Are you fed up with missing out on the benefits of digital marketing for small businesses? If you are, you’re not alone.

At networking events I regularly encounter business owners who tell me quite emphatically they don’t have time to fluff around on social media because they have real work to do.

Here’s where I stand on digital marketing: Yes, I agree that, in general, business owners have better things to do with their time than to fluff around on social media. However (you knew there was a however right?), like any marketing activity you indulge in, digital marketing doesn’t have to take up all of your time.

And, given it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to get out there, promote your business and ultimately, make more money, it’s worth at least having a shot at don’t you think?

How much digital marketing do you do? Has it worked for your business?

Here are five straightforward things you can do to dip your toes in.

1. Implement a search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy

According to Deloitte Access Economics, websites on the first page of Google get up to 90 per cent more traffic than the rest. I can vouch for the benefits of this myself!

I’ve had a lot of success with my own rankings by implementing a structured content marketing strategy (blogging, ebooks, slideshares, social media) and using keywords in the right spot in my website. (I use plugins such as this to make sure every page and blog post is as Google friendly as possible.)

It’s also worth noting the most important thing I do from an SEO point of view is take things slowly and avoid overseas SEO companies who promise instant results for next to nothing.

2. Create a search engine marketing campaign

Search engine marketing (SEM) uses a combination of SEO techniques with paid advertising (pay-per-click, such as Adwords) to increase your visibility and get more traffic to your website.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is considered by many, including myself, to be one of the most effective tactics out there for customer acquisition and getting new leads. I use SEO and PPC (I spend on average $300 per month on PPC) to attract leads for my business and it’s a very powerful combination.

3. Do some social media marketing

As well as all those pet videos, social media offers a wealth of opportunities for businesses that want to make the most of word-of-mouth marketing and build relationships with their customers.

To avoid it being a giant time suck, spend just 10 minutes a day on two or three social media platforms sharing useful content and interacting with other people. Better still, use Hootsuite to automate your content and before you know it, you’ll have many months of posts ready to go.

In time I’ve built things up so now I have at least six months of posts in my Hootsuite schedule at any time. Very handy!

4. Talk to your email subscribers

What other form of marketing lets you target your potential customers directly in their inbox? Place an email sign up box on your website and blog and send a regular email (once a week or fortnight is fine) with useful content to engage your customers and remind them that you exist.

I’m consistently surprised by how many people remember reading my email newsletters years later. High quality, relevant content really is king.

5. Your website

At the end of the day, almost everyone has a website, but not everyone has a well-designed, up-to-date, fast and mobile-friendly website. Unless you have a high level of web design skills it’s worth getting a professionally designed and built site, and updating it every couple of years at a minimum.

High digital engagement for your business can be achieved with less time and effort than you probably think. By spending a few minutes a day on these five basic strategies you can make the most of the benefits that digital marketing has to offer and you’ll start seeing real results through increased traffic, leads and sales.

This article was originally published on www.flyingsolo.com.au.