Social Media Optimization – The advent of digital has made it possible for small brands and businesses to expand their operations. Being a democratising medium, digital empowers small businesses to explore various digital marketing strategies.
ATL (Above The Line) Advertising did not permit small brands to market or advertise themselves owing to high costs and competition. Only the big brands could afford to use television, hoardings, banners, and print media to publicise themselves.
However, digital marketing, which falls within the BTL (Below The Line) Advertising, has enabled many small brands. Maintaining a digital presence is essential for brands. As more and more people switch their buying preferences online, the need of the hour is for small brands to be aggressive here.
Why is Digital such an enticing proposition for small brands?
For a very long time, the technical aspect of digital marketing acted as a hindrance for small brands. However, once brands were able to explore the digital medium on their own, they realised what they were missing.
Let us now discuss some reasons why small brands find digital an attractive aspect of promoting their business.
- Cost Efficient and Affordable-
The biggest advantage of small brands adopting digital is because of the affordability factor. Digital presence in many mediums is free. Even if there are costs involved, usually for promotions and SEO, it is cost efficient and affordable.
- Impetus given by platforms to Local Businesses-
The second biggest attraction for small brands is the impetus given to localisation by platforms like Google My Business (GMB). GMB helps use location and maps to redirect consumers to their nearest possible locations.
- Immediate Results and Quick Turnaround times-
Digital is a highly evolving and dynamic domain. Marketing results do not come after a year. You can bear witness to them in just a month after executing a strategy. Moreover, if you go wrong, you can scrap it and then start afresh. Traditional models of marketing and advertising do not offer this advantage.
- Complete Autonomy and Independence-
On digital platforms, brands are free to set their own narrative. They do not have to go through a third party like a television channel or a newspaper. This gives brands complete independence in terms of reaching out to their customers and opening a dialogue with them.
- Tracking Progress and Reports-
Digital is also a highly transparent medium. It is possible for brands to track real time progress based on data and analytics. It does not sound as complicated as it sounds. Reports and data from social media are easy to understand and extract. This helps you evaluate your performance and plan better.
Social Media Optimization:
Best Digital Mediums for Small Brands to grow their businesses
I have already stated at the outset that when it comes to digital, money is not a factor to succeed. Yes, big companies burn through millions of dollars in promotions, but if you are smart, you can use the medium to your advantage. Social Media Optimization
- Create a Free Brand Website from WordPress-
Think of your physical brick and mortar store. A brand website is like your store in the digital world. You do not need to invest a lot of money when it comes to creating a website. Free websites are available on WordPress and other platforms.
If you want to stand out, you can also choose from thousands of paid website themes and templates. These are cheap, efficient and affordable. Maintaining a website will help you be on search engines. It will also help you establish your credibility.
You can share a lot of content on your website. You can have an ‘About Us’ section where you can write about your brand and its history. You can also mention all your products, services and other offerings that your physical store offers.
- Use Social Media strategically-
No one platform has empowered small brands as social media has. By maintaining a social media presence, brands can reach out to existing and newer customers. Social media marketing can help small brands reach out to the right audiences, build a community and generate healthy leads for business.
If you are starting out on social media, you can steer away from the promotional part of it. All you need to do is maintain a complete profile. You also need to post regularly to build engagement and attract newer audiences.
Do not try to maintain a presence on ten platforms. Choose platforms that you think are most suited to your brand. However, I would say that maintaining a presence on at least three platforms is necessary for brands.
- Maintain a presence on Google My Business-
Small brands cannot hope to attract audiences across continents. Yes, they can, but shipping charges and overheads can become challenging. Social Media Optimization. In order to promote local businesses, Google started the Google My Business platform.
It is easy, efficient and really contributes to generating queries and encourages walk-ins. According to Hootsuite, a GMB account can drastically increase visibility. The best part about GMB is that it promotes small brands, both online and offline.
If you are suffering from decreased footfalls, GMB will help you address that problem. All you need to do is fill in information about your business, location, timings, images and videos, and let Google do the work.
- Start a Blog
The digital world is all about building communities. It is also about driving the right kind of traffic to your website. For small brands, a blog section ensures that you are engaging with audiences at the right place.
People are always looking for solutions and information. If you are a small bakery, you can use the blog to write about recipes, best practices of baking, ingredients and everything related to the business.
Over a period, you will see that your blog receives a steady flow of traffic. This traffic is essential if you want to improve the metrics and health of your website. This will also be instrumental in building your community and establishing you as an authority voice.
Social Media Optimization:
The Final Word
Small brands cannot afford to shell out thousands of dollars for billboards. Nor can they spend insane amounts of money for SEO. However, thankfully, there is a way in which they can maintain their presence.
The power of digital as a tool for transformation can truly empower small brands. It can help them take the next steps in a journey of evolution. It can also help them stay relevant in changing times.
Digital is not as complicated as it is made out to be. It is quite simple, uncluttered and efficient. If small brands are able to maintain a digital presence, they will see their businesses improving soon enough.