{"id":13580,"date":"2022-03-07T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/?p=13580"},"modified":"2025-03-26T12:02:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T10:02:00","slug":"what-are-the-digital-marketing-steps-that-small-businesses-need-to-take-to-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/blog\/what-are-the-digital-marketing-steps-that-small-businesses-need-to-take-to-thrive\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are The Digital Marketing Steps That Small Businesses Need To Take To Thrive?"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_medium\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_grid cols_3-1 laptops-cols_inherit tablets-cols_inherit mobiles-cols_1 valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-image align_center\"><div class=\"w-image-h\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"379\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_2127132917-e1646293759922.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"DSM Digital School of Marketing - digital marketing\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_2127132917-e1646293759922.jpg 680w, https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_2127132917-e1646293759922-600x334.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p>Entrepreneurs, as well as owners of a businesses of any size, understand that driving more traffic, sales, and leads is of paramount importance. However many continue to struggle with the best ways to do that in addition to identifying the ever-changing best practices to build a recognisable brand, maximise exposure, and gain recognition for the products and services which they offer.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Small Business Digital Marketing 101<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/advanced-digital-marketing-course\/\">Digital marketing<\/a> is meant to boost brand awareness and <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/digital-marketing-blog\/what-is-your-inclusive-brand-type\/\">build<\/a> a pipeline of qualified leads which turn into sales. With a small business, making sure that you get the word out may be challenging owing to less visibility and lack of resources (such as budget or time). However, there are key strategies that can assist you to scale your small business&#8217;s marketing efforts.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re struggling with a limited budget, the time restraints that are caused by having a smaller team, or even an absence of direction, a digital marketing plan that&#8217;s appropriate for your business can provide guidance as you scale.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Determine What Your Product Or Service Is<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This may seem silly; however you need to consider what your <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/market-research-course\/\">target audience<\/a> is looking for specifically. They are seeking information, often on your online business profile, website, or social media pages.<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t know what your business is positioned to sell to your target audience, then you cannot create a solid digital marketing plan. What are you selling? What makes you different? If you&#8217;re not sure, that&#8217;s okay. The best thing to do is write down your target audience and what they want from you. This will assist when it comes time to crafting your marketing messages for a particular group.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-video align_none ratio_16x9 has_iframe\"><div class=\"w-video-h\"><iframe title=\"Vimeo video player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/329102581?autoplay=0&loop=0&autopause=0&color=00adef&portrait=0&byline=1&title=1&controls=1&muted=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/div><div class=\"w-video-icon\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem;background:rgba(0,0,0,0.5);color:#fff\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><h2><strong>Know Your Audience<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A fundamental mistake is thinking that &#8220;anyone&#8221; is your buyer. Bigger companies may be able to appeal to a wide market, however they say, &#8220;the riches are in the niches&#8221; for a good reason. A niche is where you&#8217;ll have by far the most leverage as a small business. And to create a niche and appeal to buyers within the niche, you need to understand their pains, problems, triggering events as well as priorities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is pushing them to decide on making a purchasing decision?<\/li>\n<li>What does it look like if they are successful?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Knowing these things will assist you with crafting messaging that resonates and makes a compelling case for your <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/blog\/whats-the-best-multichannel-sales-management-solution-for-online-retailers\/\">solution<\/a>. Begin by thinking about your existing customers as well as who you&#8217;d like to work with. Then, put together a buyer persona to start the process of getting into the head of your ideal client.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Your Website Is Your Company\u2019s Front Door To The Internet<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s very important to begin with a high-quality website which represents your brand. High quality does not always mean robust as well as full of content. Stick to the most important pages at first and come back to add content at a later stage. Make sure that your business name, products and useful content are all easily accessible on your website.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s very important to imagine how your target market will engage with your site:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is the product or service is your buyer persona (in other words, your target customer) searching for?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of customers are you attempting to attract?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Make sure that you keep your <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/web-design-courses\/\">website strategy<\/a> straightforward. Put your preferences to the side in order to focus on your customers. Putting your own bias to the side may be challenging, so sometimes, you need to find an expert website designer who can help guide you through this.