Staying current on small business digital marketing trends is vital for any business owner. After all, you have to learn to market that business to get customers to your website or storefront. Earlier this year, I completed a blog post on marketing trends for one of the companies I work with, Edstutia.
{Haga click para leer este post en español / Click to read this post in Spanish}
Edstutia is an immersive learning company disrupting organized education and corporate training. I’m listing five trends from that post that best align with small businesses. If you’re interested in reading the full post on the Edstutia website, you can find it here.
Here are five small business marketing trends you should know as a small business owner. Be sure to sign up for the Rochac Figueroa mailing list to get updates on new posts as soon as they’re available.
Trend 1: Customers Want to Shop Local
As people began to leave their homes again when pandemic lockdowns ended, shopping habits changed. 81% of people surveyed prefer to shop local businesses. Here’s what you should do to get in front of locals.
SEO Copy
Review and update your SEO strategy to capture new customers looking to shop small. Update the copy on your website to include terms associated with the local area. Use your city and its neighborhoods throughout the website. Then be sure to include local terms in your blog posts the way you would with other keywords.
Google My Business
One of the most important tools in your arsenal for local requests is Google My Business (GMB). Many business owners begin with only a website and social media. They may not even realize the existence of GMB. Take your time with it and create a profile that invites your customers.
Trend 2: Online Questions Turn Conversational
People today expect devices to understand spoken commands. If you have a teenager at home, chances are they’ve never typed their Google searches. More than 50% of mobile users today use voice search.
The desire to communicate with machines as we do with humans does not stop with voice search. Chatbots are an example of conversational communication over typed text. When we first interacted with chatbots they were easy to spot. Today, it’s more difficult to distinguish them from human beings.
As you work on keyword research, think of keyword phrases as users are asking today. Start by considering the tried and true Five Ws: Who, What, Why, When, and Where. Focus on long-tail keywords and statements or questions you’d use when asking your friend the same questions.
Trend 3: Customers Expect More Ways to Pay
Money now takes on more forms than ever before. For years, cash was the most common option to pay for goods and services. Today, 64% of consumers feel they could go a full month without using cash.
Mobile Pay
Customers today prefer to reach for their phone, not their wallet. They expect apps and websites to accept mobile payments. Many consumers abandon online carts when the app requests credit card information. Apple Pay and Google Pay make customers feel safe.
Service businesses are not exempt from this trend. Plumbers, barbers, and repair shops also need to accept digital payments. Venmo and PayPal are two popular options.
Crypto
In addition to mobile pay, consumers are using crypto currency to pay for products. If you run an online business, you may one day need to accept crypto payments. Start doing the research now so you’re not caught off guard. Bitcoin alone accounts for $6 billion in daily online transactions.
Trend 4: Go Beyond Vanity Metrics
Vanity metrics refer to measures like impressions, views, and email opens. These seem impressive at first but do not say much for the bottom line of your business. Vanity metrics represent the first step in a process of several steps to reach a sale.
Instead of looking at open rate, focus your initial attention on your emails’ click rate. This metric gives a better idea of how often people are interacting with your content. Even if a click does not turn into a sale, that reader followed your initial call to action. If a campaign yields a solid click-thru rate but very few sales, you should consider reviewing the landing page users see after clicking.
Trend 5: Inclusivity and Diversity
When developing campaigns, you must consider the messaging behind them. It begins with a diverse content team but if you’re starting out, the team may be just you. Be careful, take a moment to consider how you reach out to your audience. Several companies in recent years have hurt their reputations through negligent marketing practices.
Marketing cannot take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Campaigns should be inclusive and feature people as diverse as the world around us. More targeted messaging must take caution to not offend its target audience. This most often occurs because the team creating the content does not have members who represent their target audience.
Final Thoughts
Starting your own business requires you learn to market your own business. Stay current on marketing trends but always remember to start with understanding your customers. Figure out where your customers meet and target them there.
Rochac Figueroa Solutions helps you write content that drives customers. We can help you optimize your website, run a blog, manage social media and email marketing, and more. Based in the heart of Los Angeles, we help you grow through inclusive content that captures a diverse audience. Contact us today for a marketing partner dedicated to your growth.