Small businesses already face plenty of challenges. Small businesses tend to be the first to feel the effects of a struggling economy or even just slight headwinds, and they have to remain competitive with not only other small businesses but also large companies.
Many times the founders and owners of small businesses are doing a little or a lot of everything to keep operations moving along, and that can mean their focus is on day-to-day- running of the business and in some cases survival.
That doesn’t leave a lot of time or resources for things like digital marketing and advertising. As a result, many small businesses have been slow or unsuccessful in creating effective strategies to address these areas.
Small businesses often have to be incredibly savvy with their digital marketing and advertising. They may have a limited budget to work with, requiring them to ensure that every cent counts in these areas. The following are some of the most important considerations small businesses should keep in mind this year as they address digital advertising and marketing.
Why Do You Need A Digital Strategy?
First and foremost, small business owners need to understand now just the how’s of digital marketing and advertising, but also the why’s.
Consider the following, listed on Smallbusiness.com.
- 77% of Americans own a smartphone, as compared to only 35% in 2011.
- 92% of 18 to 29 year old’s have a smartphone and 75% of adults aged 50-64 own a smartphone.
- 69% of U.S. adults use social media, and that number goes up to 86% for people aged 18 to 29.
These are just a few of the essential reasons your small business need to invest in digital advertising and marketing.
Mobile Marketing
While small businesses might already have in place some digital marketing or advertising, they most likely aren’t putting enough focus on the essential element: mobile.
Mobile is the most important consideration in digital marketing, with Zenith predicting 2017 will be the year mobile advertising surpasses desktop.
If you’re engaging in a digital marketing strategy that doesn’t include an eye toward mobile, you’re missing out in a serious way. Everything including not just your website, but also your content and ads need to be optimized for mobile consumption and use.
It’s not enough just to make small changes. Your entire marketing strategy should revolve around mobile users, and making sure you’re catering to their needs and requirements.
Native Advertising
Native advertising is a term that refers to advertisements that don’t look like ads, and instead look like content. When it comes to online ads, native advertising is embedded in the content around it, and it matches the design and style of the page.
Along with native display ads, another popular concept in digital advertising is the use of online videos.
According to Business Insider, native advertising spending went to $2.6 billion in 2016, and it’s expected to grow to a staggering $21 billion in 2018.
Consumers are more discerning and critical than ever, and they tend to disregard or move away from very obvious online advertising immediately. That’s why native is on the rise. When native advertising is done right, it blends in with the rest of the content on a platform, and it creates value for the audience.
Competitor Analysis
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to build your marketing and advertising strategies based on at least some understanding of what your competitors are doing.
Competitor analysis is important, but it’s also easier to manage than ever before.
You can use a tool like Screaming Frog, which is an SEO Spider tool. You install this desktop program locally on your computer, and it then crawls links, images, CSS, script and apps to look at onsite SEO.
You can use tools like Screaming Frog to analyze in real time and make more informed decisions about every aspect of your SEO and marketing.
Small businesses have no leeway when it comes to embracing trends and key concepts in digital media. In fact, they’re the organizations that need to be focused on these areas the most, and above are some of the primary considerations to keep in mind this year, and into next as well.
All so true.
One stat from: Small Business and Entraprenuership Council
http://sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/
In 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, there were 5.73 million employer firms in the U.S. Firms with fewer than 500 workers accounted for 99.7 percent of those businesses, and businesses with less than 20 workers made up 89.6 percent.
This points to the fact that those businesses that have the least leeway in embracing the trends are the very same that are, in aggregate, creating them.