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/contact-us\/\">Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Do you want to become an advanced digital marketer? If you do then you need to study our Advanced Digital Marketing Course. Follow this <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/advanced-digital-marketing-course\/\">link<\/a> to find out more.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/digital-marketing-course\/\"><picture class=\"aligncenter wp-image-759 size-shop_single\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSM_Footer04-600x96.jpg.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/picture><picture class=\"aligncenter wp-image-759 size-shop_single\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSM_Footer04-600x96.jpg\" alt=\"DSM Digital School of Marketing Digital Marketing course registration\" width=\"600\" height=\"96\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-btn-wrapper align_justify\"><a class=\"w-btn us-btn-style_2\" href=\"#enquiry\"><span class=\"w-btn-label\">Enquire Today<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><h3 class=\"w-text us_custom_6caa4608 has_text_color\"><span class=\"w-text-h\"><span class=\"w-text-value\">Blog Categories<\/span><\/span><\/h3><div class=\"wpb_text_column us_custom_5cd26a65\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><ul>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-1\"><a href=\"\/blog\/content-marketing\/\">Content Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/digital-marketing\/\">Digital Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/cyber-security-blog\/\">Cyber Security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/graphic-design-blog\/\">Graphic Design<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-3\"><a href=\"\/blog\/public-relations\/\">Public Relations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-4\"><a href=\"\/blog\/seo\/\">SEO<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-5\"><a href=\"\/blog\/social-media-marketing\/\">Social Media Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-5\"><a href=\"\/blog\/web-design-blog\/\">Web Design<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><h3 class=\"w-text us_custom_6caa4608 has_text_color\"><span class=\"w-text-h\"><span class=\"w-text-value\">You might also like<\/span><\/span><\/h3><div class=\"w-html\"><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/social-media-marketing-blog\/zero-moment-of-truth-benefit-social-media-marketing\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Use the Zero Moment of Truth to Benefit your Social Media Marketing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/digital-marketing-blog\/your-complete-guide-to-ppc-marketing-basic\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Your Complete Guide to PPC Marketing Basics. Find out more.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/blog\/you-can-convey-a-lot-of-meaning-with-just-one-graphic\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">You Can Convey a Lot Of Meaning With Just One Graphic<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/digital-marketing-blog\/would-you-make-a-great-marketing-manager\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Would you make a great marketing manager?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/in-the-press\/win-with-bona-magazine-and-the-digital-school-of-marketing\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Win with Bona Magazine and the Digital School of Marketing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/in-the-press\/win-a-digital-marketing-course-valued-at-r12-000\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Win a Digital Marketing Course Valued at  R12 000<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><h3 class=\"w-text us_custom_6caa4608 has_text_color\"><span class=\"w-text-h\"><span class=\"w-text-value\">Top Selling COurses<\/span><\/span><\/h3><div class=\"wpb_text_column us_custom_5cd26a65\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><ul>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-1\"><a href=\"\/courses\/digital-marketing-course\/\">Intermediate Digital Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/courses\/advanced-digital-marketing-course\/\">Advanced Digital Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-3\"><a href=\"\/courses\/social-media-marketing-course\/\">Intermediate Social media marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-4\"><a href=\"\/courses\/digital-brand-management-course\/\">Brand Management<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-5\"><a href=\"\/courses\/graphic-design-course\/\">Basic Graphic Design<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-6\"><a href=\"\/courses\/advanced-graphic-design-course\/\">Advanced Graphic design<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-7\"><a href=\"\/courses\/national-certificate-of-advertising\/\">National Certificate of Advertising<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-8\"><a href=\"\/courses\/national-diploma-of-copywriting-course\/\">National Diploma of Copyrighting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_medium\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_grid cols_1 laptops-cols_inherit tablets-cols_inherit mobiles-cols_1 valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-video align_none ratio_16x9 has_iframe\"><div class=\"w-video-h\"><iframe title=\"Youtube video player\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JoEwCXKahVc?autoplay=0&controls=1&origin=https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za&loop=0&mute=0\" allowfullscreen=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/div><div class=\"w-video-icon\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem;background:rgba(0,0,0,0.5);color:#fff\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":950,"featured_media":13581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[262,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-marketing-blog","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/950"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13580"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23085,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13580\/revisions\/23085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}