As we discussed previously, consumers are committed to supporting small businesses more than ever before. This is especially true of young people (Millennials and Gen Z), who are more likely to support a small business with a robust digital presence. This can take many forms, but we would like to highlight some important things to keep in mind when developing your digital footprint.

Obviously, social media

But phoning in a post or two a month just won't cut it. You need to be consistently engaged with your community and market and must be an active participant in it. Join groups that are active in your town or region or that focus on your areas of specialty. Not only is it the right thing to do (support the people that make it possible for you to have a business), but it also will significantly enhance your name recognition. "Oh, that's James' Waffles and More! I see them all the time on Instagram. I'll have to check them out- we really should go there tonight."

Create shareable and/or engaging content

It is worth utilizing videos created by your business to advertise specials, deals, announcements, or even just a message to the community on a particular topic. Social media users can then "share" these videos to their own page, which widens your material's reach substantially.

Maybe even use interactive visuals such as slideshows and carousels, which are likely to be more memorable than reading a post or even watching a video, because the potential customer has to personally swipe or click on items to learn about what is being advertised. And after all, psychological research shows, when human beings interact with information, such as writing notes to study instead of just reading, it is much more memorable and ingrained into their mind.

Reward Customer Loyalty

Harvard Business School estimates that increasing customer retention by 5% increases profits by 25% to 85%. An excellent way to increase customer retention, in addition to having a superior product/service, is incentivizing or rewarding customer loyalty. For instance, maybe after a $50 purchase, offering 25% off the next purchase. A great way is to send a customer code via email, as many businesses do, as a virtual "coupon." This, in turn, leads the customer to make a mental note to return to the webpage sometime soon.

Create targeted email lists 

Email marketing is a time-tested technique that helps you stay in touch with your regular customers. Some may say it is outdated, but it helps to remind your past customers about your business. 

Although it can be annoying to wake up to 3 emails about the new fall sweater collection, email marketing can also cast your business in a more favorable light. Emails help to remind customers how you can uniquely appeal to their needs and wants. For instance, let's suppose you own a clothing store and a man previously bought a water-resistant pair of shorts. It might be somewhat helpful to advertise your new fall collection to him. On the other hand, it is far more beneficial to promote the water-resistant pair of khakis in the fall collection. The returning customer is more likely to buy the water-resistant khakis than other items (obviously, due to his purchase of the water-resistant shorts in the past). In general, it is a more efficient use of time to advertise such targeted products and services to specific customer profiles rather than barraging the entire population with a promo for a polka-dotted sweater that only a few will buy.

Focus on conversion

Make it as easy as possible for the customer to make a purchase. The customer should not have to navigate far and wide to make a purchase. Whether a customer clicks on a Google search result for your item or a link to your product on social media, they should be routed directly to your website's relevant page. Unfortunately, many websites have confusing or unappealing layouts and are challenging to navigate- as a result, they lose out on a significant portion of potential business.