81% of B2B marketers measure content marketing success by awareness. If people don’t know your brand exists, how will you market your product or service?
One way to break out of the crowd is to keep up with the latest trends. Otherwise, you’re falling behind! With this list of the top 12 small business marketing trends, you can start out and attract more business.
Eager to boost your brand this year?
Keep reading to discover the 12 smart marketing trends for small businesses you need for success in 2020!
1. Personalization
The first step for success is to know who your customers are and what they’re looking for. The better you know your target audience, the more likely you’ll create content that will appeal to their interests. Then, you can use your content marketing strategy to attract them to your site.
From there, you can turn those website visitors into paying customers.
As you use each of these small business marketing trends, make sure to keep personalization in mind.
People expect a more personalized experience. Otherwise, you’re sending out a generic message to millions of people. A more targeted message, on the other hand, will help you attract the people most likely to become customers.
Our phones remember our search history, our home address, where we last bought dinner, and more. This data allows our phones to determine what information we need before we need it. Consumers expect the same convenience and personalization from brands using digital marketing tactics.
Customer Research
First, determine who your customers are.
You can break them down into buyer personas based on their:
- Age
- Gender
- Marital status
- Household income
- Other demographics
- Buying behavior
- Interests
Separating customers into these personas will allow you to craft a unique message for each one. You can use your website data or work with an experienced marketing company to gather this data.
Then, determine how your customers find your website. What keywords are they searching for? What phrases do they use?
Determine what problems your customers face each day and how you can offer a solution. Then, use your research to craft a message that appeals to their wants and needs.
2. Smarter Social Media
Personalization is also impacting social media marketing trends. Social media is an important piece of your digital marketing strategy. In fact, social media also helps determine many of the marketing trends that appear throughout the year.
With social media, you can connect with customers on a more personal level. Social media gives you the chance to create a two-way conversation and engage your customers. Then, you can lead them to your website where they can learn more or convert.
However, there are so many different channels you can use to reach your customers. That can sometimes make it more difficult to determine where your customers are.
First, make sure to complete your customer research.
Then, determine which platforms they’re using. For example, Facebook tends to attract an older crowd. Instagram and Snapchat, on the other hand, attract younger consumers.
Take a look at what your customers are posting. What language do they use in the captions? Then, look at the 2020 marketing trends your competitors are using on social media.
Learn about your customers and what they like or respond to. Then, use that information to craft a smarter social media marketing strategy for 2020.
Don’t forget to use social media to promote your website content, too!
3. Optimize for Voice Search
Speaking of website content, you want to make sure your blog posts and other pages are easy to find. In order to boost your ranking on search engines like Google, you need to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
SEO makes it easier for consumers to find you on search engines like Google. The higher your rank, the more brand awareness you’ll build.
If you’re not following the latest SEO marketing trends, however, you’ll fall behind.
First, make sure your pages are optimized using the keywords your customers are searching for. You can use Google Trends, Keyword Planner, or SEMRush to determine keyword popularity.
Next, make sure your site loads quickly. You can use Google PageSpeed Insight to determine what’s causing your site to lag behind.
These factors can impact your search engine ranking.
One of the top SEO marketing trends for small businesses in 2020 is voice search. More people are relying on Siri, Google, and Alexa to provide answers for them. With this in mind, you’ll need to optimize your content for voice searches.
First, take a look at your keyword research. How are people posing their searches?
Then, use that long-tail keyword in your content. Make sure the keyword appears at the beginning of the post, the body, in the closing paragraph, and in a header.
You can also optimize for voice searches by aiming for the zero-position. The zero-position on Google displays snippets. These snippets appear as Q&As, summaries, lists, bullet points, videos, and more.
In order to optimize for the zero-position, include a summary of your content at the beginning of your post. Then, go into detail. Optimizing for zero-position will build your brand awareness and help you attract more site traffic.
