It is safe to say that 2020 is one for the books. We have experienced quite a bit of uncertainty and change this year, including the growing reliance on digital strategy to stay connected to customers. We have also gained tons of lessons in how to refresh digital strategy for small business.
Digital strategy is, after all, always changing year after year. Yet, 2020 emphasized the importance of digital readiness and knowing how to use digital strategy to successfully navigate unexpected changes.
Small business digital strategy is vital to the growth of start-up firms that enter saturated markets or for rising small businesses that want to remain competitive against companies with majority market share.
Refreshing your digital strategy in an Agile model will add value to your objectives that can move your small business to the next tier in revenue. In this article, we will provide insight into how to refresh your digital strategy to meet future-focused needs and to reinforce your brand.
The key is embracing a mix of brand authenticity and innovative technology. Here are some ways to refresh digital strategy for small business in 2020:
1. Reintroduce Your Brand Story
Seems like a no brainer? If there is one thing that 2020 has taught small businesses, it is that the value of loyal customers is immeasurable.
When markets begin to fluctuate or the economy is challenged, your brand loyalists will remain a consistent stream of income for you or are the most likely to convert from a retargeting campaign.
Reintroduce your brand story with digital narrative that captures your target audience. Your brand story tells us about your company, its differentiators, and most importantly the value your company brings to the table in a compelling way.
Digital strategy that reintroduces brand story can capture unexplored market share as well as reinforce existing brand loyalty. Both benefits are especially important for small businesses that rely on a niche audience of consumers or audiences with several alternative options available.
2. Update Your Target Keywords List
When was the last time you updated your target keywords list? Digital strategy that places search engine optimization (SEO) as a priority and complement to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, content marketing, social media marketing, and customer experience marketing is a force to be reckoned with in 2020.
Updating your target keywords list is an important digital strategy refresher that can help you attract another audience with different search intent. Search intent fluctuates during uncertain times like the global pandemic, which means your organization’s website and content could be losing organic traffic.
Now before anyone goes crazy, we are not suggesting that you do away with your entire keyword strategy. Of course not. We are recommending that you do further keyword research and determine which of your keywords or keyword phrases are aligned with the interests of relevant audiences.
Perhaps your primary keywords list is no longer relevant. For instance, if a service is known to be priced at a premium, audience search intent may steer away from similar services during an economic downturn. Likewise, during the pandemic, keywords that contained “online services” gained greater SEO-driven traffic than services that required in-person visitation.
7 Places to Add Your Updated Target Keywords:
As best practice, your updated keywords should be added to the following places in 2020:
Webpage Content
H1 Tags
Canonical URLs
Meta descriptions
Alt Attributes
Schema Mark-Up
FAQs
The trick to refreshing your digital strategy using No. 2 on our list is to understand the search intent of your audience and to adjust keywords accordingly, while remaining true to your brand and industry.
But…keywords are not the end all be all! Sorry to burst your bubble.
Keywords were a staple in SEO strategy for more than 10 years, yet they are slowly losing relevance. Do not worry. Google algorithms and other search engines still leverage keywords to refine SERPs and will for a long time. Yet, digital changes like Google’s BERT model have placed more attention on the quality of content and SEO-friendly topics relevant to a search query.
3. Video Marketing
In 2020, video marketing has great reward. Video marketing provides a visual pitch to your audience that is more engaging than your most well-written form of content. Your video marketing strategy should reinforce overall digital strategy with clear narratives and call-to-actions. Since video is not new, we are sure that you are familiar with creating videos.
Here are ways to refresh your video marketing:
Repurpose your videos for different platforms. Tailor your video content for social media marketing, product tutorials, or email announcements. For instance, vertical videos appear better for your stories, while horizontal videos are better for advertising. Longer content is more suitable for YouTube, while shorter videos are attractive on a business platform like LinkedIn. Lastly, video content can be repurposed across platforms to drive organic traffic.
Tell a visual story. Along with the first tip, create videos that are tailored to your audience and are engaging with a clearly defined message. Video marketing can be useful in every facet of your digital strategy. Think about it. People are far more likely to click on or watch an auto-play video to hear an influencer than they are to read an entire blog. Visual storytelling draws the viewer in and makes them feel a part of the message, which will lend to greater interest in your brand.
Go Live. Social media platforms like Facebook, Periscope, Vimeo Live, and others allow users to stream live video content. Go live often to build anticipation with your audience and drive engagement. Add subtitles to your live videos or to the video recordings. Host live streams for events and company meetings that would otherwise be kept private. It’ll be just fine! Transparency helps build brand loyalty.
4. Consider Digital Transformation
Digital strategy is not only meant for online digital marketing or to grow your customer base. Digital strategy can also be a core component of how your small business operates. In 2020, more and more organizations are discovering the importance of digital as a business model, rather than as an add-on. Are you looking to become more agile? Do you want to provide quality customer and employee experiences? Consider digital transformation strategy.