and messages promptly
Low Conversion Rates on Website
Driving traffic to your website is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in turning those visitors into customers. Many businesses find this tough, leading to missed opportunities and wasted resources. To add to this challenge, figuring out why visitors aren’t converting can be more tricky.
Additionally, these conversions are influenced by a multitude of factors, making it difficult to pinpoint which changes are driving results. It’s a bit like solving a puzzle, but once you find the right pieces, the bigger picture starts to make sense. The challenge in finding the right pieces is where small and medium-sized businesses struggle.
Solution
This is where Conversion Rate Optimisation can help. It is essentially the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action – be it filling out a form, becoming customers, or otherwise. The “conversion” part refers to the act of converting site visitors into customers.
For SME owners, CRO is very important because it helps you make the most of the traffic you’re already getting. If you run an online shop selling handmade jewellery, this solution could involve tweaking your product pages to make the “Add to Cart” button more prominent or simplifying your checkout process to reduce cart abandonment.
To improve your website’s conversion rate, here’s how to get started:
Take a good look at your website design through your users’ perspectives – see if you can spot any flaws.
Try some A/B testing – it’s like a friendly competition between two versions or web pages
Polish up those landing pages to shine for specific campaigns
Make your website a breeze to navigate – no one likes feeling lost!
Difficulty Capturing and Understanding Customer Data
Many businesses find developing personas and making the most of customer data for their marketing strategies challenging.
Creating accurate buyer personas and leveraging data effectively can feel like a daunting task. You need to gather the right information, analyse it correctly, and then use those insights to shape your marketing efforts. It’s a lot to juggle!
Moreover, many businesses find themselves swamped with data but unsure of how to use it to their advantage.
Once you have these personas, the next step is to tailor your marketing strategies to meet their specific needs and interests. This isn’t always straightforward, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data and the complexity of analysis required.
Solution
Understanding your customers is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. Persona development and analytics help you create detailed profiles of your ideal customers, allowing you to tailor your marketing efforts to meet their needs and preferences more effectively.
For example, let us assume, you own a handmade clothing company. By developing customer personas, you can identify different segments of your audience, such as eco-conscious millennials or fashion-forward professionals. These personas guide your marketing strategies, ensuring your content and campaigns resonate with the right people.
Last but not least, let’s talk about data-driven marketing:
Get yourself some top-notch analytics tools to keep track of everything
Regularly dive into your customer data – what interesting patterns can you spot?
Create detailed buyer personas based on real insights – get to know your customers!
Use your data to personalise your marketing – make your customers feel special
Keep testing and tweaking based on what the numbers tell you
For an all-in-one marketing toolkit, look no further than SEMrush. It integrates SEO, PPC, content, social media, and competitive research into one handy platform. With insights into market trends and competitor strategies, you’ll be well-equipped to craft effective campaigns that resonate with your audience.
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that stands out. It’s perfect for keyword research, backlink analysis, content idea generation, and competitor insights. Plus, it lets you track your site’s performance over time, ensuring you stay on top of your SEO game.
Google Search Console is an invaluable free tool for monitoring your website’s search performance. It helps you track search queries, spot indexing issues, and optimise your site’s visibility in Google search results. Regular use of this tool can enhance your SEO efforts.
Yoast SEO
If you’re using WordPress, Yoast SEO is an essential plugin for on-page optimisation. It offers real-time feedback on your content, meta tags, and readability, helping you create content that appeals to both your readers and search engines alike.
Grammarly
Grammarly is like having a personal writing assistant. This AI-powered tool checks your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style, ensuring your content is polished and professional. Whether you’re crafting blog posts or sending emails, Grammarly helps you communicate clearly and effectively.
Canva is a fantastic graphic design platform that makes it easy to create eye-catching visuals. From social media posts to infographics and marketing materials, Canva offers a wide range of templates to suit all your design needs, making it accessible to everyone.
