Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends For Small Businesses This Fall

This fall, small businesses are definitely feeling the heat. To keep the influx of customers rising, you need to keep the heat on your digital marketing. So, what digital marketing trends are working for small businesses this fall? Check out these top 5 trends!

1. Make an Impression with Your Digital Footprint

When your customers see your business for the first time, how do they find you? Are they walking by your store? Discovered your business via social media or a simple online search? 97% of people find more about their local businesses online than anywhere else! That’s a lot of traction for your business coming from a source that you might not be monitoring. The good news? You can absolutely be in control of your online presence.

Having a strong digital footprint is comprehensive and takes time to build up. However, when you do, you will have a rockstar impression that will bring you customers for days. Live near the coast? Perfect! Make your digital footprint so strong that people are scheduling their vacations around visiting your business!

Digital aspects to keep in mind when growing your online presence:

• Social Media Platforms - Make sure your pages are up-to-date, responsive, and consistent. This is where potential customers can easily share your business with others and increase the attraction to your page. When you receive a comment or a dm, be sure to respond! Customers want their questions answered and their feedback received.

• Blog Regularly - Creating content that provides value to your viewers is how you can turn them into customers and retain them. In fact, 86% of those working on their digital marketing strategy include blogging. For instance, maybe you own a local boutique and see that people are making a lot of one-time purchases. Creating a blog post that shows how to style multiple pieces of clothing in your store together, can keep them coming back. Take a basic clothing item and show how it can be worn throughout the different seasons. This can help ensure that your clients keep coming back for more! By featuring a product they have previously purchased from you and revamping it with newer pieces, you will only increase their brand loyalty!

• Optimize Your Website - Here’s the thing, people simply aren’t patient. If a site is taking too long to load, the viewer is going to leave. No one has the time to wait around for an unresponsive site when your competitor’s site is loading with little to no difficulty. Secondly, trends change and that’s okay! What’s not okay is having your website reflect the 90’s when you are a remodeling company set up to modernize homes. While your site should absolutely reflect your niche, it also needs to appeal to the masses.

• Keep Track Of Reviews - No one in the history of online shopping has ever seen a business that has zero negative reviews. It happens and it’s not the end of the world. However, it’s crucial for your business to respond to negative reviews. Potential clients want to see how your company reacts to the negative reviews even more so than actually reading the positive reviews. Did you dismiss them? Try to argue that what they’re saying isn’t true? Or, did you respond in a professional manner and try to help them through the discrepancy? Customers need to know that they are going to have a great experience regardless of whether or not they ended up loving your product or service.

2. Shareworthy Videos, Create a Buzz That Lasts

Lately, Instagram and Facebook have been amping up their game when it comes to video content's importance. While some videos may appear silly and not your style, they are getting noticed. We aren’t saying you need to go learn the latest tik tok dance to get noticed, but you should try to switch up your content.

Live Streaming is taking the world by storm and no surprise to us, the change is coming fast. It’s even predicted that by 2022, 83% of the world's internet traffic will be video. By optimizing your video presence, you can create a long-lasting impression with your audience. These videos will give you the ability to connect with your audience on a personal level that’s raw and real. Getting influencers or past customers to review your products through video can create a more realistic, honest feel. Tip: if you have products that need to be assembled, try starting a youtube channel. This way you can show quick, easy, installation videos which can eliminate customer complaints down the road for installation/setup confusion.

3. Broadcasting Your Purpose

It’s time we take storytelling to a whole new level. Your audience needs to understand what fuels your business. We aren’t saying you have to try to change the world or bring about some immaculate change. But, why is your product or service important to the lives of those who use it? Do you want to make pumping gas easier and cleaner for those around you? Make cutting your hair at home easier and more affordable? Great! Regardless of your purpose, be sure to have one that is well articulated and easy for others to understand.

4. Static Content vs. Interactive Content

You might be thinking, content is content, right? Well, not exactly. Static content doesn’t typically change nor is it updated often. Examples of this include using the same photos over and over, videos, basic homepages, etc. Your static content will remain for weeks at a time, sometimes even months. Think about your profile picture. How often does that get changed? There is absolutely nothing wrong with incorporating static content into your digital marketing strategy. The key is to incorporate other digital mediums to enhance your strategy and captivate your audience.

Interactive content is intended to get your audience engaged. Examples of this would be an open forum chat on your blog, leaving the comment section open on your posts, surveys, interactive infographics, polls, and much more! An engaged audience is much more likely to yield higher conversion rates!

Why? Once your audience is actively engaged with your brand, they are more likely to complete a purchase instead of simply “adding to cart”, submitting their email for your newsletter, or downloading your ebook. Additionally, the more engaged your audience is, the higher their brand loyalty will be.

5. Micro Influencers, Macro Results

Instagram alone has over 800 million active monthly users and 95 million visuals are posted every single day. With this wide of an audience, it is no surprise that Instagram has quickly become a hot ticket item for businesses to use nationwide. (If you aren’t using Instagram, we highly suggest you take this as a sign to get on it!)

To set your business apart from the masses, micro influencers can be used to your advantage! The great thing about micro influencers is that they have a very loyal audience that tends to be pretty targeted. Typically, micro influencers have audiences that range from 1,000 - 100,000 followers, with high engagement rates.

Finding your niche and partnering with the right influencers can be monumental for your business. Audiences love being able to see real reviews from people they trust. Having a micro influencer post about your products or services can go such a long way. Not only are you getting an amazing review that will automatically reach a specific target audience, but you will get content that you can repurpose.

Regardless of your niche, implementing one of these 5 digital marketing strategies will only help your business grow. Focusing on one area of your digital marketing efforts might be a good idea if you’re taking it on independently. Becoming familiar with all of the latest trends in digital marketing is no easy task, and that’s where we can help! We take away the learning curve and go straight into adapting next level marketing for your business. Ready to take your business further this fall? Give us a call at (252) 876-2473 today!