4. High-Quality Content
In order to improve your SEO ranking this year, you’ll also need to craft high-quality content. Content marketing can help you attract more people to your site. High-quality content, on the other hand, shows consumers you’re a thought leader in your industry.
First, determine your unique value. What can you offer consumers that no one else can? Then, use your keyword research to create a list of topics you can cover.
You’ll want to update your blog regularly with new content.
Keeping your content fresh will help you attract visitors throughout the year. You don’t have to stick to blog posts, though. You can also create lists, infographics, podcasts, and more to keep people engaged.
Prioritize quality over quantity. Make sure your content provides consumers with the answers they’re looking for.
Then, they’ll know to come to your website the next time they need help.
5. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing digital marketing trends, too. For example, new tools are popping up that use computing power to improve your marketing strategies.
AI won’t make your marketing decisions for you. Instead, it will provide smart recommendations using data. Using AI as a part of your 2020 marketing strategy can help you save time and money.
That way, you can avoid wasting time and money on a dead-end strategy.
Plus, AI learns as it goes. If a strategy doesn’t work, the next recommendation can help you make the smarter choice.
Consider looking into a saas reseller program to continue improving your marketing in 2020.
6. Go Mobile
Your website is a digital storefront for your company. If your site isn’t easy to use on every device, consumers will find what they need elsewhere.
One of the most important small business marketing trends for 2020 is mobile marketing. More people are using their smartphones to find answers. If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, you’re neglecting those customers.
First, make sure your site is mobile-optimized. Check the page speed on mobile devices as well. If your site takes too long to load, people will leave.
People sometimes search their phones while they’re in your store. Improving your mobile marketing will help you lead those customers to a sale.
Don’t forget to go local, too. In fact, one-third of all mobile searches are related to location. In the span of a year, Google searches with the terms “near me” or “nearby” doubled.
Local marketing, including local SEO and geotargeting, can help you attract more local customers to your site and store!
7. Protect Privacy
You’ve probably seen a lot of new privacy policies in your inbox over the last two years. Privacy is still a big concern for consumers. If you’re not protecting their privacy, they can’t trust you.
First, make sure your site has an SSL certificate. You should see “HTTPS” in front of your domain name.
Next, put security protocols in place to protect customer data. Make sure to keep your privacy policy up-to-date so customers know you have their best interests in mind.
8. Segmentation
You can also improve your marketing and boost sales by using segmentation.
Remember, customers want to feel like they’re enjoying a personalized experience. To improve personalization, segment your customers based on their different interests. Then, create a unique marketing experience for each group to keep your marketing materials engaging and relevant.
9. Chatbots
People want quick answers to their questions. In order to improve your customer service online, try using chatbot software.
You can use chatbots to answer simple questions and ensure someone is always there (24/7) to help your customers online.
10. Video Content
By 2022, video content will account for 80% of all web traffic. Video content is a great way to get people engaged and interested in your business.
You can create company culture videos, webinars, live social media videos, and more. Try adding a video to one of your landing pages to see if it boosts conversions.
Make sure the video has a focused goal in mind.
Don’t forget to implement your brand to build awareness, too!
11. Interactive Content
Interactive content allows your customers to engage with your brand. These types of content include:
- Quizzes
- Contests
- Polls
- Animated infographics
- Online voting
- Assessments
Content that expires, such as stories and Snaps, uses the fear of missing out (FOMO) to attract immediate engagement. Experiment with each open to see what best appeals to your customers.
12. Influencer Marketing
As you use these marketing trends for small businesses, try partnering with an influencer in your industry to help. Influencer marketing involves working with someone your customers already trust.
They can promote your brand and help you attract more customers.
Smart Marketing: 12 Smart Small Business Marketing Trends for 2020
Get smart! With these 12 smart small business marketing trends, you can boost your business in 2020 with ease. Don’t forget to study what works (and what doesn’t) to keep improving your strategies.
Searching for more ways to boost your brand? Explore the Marketing section of the blog today!
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