Which digital marketing tips for small businesses actually work?

Online marketing can be an attractive advertising solution for small businesses. Even with a small budget, many potential customers can be reached through online channels. The scaling of costs works very well. Our tips reveal the most important channels and how to use them.

Tip 1: Use your website as a digital business card

Your own website is practically the hub of all your small business online marketing efforts and is often the first point of contact for potential customers who have questions about your products or business. When creating your website, it’s essential to consider whether you’re operating an online store or providing purely informative content and always take into account the expectations and desires of your (potential) customers. Almost all possible online marketing measures lead users to your website, which is why it plays a key role.

Why is your own website so important?

The company website provides all the key details about the business for those who are interested. At the same time, it can be a powerful tool to drive sales. Many businesses choose to integrate their online store directly into the homepage. Highlighting current in-store promotions there can also help boost revenue.

How do you create a good website?

Your website must appeal to your target audience—both in design and content. To help consumers find your site through search engines, you should also research industry-specific keywords and incorporate them into your website.

Are there tools for creating your own website?

Even beginners have plenty of options to set up a website quickly and affordably. Using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, a website builder, or a static site generator, creating an impressive website is achievable for novices.

Tip 2: Engage target audiences via social media

The most promising strategy is to reach people where they already are: on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and similar networks. However, these platforms differ, and so do their target audiences. While there is overlap, not every customer is active on every platform. Using social media marketing effectively means primarily understanding your target audience accurately. Are your audiences more at home on Facebook or Instagram? To minimize wasted efforts in your marketing activities, you should address questions like these upfront.

What potential does social media marketing offer?

Every marketing team dreams of their campaigns on social networks going viral. This means the advertising message is shared by users themselves—without additional costs or effort. To achieve this, the content must appeal to the platform’s users enough for them to voluntarily share the post (be it an image, video, or text) with friends, family, or acquaintances.

How does good social media marketing work?

Honesty and an understanding of the target audience are fundamental for successfully executing online marketing for small businesses and medium-sized businesses on social networks. Engaging deeply with the community is mandatory. Social media should not be viewed as a one-way street: companies should strive to respond effectively to the audience and any feedback expressed, instead of just sending advertising messages to the target audience without addressing possible questions. Interaction with the audience strengthens customer loyalty and provides valuable information. In social media, you get direct feedback that would be difficult to solicit in other areas.

Are there tools available for social media marketing?

When managing content across multiple platforms simultaneously, it’s easy to lose track. With the right social media tools, your workload becomes significantly easier because you can schedule posts in advance, monitor reactions, and communicate with the community more effectively. Many tools also make teamwork in social media marketing easier.

Tip 3: Authentic advertising through influencer marketing

In recent years, the already dynamic advertising industry has been significantly transformed by influencer marketing. While brands used to primarily rely on well-known movie and TV stars as brand ambassadors, influencers are now increasingly becoming part of online marketing—and are very interesting for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well. Their fans usually perceive them as very authentic, which is why their advertising messages are considered highly credible. When influencers promote products, their fans, followers, or subscribers generally believe in the influencer’s genuine enthusiasm for the product or brand.

What makes influencer marketing so valuable?

Influencers are typically digital natives: they’re at home on social media and know their audience inside and out. As a result, they often hit the right tone for the target audience more effectively than any marketing department could. Additionally, the influencer’s positive image is transferred to the promoted brand or product.

How does good influencer marketing work?

The most important success factor is selecting the ideal brand ambassador. For nearly every market segment, there are suitable influencers. While they might not have as large a reach as the biggest social media stars, they do have a dedicated fan base with an interest in a specific subject area. Collaboration with so-called micro-influencers is generally more affordable than with the major industry stars—but it can still have a substantial impact if it allows you to precisely reach your target audience.

Are there tools available for influencer marketing?

Influencers handle the majority of the work themselves—and that’s how it should be. These social media celebrities know best how to reach their audience. If you set too many guidelines, the campaign might not work, or the influencer may not agree to the collaboration or end it early.

Tip 4: Create value with content marketing

In content marketing, companies create their own content perceived by readers as helpful or entertaining. An own blog is ideal for this: Companies can publish targeted content for their specific audience. Instead of pushing a specific product with direct advertising messages, content marketing increases brand awareness over time and contributes to a positive company image.

What are the strengths of content marketing?

