SME Digital Marketing Strategies
Small to medium enterprises (SME) take up a special spot in the business landscape. They’re generally up-and-coming ventures and may have strong roots in the local community. Yet, as competitors big and small transition online, it’s important to keep pace with them. With the right digital marketing strategies, an SME can stay ahead of the competition and make an impact online.
Brand Voice
One important strategy for small-medium enterprises is to establish a “brand voice”. Having a clear and consistent brand voice can personify a business. Companies can use their brand voice to share their thoughts, feelings, and important messages on Organic Social Media or through their company blog. A good brand voice catches peoples’ attention and helps businesses stand out. Use visual media to show who you are and keep in touch with your fanbase. In a time when a snappy Wendy’s tweet makes the news, establishing a brand voice is a must.
Social Media Marketing
Simply put, social media marketing is using social media for your business. At first glance, that doesn’t seem so hard. However, there’s a lot to consider as you develop your social platforms for your SME. It’s often split into two parts: Organic Social Media and Paid Social Media. As mentioned above, Organic Social Media is a way to connect with your audience. It’s a venue to share tips and tricks about your product or service. Paid Social Marketing is the other half of this strategy. It’s where you craft an ad with a clear “call to action”, invite a potential audience to interact with your product or service, and publish it on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok (assuming, of course, that TikTok is still around in a few weeks).
This SME digital marketing strategy relies heavily on timing, brand voice, authenticity, and patience. It takes time to test ads. It takes time to find audiences and push them into leads and conversions. Advertising has been the keystone of marketing initiatives since the invention of sellable products. Paid social media ads are the next step in the evolution of advertising because they use the information provided by social media users and target ads based on their interests.
Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a unique tool that requires a little more work on your part, but yields high conversions in an SME digital marketing strategy. Content Marketing is a form of marketing that generates leads, interest, and brand awareness through free digital content that people can review. Think of it as a kind of digital gift basket.
As AdAge notes, Content Marketing is different from most digital strategies in two fundamental ways:
- Content resides on owned or earned media. If there’s a media buy involved, it’s advertising, not content marketing.
- Content marketing is a pull, rather than a push, strategy. Content doesn’t interrupt, it attracts.
This SME digital marketing strategy depends on the content you make: it has to be relatable and attractive. This content has to be able to pull in visitors, and it has to be shared easily. Popular forms of content marketing include free reports, video tutorials, “how-to” documents, blogs, infographics, podcasts, and other informative content. This content is shared through your audience to outsiders, which pulls them in to learn more about you and your small-medium enterprise.
High-Converting Website
It can’t be stressed enough—if you’re going to be involved in eCommerce (and any other type of business for that matter), you’re going to need a website. Even if your main focus is selling on Etsy or Amazon, having a host website lends you authenticity. It shows that you have a base of operations. You can show off any professional certifications or awards you might have, share more about the history of your company, and provide a way for people to get a hold of you. Remember—while employees only work for you up to eight hours a day, a website works for you 24/7.
Starting a small to medium enterprise is not easy to do. However, these digital marketing strategies can help your SME grow. Set Fire Creative would love to help you grow your business. Reach out today for a free consultation!
Matthew is a Brand Strategist who has a passion for learning, and for improving the world around him. He does this by helping share the stories small businesses have to share and building bonds between businesses and communities. He’s currently working through a movie marathon of all the Academy Awards Best Picture winners.
