We’ve worked a lot with entrepreneurs, from organic skincare brands to a recent (and still in development) business launching a music learning school online. What is digital marketing for entrepreneurs?
Stepping Stones
I was an online marketing manager for a company selling personalised gifts. Founded by two guys who wanted out of the corporate world. They tried many ideas. A lot failed. OK they would say and move on till they found a business they enjoyed and they made successful.
Digital Marketing and the Entrepreneur
Digital marketing offers quick and inexpensive returns. The idea has to be a sound one but for very little outlay you can test that idea and get real data.
It’s not a quick trigger though. Using Google Ads and Facebook Ads is going to give you some solid data (as does Google’s free Search Console for organic traffic). That data will come from keywords / conversions from Google Ads and people you target on Facebook market targets / conversions.
Systematic Checklist for an Entrepreneur Online
What do you need to make business successful online?
We’ll leave aside apps and look at websites for this checklist.
- Website
- Email List
- Social Presence
- Content Marketing
- Budget
Couldn’t be simpler eh? Just need budget and some bits and bobs?
Website
You can throw up a website practically free or spend thousands on a funky bit of work from the designers and developers. Which ever way you go remember it is not ‘your baby’. A website is a tool, it will improve if you are listening to your visitors and followers.
A website, when you put interesting, informative and fun content on it will attract visitors and sales / subscribers / service users. So, we have a secure website, easy to navigate and all the technical and organic SEO sorted.
Email List
This is the key. You want to build this from the start. There are many ways to do this, with a slide-in, pop-up or sticky bar leading the charge and the use of ‘lead magnets’ eg a download of some worth, or an offer.
We’ve built substantial email lists using print and Facebook Ads. It cost but you can’t sneeze at a double opted-in email list of over 30,000 in eighteen months.
Social Presence
You’ll most likely need someone savvy doing your social marketing. Someone who analyses which content is getting traction, that is engagement and shares. Someone au fait with Instagram and Facebook, TikTok perhaps? This all depends on your business and the demographic.
Budget
Well, no getting away from this as you’ll have to spend on all of the above, creative content, slick website, designers, developers and ads etc.
Be realistic. You can get a fair amount of data and sales with as little as £10 per day on Google or Facebook Ads. A typical ecommerce site generating 20k in revenue could be spending as little as £300 on Google Ads.
Content Marketing for Digital Success
Another key is the content you create, the original stuff. It can be a mix, indeed you must think in terms of copy, video, imagery, games, surveys etc, etc. You will have developed several themes to try and you will be aware of the seasonality of your business.
Goals, Statistics, A Dashboard and Actions
Measure everything you can. From which forms / pop-ups produce signups to the use of a contact form, downloads, in fact everything. The more data the better. These are goals to set up in Google Analytics. Statistics lie. Find the ones that lead to an action that either increases your sales, subscribers, brand awareness or influence.
Capture all of these in a dashboard weekly, a simple spreadsheet will do. You’ll also want on that dashboard your targets and the percentage of targets achieved per week or month.
Targets in the main are revenue driven but can also be influence or engagement based. For example you could track the time on page for a particular article or the amount of shares on social.
A little bit more about Conversion Detectives and entrepreneurs.
About Conversion Detectives
We offer a range of digital marketing activities including transmedia storytelling.
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Digital Marketing Strategy | Creative Content Marketing | Email Marketing | Lead Generation | Content Strategy |
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