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Will COVID-19 Give a Start to a New Economic Recession?
With the falling stock market and other economic indicators, the phrase “worst since 2008” started coming up again. The financial crisis of 2007-08 and the situation now are extremely different, and that’s because we generally try not to make the same mistake twice. Not only that, but policymakers have also stepped up their game at saving the economy.
The root of the Great Recession was the loss of housing wealth and the banking crisis. The current problem is the direct losses of income for businesses hurt by the health measures due to COVID-19.
At this stage, it’s hard to tell whether the damage from the coronavirus recession will be milder or more severe than previous recessions. We have to rely on the quality of policymakers’ response to possibly put a floor under the economy to ensure a brief downturn.
Having said all that, you shouldn’t just wait and hope that policymakers will handle the situation. You need to take responsibility in your own hands and safeguard your business from the current crisis.
Digital Marketing — The Vaccine for Your Small Business
You may be wondering how exactly digital marketing will help you contain the damage caused by the recession. The main idea here is to use that period to build a good online presence and surpass your competitors in the process. That way, you will keep generating leads from your website and online presence even after the pandemic is over.
This is what you should do.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO has become one of the most important, if not the most important, channels in digital marketing.
The days where digital marketing was only for the likes of large corporations are gone. Nowadays, there are internet advertising agencies that provide small and medium businesses the chance to compete against larger companies.
Search engine optimization is more than efficient as it brings many new opportunities for your small business, such as:
- A constant flow of new clients
- Great ROI in the long run
- An advantage over your competitors who aren’t doing SEO well or at all
Search engine optimization needs time to get you the desired results, and what better time to start than right now?
Now is your chance to surpass all your competitors in the Local Google rankings, and when the recession is over, you can quickly start restoring the losses.
For that, you will need:
1.Google My Business Listing
GMB is a very simple, easy-to-use platform that makes your business more discoverable online. The platform makes it easy for your customers to find your exact physical location.
When you search for a service, for example, “graphical designer in Florida,” you will get results similar to these below.
As you can see, before the actual search results, there is a highly visible panel showing three local businesses related to your search.
After the pandemic, if you are part of those three listings, it will be way easier to restore the lost income.
As the example shows, SEO can vastly improve your search visibility and make it easier for your customers to find you not only physically, but digitally too.
2. Industry-Specific Website
Having a perfect website is crucial because it is usually the first thing to introduce your business to your clients.
Your website is one of the public faces of the company. The majority of your customers will go through it when deciding to make a product or service inquiry. Therefore, your website needs to accurately represent your business!
There is a myriad of benefits to having a website. It:
- Educates your customers
- Expands your market
- Establishes your Internet business identity
- Improves your advertising effectiveness
- Increases business credibility
- Enhances your online presence
- Makes your business look professional
It can also have a huge impact on your ranking on Google, so make sure to have it attached to your listing.
Here is an example of an eye-catching remodeling website that will undoubtedly spark a client’s interest.
3. Online Business Directories
Listing your business in online business directories has its benefits. The more of them you join, the more benefits you will reap.
Online business directories undoubtedly help increase the amount of exposure your website gets, and also improve its SEO performance. Directories are a very effective way to directly target potential customers online as well.
The ROI is high since a lot of the online directories such as Superpages, Angieslist, Townsquare, and others are free to submit your business.
Building brand awareness with online directories is as easy as it can be. Simply keep your name, address, and phone consistent throughout all directories. If potential clients start seeing your name in different directories, you will be more recognizable to them. Keep your brand and your company name in the minds of your customers at all times.
4. Social Media Presence
Don’t give second thoughts on utilizing social media channels. Nearly half of the world’s population is on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. It’s become a natural place to reach and target new potential customers.
It’s just a fast, inexpensive, and effective way of connecting with your audience, so make sure you’re not missing out on it.
Let’s look into how social media can help you engage your audience and grow your business.
- Boosts brand awareness — A large 60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform
- Humanizes your brand — The opportunity to create a real human connection is what makes social media perfect for businesses
- Increases Website traffic — You can share great, useful, value-based content to build an audience that will not only drive traffic but will also help you generate more by sharing your blogs or articles.
- Partner with influencers — Word of mouth drives around 20 to 50 percent of customers that are willing to buy from you. Influencers are the way to go, seeing as they have a large following on social media, that by itself can easily draw attention to your brand.
5. Patience
In this period where COVID-19 is getting in the way of many businesses, it’s very hard to neglect the stress, especially when running a small business.
Patience will undoubtedly help in saving your business after the coronavirus recession is over.
The thing you need now is patience, results from SEO don’t come fast, but when they do, their impact on your business can be huge.
Overcoming the Coronavirus Recession: The Recap
This past year, the world turned upside down. The increase of the number of infected people caused global panic and businesses had to struggle to survive. One of the most efficient ways to do that is through digital marketing. It helps to contain the damage caused by the economic downturn and, if you’re persistent enough, it can even help you reach new heights.
SEO is the key to restore the lost profits after the crisis is over. The things you need are:
- Google My Business listing
- Industry-Specific Website
- Online Business Directories
- Social Media Marketing
- Patience
If you need assistance with getting all of this done, you can get the help you need from 411 Locals! We are an internet advertising agency that has been helping small businesses since 2007. Our team of professionals is always ready to help clients grow their small businesses!
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Affordable Search Engine Optimization
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