Marketing is essential in growing your business. But it can be hard to come up with ideas that fit into your busy schedule and tight budget. Here are seven digital marketing ideas you can use to promote your small business and build your brand presence online.  

1. Optimize your website
   
   • Optimizing your website is critical to small business success. You need a website that looks attractive, is customer-focused, and is optimized for search engines. While this can feel intimidating, many turnkey website creation platforms do a lot of the work for you. As for SEO, there are tons of resources that can help you, like Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO. Want more personalized assistance? The Pennsylvania Digital Transformation and eCommerce Program offers no cost resources to get your website in tip-top shape, including website and SEO audits and one-on-one consultations. 
2. Create an email marketing plan
   
   • Email is a great way to reach your customers with personalized messaging. You can create targeted emails about new products, sales, sneak previews, and so much more. Tools like Mailchimp allow you to try out email marketing for free and upgrade the tool for a monthly fee if you need more features and support. And email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools out there, with some estimates of an over 3000% return on investment.
3. Write content your audience wants to read
   
   • Blogging can be a fantastic way to get more eyes on your business. When putting together a content strategy, consider your audience first. You should think of your blog as a resource for the reader. Provide content that relates to your brand but also offers something of interest for the reader. Tips and tricks, behind-the-scenes, and expert industry roundups are all tried and tested ideas. 
4. Try your hand at Facebook Advertising
   
   • The Facebook algorithm is making it more and more difficult to get your organic posts in front of your audience. If you’re creating great content that’s not getting much attention, consider promoting it with ads. Facebook makes it super easy to create an ad from scratch or boost an existing post. And you can choose the age, gender, location, and interests of the audience you want your ad served to, making it a great way to reach your target customers.
5. Ask your customers for reviews
   
   • How often do you look at reviews when thinking about what to buy or where to eat? Your potential customers are using reviews to make their purchasing decisions too, so having great reviews is essential. It may seem challenging to get more reviews, but it can be as simple as asking. Include a request for a review in your packaging or on receipts. Send review requests to happy customers via email. You can even ask your customers face-to-face to share their experiences online.  
6. Build a stellar social media strategy
   
   • Social media is a must-have in modern business. You can join the conversation and interact with potential customers in an authentic way. Creating a great social strategy doesn’t have to be a burden. Utilize content planning tools like Buffer to schedule posts in advance. Dedicate an hour or two a week to interacting with others and checking out relevant hashtags. Want to learn more? Check out this blog on entering the world of social media. 
7. Upgrade your graphics
   
   • Bad graphic design can make or break your business branding. But you don’t need a graphic design degree to create stunning graphics. Canva is a free graphic creation tool perfect for designing flyers, social media posts, menus, and so much more. You can create designs from scratch or use the thousands of templates available. If the free version doesn’t cut it, they also have a professional version with even more templates and high-quality stock images. 
   • The best digital marketing efforts are the ones you can stick with. When creating a marketing plan, be realistic about the time you can commit and the budget you have. Then, just be consistent! There’s no magic shortcut but as long as you keep at it, evaluate your methods, and continue to improve, you’re sure to see the benefits.  
   • If you’re looking for help creating or improving your business’s digital marketing, the SBDC offers no cost assistance through the Pennsylvania Digital Transformation and eCommerce Program. Sign up to get help with your website, social media, and digital marketing strategy.