Are you looking to grow your business, engage more customers, and see higher profits? Of course, you are – that’s the whole point of having a business! Unfortunately, there are a lot of articles out there promising to give you the ‘secret’ to success and none of them actually deliver.
There isn’t any real secret to growing your business; it all comes down to marketing and doing it in a way that isn’t cheesy or ignored.
We’re going to let you know what marketing strategies you should be using in order to grow your business and keep it growing at a sustainable rate. To find out exactly what we’re talking about, continue reading below!
The Art of Email
Depending on the type of business you run, you probably already have an automated email service. This is great for keeping customers in the loop and getting them to return to your store or website.
However, if you are looking to collaborate or reach out to bigger clients and distributors, you will have to get past the phone gatekeeper. This may be a secretary, answering or screening service, or attempting to find your contact’s personal number.
These are all pretty big hurdles and can make it feel as though you aren’t making any progress. To be honest, there is a huge chance you won’t succeed in contact via phone.
In order to reach this person directly, you may have to send out what’s called a cold email. This may sound like you’re spamming a potential client, but when done correctly, the email will likely be opened and answered with the ‘yes’ you’re looking for.
Attempting to write this type of email on your own can be daunting and unsuccessful. Instead, follow this cold email master guide for the best chance of getting past spam and avoid being deleted.
Save Time on Instagram
When clicking through your competition’s Instagram account, do you notice that they have the same types of posts but far more engagement and followers? Chances are, they have spent time and effort to develop their social media strategy.
Unless you have an employee who is dedicated to making daily or weekly posts, at the correct time, using the top hashtags, your account might never have the same reach as your competition’s. Having great photos helps, but what really matters is your timing and consistency.
You probably don’t have hours to spend on Instagram to craft each and every individual post and you’re probably not always available during peak times. This is where Instagram automation comes into play.
While you can’t rely on these services to create a post from scratch, you can set aside time each week or day to create interesting and engaging posts. From there, you can allow these tools to post on your behalf from your account to reach users during peak times.
There are also services that can help you reach the users that will be interested in what you have to say and potentially increase your sales conversion rates. Just be sure to research whichever service you choose to ensure the ‘likes’ and follows are real and not from randomly generated accounts (unless that’s what you want.)
SEO and Link Building
When dealing with search engine optimization, you are dealing with algorithms that change daily. It’s almost impossible to stay on top of each new change that rolls out, but there are ways you can keep your site relevant and highly ranked.
One of the easiest ways to keep a steady flow of traffic is by link building. Link building is basically like citing a source – a website links to your website or blog as a reference which in turn builds your SEO credibility.
There are other benefits to link building beside better search rankings, namely the fact that the increased traffic gives you a wider audience which can increase potential sales. If you happen to be a newer company, quality links will also give you credibility among new customers.
You might be wondering how your website can be linked to these high authority sites. This can be done in a number of ways including asking directly for links (through one of those carefully crafted cold emails,) or by creating content and linking to smaller sites that you’d like to be seen on.
Link building will take time and effort but is well worth the high-ranking search results and website traffic in the end!
Also, do yourself a favor and research the keywords that are applicable to your blog, business, or industry. If possible, do this through more than one service to get a better feel for the phrases that people are searching for and don’t completely discount the advantages of using long-tail keywords.
Finding What’s Right for Your Business
There is no magic equation to create a booming business overnight, whether that business is located solely online or in a physical location. Sometimes you may have an idea of what will work and that’s great; try it! Other times, you’ll be at your wit’s end and desperate for a new marketing strategy.
This is where the trial and error comes into play. If you aren’t convinced, keep doing what you’re doing. When you’re ready to see some growth and change your marketing direction, keep these tips in mind. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly they can grow your business!