Blog

About 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. By the end of five years, about half of these businesses have failed. Don’t let your small business experience the same fate!

Instead, use these 10 digital marketing tips for Washington, DC small businesses.

With these tips, you can stand out from the competition! You’ll have an easier time drawing people to your small business as a result. Then, you can boost sales and improve your ROI.

Set your business up for long-term growth and success. Develop a strong digital marketing strategy with these 10 tips today.  

1. Establish Your Goals

Before you develop your digital marketing strategy, take the time to consider your short- and long-term goals. Outlining your goals will help you choose the right strategies to accomplish those goals. Otherwise, you could lack direction along the way.

Consider drafting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Driven, Timely (SMART) goals.

SMART goals will help you remain organized and on track. You can split a SMART goal into smaller benchmarks, too. That way, you can track your progress along the way. 

If you’re not reaching your benchmarks, you’ll know you need to make a change to your marketing strategy.

Your business isn’t like other DC small businesses in the industry. Set goals that are distinct to your needs.

Where are you struggling? For example, do you want to:

• Generate brand awareness
• Build brand recognition
• Generate more website traffic
• Establish yourself as a thought leader
• Boost brand trust and loyalty
• Retain long-term customers
• Increase social media followers
• Get more people to read your blog posts
• Boost your email open rates
• Improve your cost-per-acquisition

These digital marketing tips can help you accomplish those goals.

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for each goal on your list. Your KPIs will help you track your progress. 

2. Understand Your Audience

It’s not enough to set your goals. For a successful digital marketing strategy, you need research, too. Otherwise, you might struggle to reach your customers with your marketing materials.

Almost 70% of businesses struggle to attract web traffic and leads. Meanwhile, 80% of leads never translate into sales. Your marketing strategy can help you attract visitors and convert those visitors into customers. 

In order to attract people to your website, you need to understand the customer’s needs.

Who are your customers? What problems do they face every day? What solutions can you offer them?

If you’re targeting a huge audience, segment that audience into smaller personas based on:

• Location
• Education
• Language
• Age
• Gender
• Household income
• Buying behaviors
• Pain points
• Search behaviors
• Marital status
• Interests

Then, develop a different marketing strategy for each group.

It’s important to personalize your content with your customers in mind. Otherwise, they’ll turn to someone who cares about their needs.

3. Optimize Your Website

Your website can market your business 24/7. If your website doesn’t impress consumers, they’ll leave. You’ll miss a chance to gain leads as a result.

Instead, update your website with the latest user experience (UX) design trends. UX design ensures your site is fast and easy to use.

Make sure your website is mobile-optimized, too.

Google uses mobile-first indexing when choosing rankings. A higher ranking will position you in front of more customers. You can draw more people to your website as a result. 

4. Create Compelling Content

Your website content can help you draw more people to your site. It can also show off your experience and expertise. You could become a thought leader in your industry as a result.

Experiment with different forms of content, including:

• Blog posts
• Polls
• Quizzes
• Articles
• Press releases
• eBooks
• Videos
• Infographics
• Lists

Find different ways to share your content. For example, you can post these on your blog or send them in a newsletter. Don’t forget social media, too.

5. Get Optimized

Search engine optimization (SEO) can help boost your search engine ranking. Remember, a higher ranking will boost your online visibility. You can draw more people to your site as a result. 

In fact, SEO drives 1,000% more traffic than organic social media. 

A higher ranking can increase brand awareness and position you ahead of competitors. As you gain more traffic, your ranking will continue to rise. A higher ranking can make you look like a credible resource in the industry, too.

SEO can get complicated, especially since Google’s search engine algorithm changes throughout the year. 

You can work with a local SEO company like this one to get started.

6. Use PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) can also boost your online visibility. When someone clicks on your ad, they’ll reach a page on your website. You can create PPC ads for social media and search engines.

Consider creating remarketing ads. Remarketing ads appear in front of previous website visitors. You can draw people back to your website to boost conversions.

7. Keep Emailing

Make sure to add an email subscription form to your website. Then, nurture those leads.

Send subscribers updates about your business. You can also send them coupons, blog post links, and new product updates. That way, you can keep drawing them back to your website.

8. Stay Social

Social media marketing is a great way to keep people engaged with your business.

Experiment with different forms of content, including live videos and reels. Live videos can help you communicate with your customers. Answer their questions and show them you’re there to help.

Try hosting a contest online, too!

Otherwise, collaborate with other DC small businesses. Collaborating can help expand your online reach. 

9. Start Automating

As you use these digital marketing tips, consider automating your campaigns.

Automation can save you valuable time. Machine learning can make informed changes to your campaigns, too. Your ROI could rise as a result.

Automate your email campaigns, social media schedule, and PPC.

10. Analyze and Optimize

Once you start using these digital marketing tips, make sure to analyze the data from your campaigns. If you’re not meeting your benchmarks, it’s time to make a change.

Keep up with the latest trends, too. You can find new ways to engage and attract customers as a result. 

Boost Your Brand: 10 Digital Marketing Tips for Washington, DC Small Businesses

Don’t let other DC small businesses take the lead! Instead, use these digital marketing tips and start reaching your customers. With these tips, you can get a competitive edge.

Searching for more helpful tips and tricks? We’re here to help.

Explore our latest guides today to get started.