7 Digital Marketing Tips for Small Businesses Looking to Drive Conversions

Learn how to grow your business through social, email and other channels

You run a business you’re proud of and want to spread the word—that’s why you should launch a sustained marketing campaign.

At Walmart Business, we understand you’re already busy making your company do what it does best. That’s why we’ve compiled this quick roundup of digital marketing tips for small businesses.

These seven tips will help you focus your marketing efforts on solutions that deliver more conversions for less time and money spent.

7 digital marketing tips for small businesses

1. Adopt a performance mindset

If you want to see measurable results, one of the best online marketing tips for small businesses is to pursue performance marketing. This digital marketing strategy targets particular results, such as direct sales conversions or newsletter sign-ups.

The typical arrangement with performance marketing agencies is especially friendly to your bottom line—you only pay them once they meet your specified goals.

However, you need to know what your goals actually are before you make that arrangement. "When a business is just getting started in digital marketing, their strategies will likely be driven by industry benchmarks, which they can refine over time with real business data,” explained Dawn Nichols, Head of Digital Strategy at Walmart. “However, not all data is useful. When we talk about data, we’re really talking about key performance indicators (KPIs). What numbers do you need to hit for your business to be a success—is it traffic? Conversions? Orders? Tracking your KPIs closely, and slicing it by things like marketing channel or audience, will help identify opportunities for optimizations. Don’t fall victim to vanity metrics—things that sound good on paper but aren’t actually meaningful to your business."

For more information and insights on setting and achieving financial goals, read Small Business Finance: 5 Things to Consider.

2. Make your site Google-friendly

Good search engine optimization (SEO), and therefore good visibility to people searching for things related to your business, begins long before you start pursuing keyword rankings.

Google prioritizes pages that offer relevant information, load quickly, are well organized and easy to read.

Use the Google Search Console to spot issues that could interfere with your SEO before you invest in conversion-driven content.

3. Build your marketing plan with conversion in mind

Think of your overall marketing efforts as a funnel toward conversion:

• At the highest, widest part of the funnel is anyone who may see one of your ads or read one of your blog articles.
  
• At the middle, narrower part are people who have taken an active interest in what your business can do for them, perhaps by signing up for newsletters or downloading your exclusive content.
  
• At the lowest, narrowest part are the people who convert, or have purchased from your business.
  

"Looking at conversions specifically, incentives are always a big needle mover,” Nichols said. “For small businesses on a tight budget, a low-cost way to implement this is to do a joint campaign with another business with a similar audience. The beauty of this is joint marketing; you’ll get exposure to their audience and vice versa. It’s a win/win for both parties. One tip is to make sure the incentive is driving toward your most important business goal. It’s great to have likes and follows on social media for top-of-funnel marketing but you might want to incentivize something deeper in the funnel as well, like making a purchase or signing up for an account."

Content marketing is one great way to move potential customers through each stage of the funnel. This encompasses the SEO-driven articles mentioned in the last section, as well as the exclusive content that convinces customers to sign up and stay involved.

4. Approach social media on its own terms

Social media marketing is an effective way to reach new customers or convert those who previously dropped out of your funnel. Each social media platform has its own optimal strategies.

For instance, a rapid-fire video that’s well suited to reaching potential customers on TikTok’s algorithmic "For You" page may feel out of place on a curated Instagram feed. And the type of brand engagement that Facebook users expect will look odd in a Pinterest collection.

Start small by building a presence on one or two social media platforms that seem well suited to your business rather than risk overextending or coming off as generic.

5. Don’t overlook email marketing

Email marketing may not feel as exciting as chasing social media virality. But there’s no doubt it’s effective. One study found a 42:1 return on investment for every dollar spent on email marketing.

But it only works if you don’t end up in the spam filter. Here are a few small business digital marketing tips to make your emails stand out in the inbox:

• Use dedicated email marketing tools. Some common options are Hubspot and Mailchimp.
  
• Personalize wherever possible. Go beyond “first name/last name” fields to make emails relevant. Think loyalty milestones, personalized discounts and more.
  
• Look outside your business. Know a relevant influencer with a weekly newsletter? Try sponsoring a section in their next issue.
  

6. Cultivate user-generated content and reviews

Try as you might to make your business feel authentic, consumers will still tend to hold your communications at arm’s length.

A report from Tint found that consumers perceive content from businesses, as well as from influencers, as less trustworthy than user-generated content (UGC). Additionally, 80% of consumers look at ratings and reviews before they make a purchase.

Share perspectives from real customers, like case studies, social posts or user reviews, and you will be more likely to convert.

7. Meet customers where they are

Get to know your customers. Where do they tend to hang out online? Do they look for information on local businesses in Google Maps? Do they compare notes on enthusiast forums such as Reddit? Do they listen to podcasts about true crime or watch streaming videos on their televisions?

Once you know the answers to those questions, you will identify many more great places to point your marketing budget.

Spend more time where it counts

Though these digital marketing tips for small businesses will help you do more with less, you already have plenty on your plate. Let us help you with the essentials that keep your business running.

When you sign up for Walmart Business+, you’ll unlock free delivery from store, $35 minimum*, as well as free shipping, no order minimum†. That means fewer supply runs and more time on task.

You’ll even earn 2% in Walmart Business Rewards on orders $250 or more‡ and save with limited-time offers from top brands. And you can analyze patterns with Spend Analytics to help budget for the future. Sign up and get started today.

*Restrictions apply. Additional fee applies for Express delivery.

†Excludes most Marketplace items, freight & certain location surcharges.

‡ Exclusions apply. See full terms for details.