SME business guide for 2016 (Demo)

A new year = a new business strategy.  We have put together a mini A-Z SME business guide which is essential for your business’s marketing strategy & growth in 2016.  In this first instalment we go through letters A – M……

SME business guide for 2016

A – Apps are simple to access from a smartphone and many are useful to small businesses. Search for apps that can help the business be more efficient, e.g. Debapay offers simplified billing and payments collection which is essential to good cash flow and save your business money.  Top business apps provide the latest for 2016.

B – Blogging is a great way of reaching out to current and potential audiences.  Providing the reader with useful information encourages them to return. Blogging also increases traffic to your site especially when done on a regular basis. There are a whole list of benefits to blogging, you can read more here.

C – Content remains king and quality over quantity is key. If you ‘thin’ or duplicate content on your website it can be risky as it is easily picked up by Google algorithms. This will affect your ranking on organic searches.

D – Domains are an important part of your business image.  Your website domain name can say a lot about your company and what it offers [e.g. carphonewarehouse.com]. You domain name is also important for SEO so it may be better not to abbreviate your business in your domain. Go Daddy is a user friendly domain management site that offers 24 hours support.

E – Environment refers to  the external, everyday goings on around your business: your competition / the market place / changing trends / technology and so on. Be aware of your environment and don’t be afraid to adapt where possible.  Think PESTLE!

F – Funding is available! Whatever size your business is, there are some great sources for funding such as your Local Enterprise Office (LEO) .  One example is the online trading vouchers which can help if you are setting up an e-commerce site or devising a digital strategy.  There are many other sources available – check out ISME for more details.

G – Google’s search engine is the most powerful and popular on the globe with approx 90% of online users choosing to search via the site.  This means that it is essential for a business to be found on Google, usually first page.  SEO your website. Blog. Use social media.  All of these will benefit your organic search.

H – Hashtags are a great way of categorising your message.  Used mainly in Twitter to place a ‘tweet’ into a relevant category they are equally acceptable on other social media channels. Choose an existing hashtag or make a new one relevant to your business. #businessgrowth  #chooseyourownhashtag

I – Infographics use imagery to display a report, statistics or a particular message. These visuals can be very pleasing to the eye and very effective for getting your message across in a simplified yet efficient manner:

J – Jetpack is a great feature within WordPress that allows you to collect valuable stats such as page views, sources of referrals & demographics of visitors.  The analysis can help a business to change strategies based on knowledge about content that increases engagement and that which doesn’t.

K – Keywords are very important. You need to set a different focus keyword on each page of your website. This helps google understand what your page is about and to index it in their search engine. Set a task to optimise each page titles, descriptions, and content for the target keyword using Google’s Keyword Planner.

L  – LinkedIn  is a powerful website for developing B2B contacts and networking your business. Why not set up a linkedin profile for your business and get your connections to follow. This will help with your company branding.

M – Mobile has become a competitive area for marketers to promote their business in, thanks to smartphones. Now that a large proportion of global consumers have a mobile device within arms reach it is important to stay ahead of the competition. It is essential to optimise your website for mobile for a greater overall user experience.

57% of users say they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. (CMS Report, 2015)

In our next blog, we take a look at letters N – Z of the SME business guide to 2016…..

Who are MakinMediaMobile?

We are a digital media studio who specialise in animation and live action video.  We know that video can maximise business  growth through branding and the unlimited reach of online consumers.  For further info on who we are and what we do, check out our website here.