5 tips to successfully market your business online

Marketing a small business can be a real handful. It’s a challenge trying to keep all the plates spinning at the same time. You have to try to juggle writing a press release and a blog post for your website, one minute. And the next, you’re planning an email marketing and a Facebook Ad campaign.

At the same time, you’re also trying to do that ‘running a business’ thing.

Even if you have the necessary skills to complete all the day-to-day marketing tasks that need to be done, finding the time to do it is another matter entirely.

So, how can you make better use of the little time you have – and get better results?

1. Have a plan with goals and targets

Many businesses kind of fall into marketing. Either that, or they do it because of peer pressure – you market your business online because everybody else does.

Of course, that is right – but it’s not enough of a reason on its own.

You need a plan.

If you don’t know what you want to achieve, you’ll have no idea of how to get there. Keep your goals as focused and specific as possible, and…

2. Be realistic with what you want to achieve

By all means, aim high and be ambitious – but you also need to be realistic and sensible in terms of what you can expect to achieve with your marketing.

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is to set unrealistic targets… then miss them spectacularly… and use that as a reason to stop marketing altogether.

Realistically, you’re probably not going to be able to keep up regular posting on 7 social media channels, create an email marketing campaign every week, launch a new FB ad every 5 days, and post a new blog every Monday and Friday.

You can’t do everything, so just do the things that will give the best chance of meeting your goals. It’s far better to focus on 2 social media platforms and do it really well, rather than trying to post on every channel under the sun.

3. Get organised and automate where you can

If you’re trying do everything yourself and in-house, then you really need to be super-organised. Even if you’ve created a content plan and schedule that is manageable, it can still be a struggle to keep on top of things when the day-to-day takes over.

Apps such as Trello and Todoist are a great way to organise and manage your time and keep tabs on the tasks and projects you need to complete. Don’t be afraid of automation either. Hootsuite and Buffer are invaluable social media apps that make scheduling posts far easier.

Consistency is vital when it comes to marketing and it’s usually the first thing that slips. There’s far less chance of this happening if you use some of the apps and tools that are available. Most offer free or very affordable basic versions that will serve the needs of most small businesses.

4. Outsource

Your business is your baby. You want to look after it all the time – but sometimes you need to let go. Even if you think you can handle everything that’s involved with marketing your business online, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best option.

Consider whether it’s the best use of your time for you, or your team, to do it all. Outsourcing some or all of the tasks lifts a massive burden from your shoulders – and if you hire freelance professionals with the right skills, you won’t have to compromise on quality.

After all, you’re not just paying somebody to save you time, you are paying for their expertise too.

5. Measure and track results

If you have set appropriate goals for your marketing strategy, you will be able to measure and track your results. In fact, it’s crucial that you do so. You need to see what is working, what isn’t and then try to figure out why.

Marketing your business online will cost you time and money, so you need to be able to measure how things are going. It’s the most important thing you need to do.

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