3 Ways Small Businesses Can Save on Digital Marketing

Digital advertising has transcended into a completely different being than it was not too long ago, when we were looking at comic sans and blinking advertisements. Today, sophisticated, highly targeted online ads are delivered through many digital channels and marketers are reaping the benefits.

With the right strategy, useful tools, and the correct resources, even the smallest of businesses can take on the giants of the digital advertising world.

Below is a list of small changes you can make to improve your digital advertising and help you save some moolah.

1. Repurpose your content

From blog posts to ebooks, your content marketing can be used for a multitude of reasons, but it should be geared toward one goal — to improve online visibility and drive traffic to your site but consistently creating unique and interesting content can be expensive and take a lot of time.

So what’s the solution? Repurpose your content.

Start looking at your quality content that can be easily reworked and converted into different formats. This content can be republished on LinkedIn, reworked into a blog series or even help with inspiration for a new whitepaper. In fact, Eloqua found that 59% of those surveyed repurpose their content pieces between two and five times.

2. Maximize organic social media

Social media should now be called a giant advertising platform, but it didn’t start out that way. Now brands are almost forced to pay for interactions with their audiences where before it was easy to get a bunch of likes without paying. In recent studies, posts reach less than 5% of fans and in some cases 0%, when they used to see 25% reach or more. This new focus has meant that the lifespan of organic posts has dropped drastically. From a couple of hours on Facebook to a few minutes on Twitter, organic posts have never had it so bad.

Does this mean paid advertising is the only way to go on social media? No! It just means you need to get creative with your posts. Here are a few tips that you can use:

Work out what time of day your users are using social media, and publish your posts accordingly. It might seem crazy that your audience is online at 9:00, but most people have to work all day and check their posts at night when they are winding down.

Repurpose content that has worked well for you in the past to increase visibility. Look into your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn analytics. Each network will break down your posts and let you know how well each one performed.

Publish posts that allow your fans to express their opinions. People love to share their ideas on how they can improve something. In a recent study by HubSpot on how fans interact with company pages, 50% of respondents reported they’d complimented a brand in the past 5 months via social media and only 35% have complained about a brand. Ask questions to get your loyal fans excited and your post will reach more people.

Update your cover photo often. If you have a new product, promotion, or event you should update it because it’s the first thing that your fans see when they visit your page.

3. Get your SEO right

More than 64% of traffic to a website comes from organic search on Google. This means that providing your site is easily findable by Google, you are assured a steady flow of visitors.

To improve your visibility, you need to ensure that you are leveraging your on-page SEO. How?

• Write page titles and meta descriptions that provide clear, concise descriptions of the page content.

• Use ALT tag to describe the image – This helps search engines understand what the image is about.

• Make sure your site is fast and easy to navigate. This will help keep distracted users engaged.

Digital marketing can save small businesses time and money. 40% of respondents reported that they had considerable savings when asked about the benefits of digital marketing.

Would you like to add a few tips? Comment below and share with all the readers.

Eric Foutch

Managing Partner at Red Branch Media.

Eric Foutch is a Managing Partner at Red Branch Media, a leading digital marketing agency specializing in SaaS and technology clients. With 12+ years of experience and a track record of driving results, Eric is committed to helping SaaS companies navigate the complex world of digital marketing and achieve sustainable growth.