5 Affordable Digital Marketing Tactics Perfect for Retailers

As a small business owner, your top priority is running and growing your business — and there are a lot of ways you can accomplish this. With 85.8% of the U.S. population using the internet, digital marketing is one of the most efficient ways to support your business. However, it can be challenging to use digital marketing in a way that maximizes your valuable time and money.

Leverage the power of digital marketing with these five affordable tactics.

1. Social Media

Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Google My Business, and more — all of these social media platforms are free to use and offer endless opportunities to reach new customers and interact with existing ones. Each platform has different audiences, post requirements, best writing practices, and formats. Hone your efforts by identifying the platforms your customers use most, and creating content tailored specifically to them.

While organic social media is free, building a strong presence requires an investment of your time and energy. Posting high-quality content on a consistent basis is key to driving sales. With the many demands of your business, it can be easy to put social media on the back burner — especially if you’re trying to manage multiple platforms. If you’re not sure what to post, look online for inspiration and ideas or use a social post builder.

If you don’t have enough time to manage social media content creation and scheduling, automate your efforts with a social media management tool. Use a social media scheduling platform to maintain a consistent posting schedule. Simplify the process further by using social media automation software like ThumbStopper® — a content creation and publishing tool that utilizes brand-curated content to reach customers in your local audience.

2. Email Marketing

Use website forms to build your email list. There are many types of emails you can send to keep your business top of mind. If you’re a furniture store, for example, you can share valuable insights including top interior design ideas, furniture cleaning tips, or how to move furniture safely. Update subscribers with the latest company news. Send them a “Happy Birthday” email to display customer appreciation. Inform subscribers of popular product restocks or special offers and promotions. Send them reminders if they’ve left something in their shopping cart.

All of these messages are great ways to build relationships with your customers and maintain brand awareness. Many email automation platforms offer different subscription levels so that you can choose one that works with your budget.

3. Search Engine Optimization

While it may take some time to see the impact, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can boost your ranking in search results — helping you get your business in front of more people and building your authority in the digital space.

Optimize your website for local search to reach customers in your area. Set up a business listing on Google My Business and boost your ranking by keeping your profile up to date. Encourage customer reviews, and be sure to reply to them in a timely manner — whether they’re positive or constructive.

4. Content Marketing

Content marketing works hand-in-hand with SEO to drive traffic to your website. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. What problems do they commonly face? Where would they look to find a solution? Create and publish that content on your website, using your expertise to help them solve these problems.

If you’re a bicycle shop, for example, publish your best bicycle care and maintenance tips. Share your must-try local bike paths or low-traffic streets. Write a blog that addresses frequently asked questions from customers. Sharing this valuable content with your audience is a great way to keep your business top of mind, establish your expertise, and boost customer acquisition and retention.

5. Leverage Analytics and Reporting

Most digital marketing platforms provide analytics. You can find them through the platform itself or the automation software you’re using. Typically, these insights include metrics such as Reach, Engagement, Click-Through Rate, Conversions, and more. This data provides valuable insight into how your customers interact with your content and is a good indicator of how future content will perform.

Set clear goals before analyzing the performance of your content. Identify which metrics define success, and regularly measure your content’s performance against them. Each piece of content may have a different goal. Promotional content, for example, is designed to generate sales. Content about company culture is intended to build brand awareness. Both types of content are important for different reasons, and you will need to measure their success differently.

Dive into analytics for your email marketing campaigns, website content, social media posts, and more. Consider each platform an opportunity to learn about what’s most effective with your audience. Use these insights to shape your digital marketing strategy in the future.

Save Time and Money With ThumbStopper®

ThumbStopper makes it easy for you to market your business. Our software is specifically designed to connect retailers with the brands they sell — helping them save time and money and maximize their social media efforts.

Featured Resources

BLOG

Lifehacks that Every Big Brand CMO Needs to See

CASE STUDY

How STIHL Canada Drove a Successful Co-Op Marketing Campaign Utilizing Marketing Technology

GUIDE

How to Get Retailers to Participate in Your Channel Marketing Program

[/et_pb_column]

[/et_pb_row]

[/et_pb_column]

Key Points:

Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns.

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It's one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible.

Text

Use plain language that’s easy to understand
Avoid text in all caps
Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Use color contrast checkers to make sure low-vision people can see images
Try not to completely rely on color to show contrast
Add alternative text on each social platform

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience - with your accessible, branded content - in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business.

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

[/et_pb_column]

What Is Social Media Automation?

[/et_pb_column]

10 Ways to Automate Your Marketing

[/et_pb_column]

How Effective Is Your Social Media Strategy

[/et_pb_section][/et_pb_column]

[/et_pb_row]

[/et_pb_column]

Key Points:

Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

Social Media for All

Making Content Accessible

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It’s one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

Text

Use plain language that’s easy to understand
Avoid text in all caps
Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Use color contrast checkers to make sure low-vision people can see images
Try not to completely rely on color to show contrast
Add alternative text on each social platform

Distribute Accessible Content

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience – with your accessible, branded content – in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business.

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

[/et_pb_column]

What Is Social Media Automation?

[/et_pb_column]

10 Ways to Automate Your Marketing

[/et_pb_column]

How Effective Is Your Social Media Strategy

[/et_pb_section]