Having an online presence in the form of a website or social media is super important for any business. It helps people find you, learn about what you offer, start conversations, and ultimately decide if they want to become your customers.
But they're only one piece of the marketing puzzle. To make your business truly stand out, you need a solid marketing strategy that makes sure those who find you are the right ones for your business.
Through our work reviewing the websites and social media presence of brands in different industries such as retail, hospitality, education, fitness, personal coaching, and much more, we’ve gathered some valuable tips that can help you improve your overall marketing game. Here are seven easy and effective hacks you can easily start with, based on our findings.
1: Make Your Website Look Great
Imagine walking into a store that’s dull and boring. You’d probably walk right back out, right? The same goes for your website. First impressions matter a lot. When someone visits your site, it should have a pleasant visual flow, with up to date functionality and reflect your brand’s personality.
Use colours that match your brand. Make sure your logo and colour schemes are consistent on every page. Choose two fonts that are highly legible and stick to them. (We've seen websites with 5-6 different fonts!) Visually highlight the most important information about who you are and what you do right on the homepage with dynamic banners, or well-designed sections.
Most website platforms such as Squarespace, Wix, or Showit have really easy plug-and-play templates, so if you have an outdated website that was a pain to create five years ago, you may find it really easy to do a refresh. When our clients don't have time to DIY, we suggest our preferred Fiverr or specialty web-designers to recommend. We've got you covered with professionals you can trust!
2: Keep Your Content Clear and Easy to Find
People don’t like to hunt for information. It's mentally exhausting and we humans love to take the easiest path. Think of it like a scavenger hunt—fun for a game, not so much for finding business info!
Make sure all the important stuff is easy to find, especially on the homepage. Use clear headings and short text to guide visitors to where they need to be. And don't forget about mobile devices! Your site should look just as good on a phone as it does on a computer -- in fact 80% of your visitors will be on mobile, so that view is really the most important one!
When we review websites as part of our freebie, we often see important information buried deep in the site. Bringing it to the front can make a big difference and improve conversion. You have about 20 seconds to impress a new visitor, so make it count!
3: Use Strong Calls to Action
A call to action (CTA) is like telling someone exactly what you want them to do next. Place clear CTAs like "Buy Tickets," "Join Us," and "Hire Us" on your homepage. Make sure these CTAs are easy to see and understand.
Use words that make people want to take action. Making them more visible and specific can really help get more people involved. You can also put the CTA in the first person, such as, "I'm ready to start!", or "Sign me up for FREE!". This is a subtle way of making your potential customer or client feel empowered.
In one example with a health and fitness brand, we saw that their email sign-up section didn't clearly tell customers to opt-in for information. This could mean that visitors who need their services might not take any action because they didn't get the message.
4: Optimize for Search Engines (SEO)
Think of SEO as your website’s invisible way of waving a big sign that says, “Hey, look at me!” SEO helps people find your website when they search on Google. Keep your site updated with new content like blog posts, videos and back-linking from Pinterest and YouTube (which are actually search engines, not social media). If you've ever guest-blogged or been on someone else's podcast, be sure your website is listed in the bio or show notes.
Use descriptive titles and tags for images (in Shopify these are called the alt-descriptions and are super important for people making purchasing decisions straight from Google). Make sure your pages also use keywords that show intent to purchase. Regular updates and evolving keywords based on trends or seasons can help your site show up more in search results.
5: Connect with Social Media
Social media is like having a megaphone for your business. It helps you reach more people and drive traffic to your website. Make sure your site has icons that link to your active social media profiles. (And likewise, if you're no longer active on X or TikTok, then please remove those icons! You don't want potential clients to think you don't pay attention to details.)
It's important to be active on different platforms where your clients might be looking. During a review for a business in interior design, we saw that while Instagram was used well, the Facebook page was not kept up and had inconsistent business descriptions in the bios.
Facebook is still a place where your audience might be hanging out -- even if your Page isn't very active. When we run Meta Ads, we run them to Facebook and Instagram because the platform has the enviable distinction of collecting data on it's users since 2006! If a potential lead lands on your Facebook Page and the info or posts are out of date, that doesn't send a very good sign!
6: Track and Analyze Your Visitors
Using tools like Google Analytics (UA4) is like having a map that shows you how people navigate your site. This data can help you make improvements. Track things like how visitors navigate your site and where they spend the most time.
When we run Meta Ad Campaigns we even add a bit of code to the Ad Sets so that we can read the true results in your UA4 Account. It's pretty cool to see! Not every Ads Agency knows how to track ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) like this.
7: Create Engaging Content
High-quality content is like a magnet that keeps people coming back to your site. Create content that your audience cares about. Use different formats like blogs, videos, podcast transcripts and infographics to keep things fresh.
Encourage visitors to interact by leaving comments and sharing your content. This helps your content to reach your cold audience - those who have never interacted with your business.
During a review for a client in financial services, we saw a chance to improve how they connect with new audiences by creating Hero Content pieces. Very simply, this is a way you can create one piece of content, such as a blog, and repurpose it into a newsletter and multiple shorter social media posts. And if you focus on creating content that teaches, entertains, or inspires, you'll build trust at the same time as growing your audience.
Conclusion
Improving your marketing strategy involves more than just a great website. It includes making your site look attractive, keeping content clear, using strong CTAs, optimizing for search engines, connecting with social media, tracking visitors, and creating engaging content.
These seven simple marketing hacks can significantly boost your online presence, engage your audience, and increase your reach.
We all have blind spots and sometimes the closer you are to your business, the harder it is to find areas for improvement. That's why professional athletes still need coaches. At Niche Up Digital, we are business partners for all things marketing, and we love it! Are you struggling to optimize your marketing strategies? Let's help you out with our expertise.
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