SEMrush Holdings Inc.

12/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/17/2024 03:37

Digital Marketing for Small Business: A Practical Guide for 2025

Marketing your small business online opens up unique opportunities-more traffic, stronger brand awareness, and higher sales.

The best part? You don't need a big team or years of expertise to grow your digital presence.

Having spent years working with small businesses, I've seen firsthand how achievable this can be.

In this guide, I'll share 13 effective digital marketing strategies, complete with actionable steps and examples.

What Is Digital Marketing for Small Businesses?

Digital marketing for small businesses involves promoting your products and services through online platforms.

It replaces traditional methods like print ads or billboards with targeted strategies for reaching your ideal customers.

Here are some examples:

  • Search engine optimization (SEO): Enhancing your website and content to appear in search results
  • Social media: Connecting with your audience through platforms like Instagram or TikTok
  • Content marketing: Providing helpful or entertaining content for your target audience
  • Email marketing: Sending personalized messages or newsletters to your leads and customers
  • Digital ads: Placing ads on search engines, social media, or websites
  • Influencer marketing: Collaborating with content creators or industry experts
  • Local marketing: Targeting customers in your area via various digital channels

Digital marketing is especially powerful for small businesses with limited resources because it helps them compete with larger companies.

For example, Going Solo, an app for finding travel buddies, used Instagram to expand their reach and grow their business.

They currently have over 140,000 followers on Instagram and use this channel to engage with their audience and drive more traffic to their app.

Imagine how many new users they attract every day with this free, organic channel.

13 Digital Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

I've curated these digital marketing strategies to suit all types of small businesses, whether it's a B2B consultancy, an ecommerce store, or a local business.

Some of these strategies are universally applicable, while others are tailored for specific business types.

Let's dive in.

1. Always Start with Your Digital Marketing Goals

As a small business owner, kickstarting your digital marketing efforts can be daunting.

Creating a blog, getting on TikTok (or maybe Instagram), running email marketing campaigns-it's natural to feel overwhelmed by the endless marketing channels.

Spoiler alert: You don't have to be present on all those channels just because others are.

A simple goal-setting exercise can help you determine the direction of your marketing strategy and decide on the necessary tactics. For example:

  • If you're after quick sales, focus on digital ads as they provide quick results
  • If you've already laid the foundation for your business, prioritize brand awareness and invest in content marketing

You can follow the SMART framework to set effective digital marketing objectives:

For example, your SMART goal could sound like:

"Increase website traffic on product pages by 20% over the next three months by running targeted ad campaigns and posting product content on Instagram."

2. Get a Clear Understanding of Your Online Audience

Your digital marketing campaigns will only be effective if they resonate with your customers.

Make sure you know who you want to target and what these audiences want. Try answering these questions:

  • What are their challenges?
  • How do they make purchasing decisions?
  • What are their preferences and habits?
  • How do they consume information?

For example, Eternal Muse is a brand that sells heatless curlers online.

It has a stunning Instagram presence with over 300k followers, creating a powerful base for selling its product.

This success is possible because Eternal Muse understands its audience.

It tackles topics relevant to women following the brand, which ensures organic reach and engagement.

There are various tools you can use to analyze your target audience. These include:

For example, here's how you could use One2Target. The platform gives you various insights about your online audience in just a few clicks.

You simply enter any domain and check useful data about your audience, including demographics, socioeconomics, behavior, and more.

3. Analyze Your Competitors' Digital Marketing Presence

Let's face it, small business owners are reluctant to invest in marketing campaigns because they're unsure of the return on investment (ROI).

Analyzing your competitors is a great way to learn whether your marketing tactics are worth betting on.

It also helps you understand which activities resonate with your audience, and which work best for other players in the sector.

Here's how to do it:

  • Check your competitors' sites, social profiles, emails, and so on, and analyze their content and distribution channels
  • Notice which social media posts generate the most comments, shares, and likes for them
  • Use specialized tools, such as Semrush's Organic Research, to discover which website pages and keywords help them attract traffic

Organic Research provides a complete overview of your competitors' organic presence. You can check their high-ranking pages and top organic keywords.

Another tool you can try is Traffic Analytics, which lets you monitor your competitors' total web traffic.

Use it to check their top overall channels and content, as well as the audience profiles of their visitors.

4. Create a Visually Appealing, Conversion-Optimized Website

Before you start running ads or sending emails, prepare the foundation: a functional website.

Remember, you won't get value from any traffic if it doesn't convert visitors.

To do that, you'll need optimized landing pages featuring product details, forms, calls-to-action (CTA) buttons, and so on.

Here are the essentials to focus on when building your website for your small business :

  • Clearly explain your business and what you offer
  • Have specific pages for each separate offer, product, or service
  • Address potential customer concerns or objections using website messaging or FAQs
  • Make it easy for visitors to make a purchase
  • Provide social proof (e.g., customer reviews) to build trust

For example, Going.com does a good job with its website homepage. It offers a direct benefit-saving money on flights-and makes it easy to convert, using a clear CTA.

They also provide social proof by showing the outlets that have featured the brand.