HubSpot is your all-in-one solution for inbound marketing, sales, and CRM. With tools for content management, email marketing, social media, analytics, and lead generation, HubSpot streamlines your marketing efforts and helps you build meaningful connections with your audience.
Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform that’s perfect for businesses of all sizes. With user-friendly templates, marketing automation tools, and analytics, Mailchimp allows you to engage your audience effectively. Plus, it offers a free tier for smaller businesses, making it accessible for those just starting out.
Google Ads is the go-to platform for running pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. With the ability to reach potential customers across Google’s search network, display network, and YouTube, Google Ads allows you to target your audience precisely and maximise your ad spend.
Facebook Ads provides a powerful way to create and manage targeted campaigns across Facebook and Instagram. With detailed targeting options, you can reach the right audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviours, ensuring your ads have the impact you want.
Microsoft Advertising
Formerly known as Bing Ads, Microsoft Advertising offers an alternative PPC platform that allows you to reach audiences through Bing search and partner networks. Microsoft ads are a great option for diversifying your advertising strategy and tapping into new markets.
Hootsuite simplifies social media management by allowing you to schedule posts, monitor feeds, and analyse performance—all from one dashboard. It’s an invaluable tool for maintaining a consistent online presence and engaging with your audience effortlessly.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that provides insights into user behaviour, traffic sources, and conversion data. It’s essential for understanding how visitors interact with your site, allowing you to make informed decisions to enhance user experience.
Unbounce
Unbounce is a landing page builder that allows you to create and optimise high-converting landing pages without any coding knowledge. With A/B testing capabilities, you can experiment with different designs and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience.
Crazy Egg offers fantastic website optimisation tools, including heatmaps and user recordings. These features help you visualise how visitors engage with your site, highlighting areas for improvement and enhancing user experience.
Lastly, Facebook Audience Insights provides valuable analytics about your Facebook audiences. It offers details on demographics, interests, and behaviours, enabling you to tailor your marketing strategies and content creation effectively.
Lack of Time and Expertise to Manage Digital Marketing Activities
As a business owner, you might be managing various operations from managing logistics to handling customer service. Trying to tackle ‘digital marketing challenges’ to your already impressive list of roles might feel like trying to squeeze an elephant into a Mini Cooper – it’s just not going to fit comfortably.
Many small business owners and entrepreneurs find themselves in a similar boat. They’re overwhelmed by the complexities of digital marketing, lacking both the time and expertise to manage these activities effectively.
This is where Loop Digital can help your business. We understand that your time is precious, and your expertise is best spent on what you do best – running your business. That’s why partnering with a digital marketing agency like Loop Digital can be a game-changer for your business.
By teaming up with us, you’re not just outsourcing your digital marketing efforts – you’re gaining a passionate partner invested in your success. Our team of marketing experts brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, allowing you to focus on your core business activities while we handle the intricacies of digital marketing.
From SEO and content marketing to PPC and social media management, we’ve got all bases covered. Our diverse skill set ensures a comprehensive approach to your digital marketing.
Ready to take your digital marketing to the next level? We’d love to chat! Book a free consultation with us today, and partner with us to explore how we can transform your online presence. During our session, we’ll discuss your business goals, assess your current digital marketing efforts, and provide insights on how our services can help you achieve stellar results.
Mel is our Partner Strategy & Delivery Manager and also a CIM Chartered Marketer, a testament to her commitment to excellence in the field. But Mel’s contributions don’t stop at the office door. Beyond her professional endeavours, she leads an active life as a qualified run leader and dedicated volunteer. Her experience in these roles has streamlined her leadership and teamwork skills, making her an invaluable asset when it comes to collaborating on projects and ensuring their success. Her sharp insights, strategic thinking, and knowledge have made her a backbone in our team’s ability to drive results for clients in this industry. Mel will make sure that we can approach marketing challenges from all angles and deliver outstanding results for our clients.
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