As one of the many small businesses that are affected during the Coronavirus Pandemic, we wanted to share some marketing tips that you can action yourself during this Lockdown.
It is undoubtedly a daunting time to be running a business, perhaps more so during this lockdown, in comparison to the last. We all saw the beacon of light and hope as the restrictions to businesses were slowly lifted during the summer, and as things were seeming to pick up, we were faced with Lockdown 2.0.
It is now so important to keep your marketing in front of your clients and potential customers, and we understand that costs are something you want to keep down, so we have put together a few helpful tips as below:
Take Advantage of free help within the community
Across Torbay and Devon, we have seen a number of local business and community leaders take the initiative and set up Facebook groups to support others, with free help and advice.
Keep posting on Social Media
Social Media has a huge reach and is essential for any business either B2B or B2C. Even more so if your business has had to adapt to go online. Update your social media posts at least once a week, use all the platforms available, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, (include a business page too).
Don’t be afraid of posting too much, or upsetting your followers, remember they follow you to want to see your posts, products/service and learn more about you. It is a common mistake, not to post too much, as “I don’t want to annoy people by posting too much!”
Research HashTags and increase your social media marketing reach even more. Rite Tag is a tool we use here at Frankman, for Social Media Marketing. Rite Tag helps you find popular #hash tags that are relevant to your content and social media platform. It can be used as an extension for Google Chrome or integrated to your WordPress website.
Update your social media with your opening hours, new business guidelines you may need to adhere to, update your photography, let people know you are supporting other local businesses.
Let your clients know you are open for business (if you are!)
Seems obvious to let your clients know of when you closed, but it can be really helpful to let everyone know that you are open too! Don’t lose a potential customer as they have checked your website or socials to see if you are ‘business as usual’ during Lockdown, if they don’t find the answer they are looking for, chances are they may move onto a competitor who does answer that question.
Online Networking groups
Face to Face networking may not be available at the moment, we are missing the selection of cooked breakfasts and lunches more than most, but there is a wide range of Online Networking Meetings available. Most offering free meetings or very low-cost monthly fees.
Create a Lead Generator!
Do you have something you could give away for free? Such as an ebook, a course, a free sample? Offer this on your website and social media platforms, delivered either via email, or social media (in time posting), and you can build a database of clients interested in your product, or the solution that you offer.
Learn about SEO for your website
If you have a website, then you will want to be found online! But how do you know if your website is being ranked for what you are looking for?
For Example, at Frankman, we offer Design and Marketing services, so if you search for Marketing in Torquay, you will see, we are the first listing on Google!
So how do you check where you place without trawling the pages of Google? A helpful free tool is this Search Engine Ranking Position checker, https://www.serprobot.com/ enter the URL of your website the term you wish to be found for, and you can see where you are placed, providing it is in the top 100.
If your website needs help, take advantage of the Free SEO training available from Yoast. Yoast is a popular SEO plugin available for WordPress websites.
Write a Blog (or two, or three!)
One of the best ways to keep your website content active is with a blog! Make your content fun, informative and interesting. Help your readers with up to date news, interesting information, or a quick FAQ to answer some of your common questions. If you are unsure what to write about, check what questions your competitors are being asked on their social media, or perhaps what people are asking for in the support groups. Someone may be asking for a service you offer, rather than posting a link to your website and inviting someone to take a look, provide them with a link to your website, where you previously solved the problem or a similar client, or have answered the question in a blog post.
If you would like any help or guidance with your Marketing, the Frankman Team are here to help, drop us a line at 01803 411016 or email info@frankman.co.uk