However, it doesn't stop at the homepage and main site pages.

Many businesses struggle with converting blog post readers into leads and customers.

Often, they have no conversion forms or buttons on their blog pages. And it's not easy to convert someone without a CTA.

However, simple actions like adding a blog banner could help them fix that. Here's how page banners help convert Semrush's blog readers:

5. Deliver a Great Customer Experience via Digital Channels

Customer experience is the overall perception that customers have when interacting with a brand across different touchpoints.

Improving this experience and connecting online and offline channels helps you build trust and encourage customer loyalty.

Here are some tactics you can use:

  • Offer multiple contact channels: Provide different ways for customers to reach you, such as phone, email, and live website chats
  • Maintain consistency across all touchpoints: Use the same branding, messaging, and quality of source both on- and offline-on your website and in-store
  • Provide self-service support on digital channels: Make the buying process smoother by offering resources such as FAQs, fast online checkout, and online bookings.

For example, Brewery X, a Californian craft brewery, has enhanced its customer experience by implementing an online ordering system.

In contrast to its competitors, it lets customers browse the brewery's beer selection, place orders for pickup or delivery, and even schedule brewery tours through the app.

Brewery X also engages customers through social media.

The company shares regular updates on new releases and events, which encourages community involvement and keeps customers informed.

6. Plan and Execute a Winning SEO Strategy

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps improve your site's visibility on search engines like Google and Bing.

By optimizing your website to rank in search results, you can attract target customers with different types of intent-such as to buy a product or to find information.

A strong SEO strategy requires creation of high-quality, optimized content that targets specific topics and keywords.

For example, Hepper-a pet furniture brand-achieved a 2,964% increase in product sales revenue and 90,000 daily visitors thanks to content-driven SEO.

How?

By finding relevant keywords and creating over 5,000 articles that tackled their customers' questions!

To get started, go back to your customer profiles and list high-level topics that they care about.

Then, conduct keyword research to find content opportunities.

You can use Semrush's Keyword Strategy Builder to find high-intent keywords (keywords that are more likely to drive conversions) for your business.

First, launch Keyword Strategy Builder and add a few seed keywords. A seed keyword is a broad term related to your business, product, service or industry.

In this example, we'll use a "cat toys" seed keyword.

Select your location country and hit 'Create list.'

Semrush will then generate a mind map with various topic clusters related to your seed keyword.

Each topic cluster includes one main keyword with several secondary keywords.

Further down, you'll find exact keywords to target within each specific topic-for example, the keyword "silver vine vs catnip" for the "silver vine for cats" topic.

Once you're done collecting keywords, it's time to create high-quality content that's optimized to rank in search.

6. Invest in Content Marketing

Content marketing involves creating and sharing useful content (blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.) to attract and engage your target audience.

It's a way to generate traffic and engagement without massive promotional budgets.

Take inspiration from Flowrite, one of Semrush's many customers.

This AI startup grew its monthly organic traffic to 1 million after two years of consistent content marketing and SEO efforts.

They achieved this with only one marketing person on the team.

Source

How did they get there?

By identifying their customers' broader pain points and creating relevant content to tackle them.

You can achieve this access-even with limited resources-with smart AI writing tools like ContentShake AI.

This method helps you create content at scale while ensuring high rankings and maintaining content quality.

Here's how it works.

First, head to ContentShake AI and choose one of the suggested trending content ideas (or add your own).

Click 'Generate article' and set the parameters for your blog post. Select the title, the suggested keywords you want, and the content length.

You can also create and select a brand voice, so that the article will be written in your unique style.

Then, hover to add the SEO boost and images to your article, and click 'Create article.'

Wait a couple of minutes and your SEO-ready draft will be ready.

Use the blog editor and the integrated AI chat to add more content and enhance your draft with personal anecdotes, examples, research, and more.

ContentShake AI also scores each draft and helps you improve readability and tone of voice.

Fact: 42% of Americans use social media platforms to discover new small businesses.

While this data is limited to the United States, it highlights the power of social media for your small business.

Start planning your social media presence by selecting the platforms to focus on.

Remember, you don't need to be everywhere. Choose your channels based on your current goals and audience.

For instance, if your target audience are professionals, they are more likely to make purchasing decisions on LinkedIn, even if they are active on TikTok.

At Semrush, we follow this approach. Our LinkedIn posts are more focused on promoting our content and products:

Meanwhile, our TikTok is almost entirely about entertainment-helping us grow Semrush's reach and brand awareness.

The next step in building your brand awareness is to look for social media content ideas:

  • Use social channels to promote the content you publish on your website, to discuss company news, and to feature your product.
  • Publish native social media content, such as posts and reels reflecting on your target audience's pain points.

For example, Turn Up, a music dating app, regularly posts funny reels about pain points such as finding a concert buddy.

These resonate immensely with their target audience and translate the main value proposition of the brand.

Finally, examine your competitors' social media strategies to understand which platforms, formats, and topics perform well in your niche.

You can use Semrush's Social Media Platform to do that faster, and to benchmark your social media performance with your rivals on a regular basis.

