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The year 2016 is history, and now is the time to think seriously about your marketing efforts for 2017. Even if your small business had a successful year, it’s always a good idea to review your past year’s performance to see which strategies were effective and to decide if you need to make any changes. These marketing strategies have been very effective recently, and you might wish to consider using them if you have not already included them in your marketing tools.
Make your website mobile-friendly
Mobile is now the name of the game. More consumers are using mobile devices to shop online, and Google will shortly implement a mobile-first indexing scheme in response to this trend. You probably already have taken steps to ensure that your site will load quickly on mobile devices and that it scales properly for the small screen size. However, small businesses need to get onboard with the latest mobile-centric trend – having a mobile app. Mobile apps are becoming common for small businesses, and you could lose sales to your competitors if you don’t have one. Over two dozen companies will give you the capability to build a mobile app for your business quickly and easily. Depending on the features you wish to include, monthly costs range from £16 to about £100.
Give email marketing another look
Email marketing has gotten a lot of negative press over the past few years, but that may be unwarranted. According to a recent study by eMarketer, 60% of consumers prefer receiving email marketing communications to other methods from companies with whom they do business. The key to using email marketing effectively is to provide your customers with relevant information about products and services rather than bombarding them with a relentless onslaught of hard-sell communications.
Use your blog wisely
Blogs became very common on e-commerce sites as an attempt to enhance SEO. However, in the quest for better search engine rankings, many companies overlooked the quality of the content they were providing. If you want your blog to stand out from your competitors, you need to provide quality, not quantity. Your customers are more likely to read your blog posts (and make a purchase) if the content is fresh engaging and relevant. You can expect an overall improvement in the content quality of blogs in 2017, so be sure you also make that effort.
Add video content
According to 17Production, over 60% of consumers prefer video content to written text. Adding video content to your landing page is a very effective way to attract visitors, and providing engaging and entertaining video content can convert those visitors into customers.
Use social media effectively
Social media is a two-way street. You certainly want to post information about your latest product offerings and sales, but you also want to listen to what your customers are saying to you when they respond to your marketing material. Your customers are providing you with valuable information you can use to improve UX if you take the time to evaluate their comments.
Keep your marketing efforts informative – your customers will appreciate it.
StatusCake Team
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