5 First Steps of Online Marketing

That Every Business Owner Can Do!

Starting an Online Presence as a business owner can feel daunting and even overwhelming. With this in mind, I created a list of 5 things you can do yourself that will help you get started on your online presence without hiring a professional to help:

Know Your Audience

In a previous article, I go over what a Buyer Persona is and how to create one - this is similar to that. The main question you should be able to answer about your audience (and potential customer) is:

"What problem am I solving for them?"

The clearer the answer, the better your marketing will work - and the more precise you can be in your work with marketing professionals for doing Ads and Newsletters etc. when you reach that stage in your business. Trust me, knowing the answer to this question at the drop of a hat will save you a lot in the long run when it comes to your marketing budget!

Make sure you create a quick and clear customer profile answering these points:

• Age (and gender if appropriate)

• Location

• Interests/Hobbies

• Pain Points

Choose Your Platforms

Truth is, you do not need to be everywhere at all times. In fact, having a strategy of "being on all platforms" is not actually a strategy at all. More than that, it will not only drain your energy, but in the future it will drain your marketing budget as well.

Where you need to be is where your Audience is (which is why step one is important).

If your business is small and you're starting out with this all on your own while also doing your other day-to-day activities, I would suggest starting with 1-2 platforms that fills these two criteria:

• Your audience uses it frequently and will engage with your content on there

• You can realistically manage your presence on a consistent basis

Plan Consistent Content

I know that there are a million and one "coaches" out there telling you that you need to post once per day (minimum) and that you need to be comfortable being on video. Truth is that that's not actually the case, nor is it how the algorithms work. They change all the time, and what worked for one business may not work for you. What continues to work, however, is a consistent posting plan. Create a calendar with posting ideas for yourself, and make it a mixture of Carousel posts, some short-form videos (and long-from if it applies to your brand and you feel you can put it out consistently), and stories. Start out with posting 1-3 times per week and focus on content that your audience would resonate with. Perhaps answer some FAQ's in your videos, or post some before-and-after photos in a carousel to show your results. What the content is depends on what your business is - so a great idea is to check out what your competitors are doing and which of their posts tend to get the most traction and engagement - and then make it your own.

Start an Email List

While building a Social Media presence is important and great in many ways when it comes to building your brand online, the reality is that you do not own your audience on those platforms. If one day the platform was to be shut down (just like we saw with TikTok in the beginning of the year), it's always a good idea to be able to keep in touch with your followers and audience in a channel of what we refer to as "Owned Media".

An email list with a monthly newsletter will help you:

• Stay in Touch (and relevant)

• Share Promotions

• Drive Traffic to your website for special deals to subscribers

Some ways to get started on building an email list includes:

• Freebie/Lead Magnet

• Newsletter Signup on your Website

• Ask People Directly (surprisingly effective; put up a story with a link to the signup page for people to sign up easily).

Set Small Goals & Track Them

While it's easy to get caught-up on watching the amount of followers your accounts have, the truth is that the way the online world has developed, follower counts actually mean very little to the success of your online presence. What matters is progress, engagement and actual reach (of individual accounts). That is what will lead you to conversions - especially since many are now "inactive followers", which means they may have followed you from a giveaway 6 months back, but have no real interest in your content - which means they are not actually in the audience you're looking to reach for your product or service.

To track your business' progress in a way that does not seem overwhelming, I suggest starting by choosing 1-2 metrics you'd like to track.

Some suggestions include:

• Website Clicks

• Email Signups

• Post Saves, comments, messages etc.

To do this, you can use:

• Instagram Insights

• Google Analytics

• Your own weekly notes

After implementing these 5 things, you will be well on your way to having a decent online presence, and not feeling too overwhelmed by all the added workload in the process!

If you're interested in getting some help with developing a strategy to follow or getting someone to complete this setup for you, reach out and I'd love to give you a quick quote that suits your budget and needs!

Email: Alicia@sunrisedigitalco.com

I hope this was helpful to you - if so, please leave a comment below!