9. Invest in Email Marketing

Email marketing uses email as an online marketing channel to reach and communicate with your target audience.

It still works very well: 81% of small and medium business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention and helps acquire customers.

There are several types of marketing emails you can send:

  • Transactional emails: Automated emails for order confirmations, shipping updates, etc.
  • Nurture sequences: Automated emails that educate and engage users once they have become part of your CRM. For example, a diet app could share emails with tips for selecting foods and creating a meal plan based on each user's preferences.
  • Newsletters: Regular educational emails that engage your audience, position you as an authority, and drive traffic back to your site.

For example, Henneke Duistermaat runs Enchanting Marketing-a place where you can learn about copywriting, purchase courses, and buy Henneke's books.

To keep her readers engaged, Henneke sends regular newsletters with copywriting tips that link back to the latest articles.

Another example is the regular newsletter by & Other Stories.

The clothing brand uses it to showcase new items and looks, driving users back to their site.

10. Run Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Influencer marketing involves partnering with influencers or online creators to increase your reach and generate leads.

Research shows that influencer endorsements are one of the most influential marketing tactics for small businesses.

However, influencer marketing is often perceived as an expensive digital marketing strategy-mostly because well-known influencers can charge thousands of dollars for collaborations.

But don't let this discourage you from running influencer marketing campaigns.

If budget is a concern, consider working with smaller influencers who cater to a niche audience. They charge significantly less and often bring more authenticity to their content.

For example, Magic Molecule, a small skincare brand, collaborated with a nano-influencer with fewer than 10,000 followers to create an Instagram reel.

While the reel only received 145 likes, it attracted genuine comments from people who appreciated the product recommendation.

Remember, organizing a successful influencer campaign is not about working with the most famous creator.

Instead, find someone who:

  • Has followers who might also be interested in your products
  • Has high engagement (such as comments and shares)on their social media profiles
  • Shares your vision and mission
  • Can offer something that fits your budget

Not sure where to start?

Use influencer marketing platforms such as Influencer Analytics to find relevant creators who meet your requirements faster.

11. Run Digital Ads

Paid advertising is a marketing strategy where businesses pay to promote their products, services, or content on digital platforms.

Unlike organic marketing, paid advertising involves continuous financial investment to reach your target audience.

Here are some types of paid ad approaches you can explore:

Here's an example of a paid ad on LinkedIn:

Just as with many other channels, it's a good idea to start with analysis of the competition.

Use Semrush's Advertising Research to gather insights on your competitors' ad spending, top-performing ads, and targeted keywords.

You can also check social media ad libraries, like Facebook's Ad Library, to see the ads your competitors are running on social media-and to get inspired.

Then, use platforms such as Semrush's Ads Launch Assistant to simplify the process.

This will help you create effective Meta and Google ads, even if you have no prior experience, and track their performance in real time.

12. Tap into Video Marketing

According to Wyzowl's 2024 video marketing survey, 89% of customers want to see more videos from brands this year.

The best part: Your video content can go viral. This means reaching thousands of potential customers without investing in paid promotion.

A good example is the "Squatty Potty" video campaign.

Squatty Potty is a company that sells toilet stools designed to improve bathroom posture.

They created a humorous video featuring a unicorn pooping rainbow-colored ice cream to explain the benefits of their product-reaching over 40 million views on YouTube!

But is video marketing just about viral content?

Of course not.

Remember, while viral hits are great, consistent, targeted video content can also drive steady growth for your small business.

Besides, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to break the bank to experiment with video marketing.

For example, you can use your smartphone to shoot high-quality video.

AI video generators such as Synthesia and Veed.io, and editing apps like Canva, can also simplify the process. Here's what Synthesia's dashboard looks like:

13. Implement Local Search Optimization (for Local Businesses)

Finally, if you run a local business like a salon, restaurant, or retail store, you need to establish a solid local presence.

This is where local SEO comes in. It helps you show up in local search results.

Let's imagine you run an Italian restaurant in New York.

You'll want your business to show up when locals search for "Italian restaurant New York" or just "Italian restaurants near me."

If someone from a different part of town or a visitor searches for "the best Italian restaurant in New York," you'll want your restaurant to appear in those results as well.

This helps attract customers who are specifically looking to dine in your neighborhood.

Here's 3 steps to making this happen, take the following key steps:

It's best to use specialized tools like Semrush's Listing Management tool to automate this process.

It'll help you access a complete collection of local directories to list your business, including Yelp, Foursquare, and Tripadvisor, and optimize your presence accordingly.

You can also use it to grow your local rankings, enhance your profile, and manage online business reviews.

Create a Powerful Small Business Digital Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing has always been a tough nut to crack for small businesses.

Many business owners hold back for fear that online marketing campaigns will cost a fortune or won't bring positive results.

But it doesn't have to be like that. Follow this process:

  • Start by documenting your business goals and connect them to your marketing KPIs
  • Pick a couple of channels that align with your goals and your target audience's preferences.
  • Analyze your audience and understand their pain points
  • Deliver content that resonates with them using those digital channels and experiment with various formats and topics

Over time, you'll be able to scale your efforts and start seeing real results.