Digital Marketing 101: A Beginner’s Guide for New Businesses

Your budding business can only take off if people are aware of it, and today, that means actively marketing it online.

This article is a crash course on how to do so. It covers the most important avenues you should pursue and what to consider if you want to market your business effectively and safely. 

Social Media 

Creating and maintaining a social media presence is an excellent way to get started with digital marketing. Everyone’s on it, and you can cater to local as well as general audiences.

Interacting with followers lets you build up social clout, which is invaluable for long-term success. 

Start by picking the right platform and maintaining a steady post schedule. Advertising your products and services is much more effective if you back it up with content people will find valuable that isn't pushy. You'll also want to regularly interact with your social media followers and promptly answer questions. 

Don’t shy away from negative comments — handling them professionally and courteously will help people perceive you as knowledgeable, responsible, and trustworthy.

Be careful about account thefts, too. No matter how big or small the business is, malicious actors may access the brand account. They could use this advantage to scam customers, spread misinformation, damage the brand's reputation, or even demand ransom in exchange for returning access. To avoid that, make sure to use appropriate software, such as the best password managers available, but more on that later.

Your Website 

Ultimately, all your marketing efforts should steer customers towards a bespoke website where you can show your offerings off without external limitations. Make sure the site is easy to navigate, quick to load, and mobile-friendly. 

Include lots of calls to action (CTA) and encourage visitor engagement through special offers and freebies like a useful eBook. Set up a blog as part of the site and regularly post content like reviews, how-to guides, and tutorials.

Not only does that help portray your business as an expert in the field, but it also lets you improve your SEO strategy to rank higher and be easier to discover. A strong SEO foundation includes content, technical optimization, and quality backlinks. If you're looking to boost your website's authority and visibility, SharpRocket, a top link building agency UK can assist. By leveraging their expertise, you can enhance your site's authority and drive organic traffic growth.

Email Campaigns 

Email remains an exceptionally effective marketing tool that's easy and cost-effective to capitalize on. Start by generating quality leads. Existing customers and people interested in your offerings are the best, so get them to sign up for your newsletter.

Do so with incentives like promo codes and experiment with audience segmentation to create tailored promotional messages with an even higher success rate.

Paid Advertising 

Organic growth takes time and effort. However, you can help it along with an advertising campaign. Decide which platforms to run your ads on, target the right audience, and set a budget.

Provided your products and customer relationship skills are on point, a good ad campaign can provide a short-term buzz that translates to more profits and loyal customers down the line. 

Account Security 

Expanding your marketing activities means adopting numerous new tools and platforms. Each requires an account, which can be hacked and abused if you don’t take proper precautions, just like we mentioned previously. Cybersecurity needs to be a core part of your marketing strategy, and a password manager is the first tool to add to your arsenal. 

These tools automatically create and safely store complex, unique passwords for all your accounts and can secure them with two-factor authentication. This prevents unauthorized access to secured accounts and protects from data breaches that would otherwise expose sensitive customer and business data.

If you are planning to use one, password managers for Windows, MacOS, and other operating systems are readily available online.

Conclusion

As more people ditch print media and television for always-online computer and phone screens, capturing customer attention in the digital world is becoming increasingly impactful. Even if you're a local business steeped in family tradition, not tooting your virtual horn is a mistake you can no longer afford to make.