CHICAGO — Digital marketing may seem like an impossible mountain for many small business owners, but it can be achieved with a little research and effort. More importantly, you have to do it.
This was the message from Donna Botti, president of Delos, Inc., in a recent webinar presentation, “Get More Customers and Clients in 2024 with a Digital Marketing Success Plan,” hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). is.
In Part 1 of this series, Botti listed some of the digital marketing trends he sees coming in 2024 and the first important marketing action: focus on the right clients. Today, we'll look at the value of assets that cleaning companies already have but may not be aware of.
Key Action 2 — Use content you already have
“you have It’s about content,” Botti says. “A lot of people say, 'I don't know what to say, I don't know what platform to use, I don't have the time to figure it out.' But if I visit your store or call you… If I started asking you questions about your product or service, you never in a million years would have said to me, “Hey, what do you know?” No content. I don't know how to answer. ”
The answer to this content question comes from listening to what you're already telling your customers.
“Think about the questions people are already asking you,” Botti says. “I have a rule of thumb and it’s the ‘three times’ rule. Even if he repeats the same story three or more times, answers the same questions, or answers the same objections, it is satisfying for you. ”
Once you know this content, the next step is to decide how to expose it to your current and potential customers.
“You should publish that content on social, your website, your blog, your videos, whatever you're doing,” Botti says. “Answer the questions people ask about you, your products, and your services. Let us catch them behind the scenes. Tell them the story of what you do.”
This communication will not only make you a trusted expert in your field, but also allow you to gain valuable knowledge.
“Think of it as relationship building,” Botti says. “What do you do to build one-on-one relationships with people?” That's what he says about one-to-many marketing content in the digital space. ”
As mentioned in key action 1, it's important to understand the message you're trying to send.
“Focus on the content that matters,” says Botti. “It's important not to try to do everything. Focus on the business you want. That's where you should spend your time and effort. What's important to the clients you want? Answer the questions people ask . You already do this every day. Be mindful of your daily interactions.”
Simply asking questions of your existing customers can pave the way for better marketing efforts.
“Talk to some of your best customers,” Botti says. “Ask them: 'What's the best thing about working with us?' What do you like? What problem can we best solve for you? Then listen That's your content for their answers. Because if you want to get more customers like them, you're targeting people who have the same problems and concerns, so what you can do for them, you can do for someone else. ”
Do not build on rented land
Being able to take ownership of the methods you use to connect with your customers is also an important element that many business owners don't really engage in.
“Social media is great, but you don't own and control the content that's on it,” Botti says. “You're doing that on your website. So the most important message should be on his website. You can push it to social and experiment on different social platforms, but that information It must be posted on the site.”
This is especially true for evergreen information that can be used repeatedly, Botti says.
“If you tried to find something on Instagram two weeks ago, you probably can't do it,” she says. “But that important content is on your website and it's going to be relevant two weeks from now. It's going to be relevant six months from now. You can keep pushing the same content out there.” can.”
Botti also believes that social media platforms also introduce undesirable elements of chance and risk. “Change happens. If you decide you're going to put your entire existence on one of these platforms, and that changes the rules, then you do.” Luck. It's bad. ”
Google and email
Mr. Botti believes that by taking advantage of the tools available, small business owners can make the most of their time and budget, increasing their chances of success.
“Claim a Google Business Profile,” she says. “It's free. Google doesn't call you out on it, but it insists on it and is very useful, especially for 'near me' searches.” You will be able to search on the map. ”
Email marketing is an important piece of the digital marketing puzzle, Botti says.
“It's traffic you own and people you can reach out to at any time,” she says. “When you post a post on Facebook, if you don’t promote it or run ads, it’s going to be seen by about 5% or 6% of your followers, so even if you have 100 people following you. That means only five or six people will actually see the post.”
Email deliverability is far superior to social efforts, Botti says. “With a good service, the reach rate is about 95 to 99 percent,” she says. “Once it's saved in your inbox, it's going to reach someone. Whether they open it or not, at least they have the possibility of seeing it, but many social media platforms don't allow that. I can't see it.”
Botti says the goal of paid traffic, advertising, organic traffic on the web, and social media traffic is to convert it all into owned traffic. “She can’t form a relationship with someone she doesn’t even know by name,” she says. “It’s not about the number of followers you have; with the focus on data privacy and the elimination of tracking cookies, you want to know as much as possible about the people who have shown interest in you. That’s usually done through email lists.”
Email lists allow you to contact people directly, use different campaigns, and add them to regular email communications. “Your goal is to get them to know you, like you, and trust you,” Botti says. “Part of that requires repeated contact with them.
Botti says there's an order to growing your email list.
“First, it’s about getting the word out, and then providing something of value to them to enable that,” she says. “It could be something as simple as a coupon, or a buy-one-get-one-free offer when you sign up for an email list. Or it could be a guide to something, an answer to a question, or a video series. There are many ways to do this. It could be an event where you're collecting addresses but you just want to get that email address. Building goodwill and trust requires consistent processes and communication.”
Botti concluded by explaining the value of collecting reviews and warning against doing it the wrong way.
“Do you have a consistent process for getting reviews from satisfied customers?” she asks. “How can I make follow-ups happen automatically? Reviews are powerful social proof, but you have to take the time to do them. “Oh, I should get a review, something like that. “Let's send out a message,” and then all of a sudden you get 25 reviews after 6 months of no reviews, and you can no longer receive the service. I tend to think I just bought some reviews. They'll think of them as spam, and they're not going to use them. ”
We'll be back on Tuesday for the conclusion of this series as we explore how to make marketing efforts part of a business owner's habits. Click here for part 1 of this series. here.
