With a global pandemic underfoot, social isolation is the new norm. People are staying at home as much as possible in order to flatten the curve of COVID-19. Since restrictions were put in place, many businesses have been forced to close their doors to the public. As a result of this, many have lost out on essential income. While some businesses have struggled, others have pivoted their entire business and come back fighting, taking their offering online. If you are wondering how to grow your small business online, now is the best time to do it.
Our Current Situation
While we in are in the midst of a global recession, we can take a look at the latest trends to understand exactly how to survive as a small business in this market. The good news is that there are still opportunities out there. All you need is the flexibility to pivot your business in the right direction.
Since COVID-19 hit, more and more people are jumping online. They are isolating at home and reaching out to connect more than ever through the internet. According to Forbes, the pandemic has pushed internet use up by 70%. If you are a small business, now is the best time to jump online and get your products and services seen.
How to Grow your Small Business Online
Here are 5 great steps to take to grow your small business online:
1. Set Up A Website
Your website is the face of your business online, and it is important to have one to show off who you are and add a degree of professionalism. It doesn’t need to be overly fancy – in fact, simple works best in the online world. People want to be able to navigate your site easily and find what they are looking for.
2. Set Up Your Socials
This can be a little overwhelming to start with, but you don’t need to be on every social channel. Instead, put together a customer avatar, which is essentially your ideal customer. Using this information, research each social channel and see if it is the best place to find your audience. This is how you can narrow down the platforms you choose to be on.
3. Content Creation
In order to build a relationship with your customers, it is important to offer them something in return. Offering free content on a subject that interests them is a great way to draw them to your website and hook them in with your product and or service. The more value you can add, the better the relationship you will build.
4. Capture Emails
Once you have your customer on your site, you want to capture their emails for future marketing. Either have a pop-up form when they land on the page or include a form at the bottom of the post. Either way, capturing their email is priceless and means you can directly target this customer with email campaigns in the future.
5. Set Up A Digital Marketing Strategy
Now it’s time to set up a strategy to see the sales rolling in. This is a mix of content creation, social media and looking at PPC advertising with platforms such as Google Ads. This is the best way to bring in the customers to your site, where you can win them over with your valuable content, capture their email and sell to them now and in the future. You can also set up retargeting campaigns for customers who have visited your site to draw them back in.
Get the Help you Need
Starting up a small business and getting it off to a running leap is no easy feat – especially not in times of a recession. Now you understand how to grow your small business online, you can take a look at what investment you currently can make in your business. As you can see above, an effective digital marketing strategy involves time and money being spent in the right place. If you are short on funds, it may be worth looking at taking out a small business loan to help you out.
As you can see, growing your small business in the online world is very possible. The best part is, going digital creates a level playing field. You have just as much chance of getting seen as the bigger brands, as long as you invest your resources into an effective digital marketing strategy. It takes time, money and hard work to see results, and you won’t get them overnight. The good news is that if you commit, you will see them.
ALC Commercial has a range of small business loans to choose from, giving you the boost you need to see your business thrive. Get in contact with us today, and see what we can do to help you out.