Content developed within a content marketing campaign should offer genuine value to the target audience. When this is achieved, it resonates positively with the intended readers—an impression that reflects well on the entire company. Moreover, strong content marketing attracts significant traffic, bringing more visitors to the website and ultimately boosting the likelihood of conversions.

What makes good content marketing?

Creating content for successful online marketing involves considerable effort, but even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can manage it. Quality should always be prioritized. It’s better to write fewer, but more polished texts. Furthermore, content marketing is a great tool for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Therefore, it’s advisable to conduct basic keyword research before creating content, to incorporate common search terms into it. For SMEs with retail locations, Local SEO is particularly interesting because it can also boost offline sales.

Are there tools available for content marketing?

While content marketing itself doesn’t require tools, content marketing tools can significantly simplify the process. For those without extensive IT knowledge, using a Content Management System (CMS) is recommended. This allows editors to quickly and easily integrate content into their own website.

Tip 5: Increase teach through display marketing

Among the oldest online marketing strategies is display marketing: advertising through graphic content on websites. Although ad banners and pop-up windows have lost effectiveness in recent years, they should not be completely ignored. A well-placed and attractively designed ad can still be very efficient.

If you want to engage in display marketing, you’ll need to book ad spaces. Payment is usually per action—either per click (CPC), per lead (CPL), or per sale (CPS). Booking is typically done through networks like Google AdSense and similar alternatives and is executed via Real-Time Advertising.

What can be achieved with display marketing?

With ad banners, pop-ups, and layer ads, you generally advertise a specific product, service, or offer. The ad aims to prompt your website visitors to click on the ad and, after being redirected to the offer, ultimately make a purchase.

What is the key to successful display marketing?

Online ads should primarily grab attention and fit the brand. This may require professional help from graphic or video specialists. Banner Blindness—the fact that many users no longer notice ads—is a real issue. If an ad isn’t well-designed, the investment won’t pay off.

Are there tools available for display marketing?

In display marketing, it’s important to differentiate between creating and publishing the ad. While creating and designing require appropriate image editing programs like Photoshop, there are special online tools for publishing ads provided by specific ad networks.

Tip 6: Strengthen customer loyalty with email marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective form of online marketing for small businesses. If you have the corresponding email addresses and the consent of the individuals, you can send messages directly to each user. Newsletters and follow-up emails allow you to inform previous customers about your offers or your business—and do so on-the-go and in a timely manner. This makes email marketing suitable for direct advertising messages with a Call-to-Action as well as a special form of content marketing, providing your target audience with valuable information.

What can be achieved through email marketing?

On the one hand, email marketing aims to strengthen customer loyalty; on the other, it’s designed to trigger purchasing decisions. A typical newsletter might include company or product updates. It can also highlight limited-time offers and promotions, encouraging quick action from recipients.

How does effective email marketing work?

The most crucial part of email marketing is ensuring your emails are not perceived as spam—either by automated filters or by the users themselves. This means you must be thoughtful both when creating content and choosing the sending frequency. Send only emails that provide real value to your customers and avoid sending mails too often. Moreover, you must ensure compliance with current privacy laws. Therefore, include only those individuals in your distribution list who have agreed to receive your newsletter.

Are there tools available for email marketing?

If you want to reach several thousand users (or more) with email marketing, you’ll need email marketing software for managing addresses. Online, you’ll find various platforms to create professional campaigns, design emails, and perform analyses.

Additional tips and tricks for SMBs and online marketing

Aside from the outlined disciplines, there are essential online marketing tips for small businesses to consider. Following these tips can significantly ease your marketing efforts. As a startup founder, you already have your hands full. So, take into account the following tips to develop successful marketing campaigns in a short time:

• Mobile first: Ensure that all your marketing efforts are fully effective on smartphones and tablets. This Mobile-First approach is particularly important in designing ads and content.
• Observe the industry: To achieve success, it’s often helpful to review how competitors conduct their marketing strategies and build their campaigns.
• Analyze impact: Don’t choose and implement online marketing actions solely based on instinct. Instead, consistently evaluate which strategies have proven successful and might work again, which need improvement, and which have brought no success at all.
• Communicate with the community: The internet gives every customer the opportunity to express themselves. Regularly evaluate these opinions and respond objectively and relevantly to negative reviews.
• Hire professionals: Even with a small budget, consider seeking help from professional marketing experts, designers, and community managers. Instead of spending time and money on numerous ineffective strategies, you can focus on at least one online marketing channel effectively with professional help.