Digital marketing tools can help you make your small business easy for your customers to find online. Are you using them?
How many times have you heard someone say: “Just Google it?” Right now, your customers could be using search engines to find inspiration, compare products and services, or see where they can buy an item in store. This is your opportunity to reach them whenever and however they want to engage. And there’s a range of digital marketing tools at your fingertips to make sure that your small business comes out on top.
Inspire and Inform
A purchase starts when a customer researches brands, products and services online. Providing content at this early consideration phase means you’re already part of that journey. YouTube is an ideal platform for this stage – it’s the number-one video site for influencing purchase decisions, and more than half of Americans say that the platform has influenced their purchasing decisions at least once.1 Consider sharing some of your expertise in video form to build the reputation of your business as a trusted advisor or inspiring trendsetter.
Make Your Voice Heard
You can use tools like Google My Business to make sure your company’s details – including location, description, website, social media profiles and opening times – stand out by appearing when potential customers are searching for businesses. You can even publish updates like special offers. And you can also boost your profile by showing ads as people search for terms that are relevant to your business. This is especially powerful because it lets you target people who have already expressed interest in your area of expertise. You can check out Google's beginner's guide to its Ads programme here.
Learn, Adjust, Repeat
Being able to analyse and optimise your online marketing is key to business growth. Audience insight tools help you learn what people are searching for, reach new segments, and improve your understanding of existing customers. And Google provides more services across its portfolio to help you analyse how your content and business are performing. For example, Google My Business lets you see how customers find your company online. And Google Ads lets you track the whole purchase journey from a customer's initial search through to purchase.
Some of the tools mentioned in this article are free, but if you want to start your campaign with Google, you can always use your American Express payment solutions for those that require payment. Whatever the size of your business, we have a range of Cards that can earn you Membership Rewards® points each time you spend.2
2. Membership Rewards points are earned on every full £1 spent and charged, per transaction. Membership Rewards points are not earned on interest, fees (including default fees), balance transfers, cash advances (including transactions treated as cash), loading of pre-paid Cards, American Express Travellers Cheque purchases or foreign exchange transactions; and any amounts that are subsequently re-credited to your Card Account by way of refunds. Visit membershiprewards.co.uk/terms for full Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions.
