Digital marketing has been around for over two decades now; a useful and low-cost way to promote a business, with many strings to its internet bow, including email, social media, and website marketing. For those small business owners with a limited budget, it could be said that digital marketing is a bit of a godsend. It's good for the planet too; after all, why send out thousands of flyers and brochures when consumer contact can be managed primarily online?

Chances are, if you are running a small business yourself, digital marketing will be something you are already familiar with. But regardless of your familiarity with the concept, we have some do's and don'ts in this article that we think are worth adhering to. Especially if you want to achieve success with your marketing - which, of course, you obviously do - a few pointers should be useful to you.

Here we go then.

Do make an effort with your website. At the heart of your digital marketing efforts is your website. This is the online face of your business, whether your business is entirely online or not. However, simply using a free website builder to quickly get something online just won't do. You should pay for your own domain name to give your business a professional edge. When creating your site, you should consider the latest design trends. And to engage more with your customers, you should include a blog, links to your social media accounts, call-to-action buttons, and a live chat feature for better communication with your customers. Research other websites online, and if you see anything that makes a positive impression on you, migrate their ideas over to your site.

Don't forget mobile users.  This will be of no surprise to you, but most people today access the internet through their mobile devices. If your website isn't optimized for mobile users, you are going to lose a heck of a lot of customers; it's as simple as that. Not only will they click away from your site when it struggles to open on their miniature devices, but they might not get to hear about your site anyway, because websites that aren't optimized for mobile do not rank highly on Google search pages. There are plenty of articles online with advice on optimizing for mobile, so do your research or contact a web design agency for help with the process.

Do analyze your website. You have a website up and running, and that's great! However, do you know how many people visit your site every day? Do you know how they found your website in the first place? Do you know which pages attract the most users, and which are off-putting? On this last point about your website, we recommend you use Google Analytics, a free tool to monitor traffic on your site. After collecting the relevant data, you can then make any necessary changes to strengthen both your website and your marketing efforts. Click the link above to learn more and get started.

Don't rely on your marketing efforts alone. You're a busy person (we imagine), with a lot to do in the day to make your business a success. Marketing is but one aspect of your schedule, and there may be times when it doesn't get enough attention. But to truly find success with your marketing, you need to be consistent. You should be posting something new on social media at least once a day. You should regularly add new entries to your blog, so your site visitors have something fresh to engage with. And you should be sending out promotional emails at least once a fortnight, or more often if you have something useful to say to your customers. If you don't have the time to be consistent with your digital marketing efforts, hire a marketer onto your team to help you. Or outsource to a social media advertising agency or to a freelance writer (for your blog) to ensure you deliver both consistency and quality in the content you market.

Do add video your marketing. You mustn't downplay the importance of video in your marketing. By taking a look at these video marketing statistics, you will quickly understand the popularity of video with consumers. If you regularly watch videos on YouTube or favor vlogs over blogs, then these stats will be of no surprise to you. Therefore, add promotional videos to your website. Create a YouTube channel for your business and market your product through tutorials and unboxing videos. And link your videos into your social media posts and email correspondences. Studies suggest companies who use video marketing see faster growth in revenue as a consequence, so you would be remiss to ignore the possibilities for your business.

Final word

Digital marketing is here to stay, and if you're running a business, you would be wise to take full advantage of the resources available to you online. Continue your research then, and learn more about the do's and the don'ts of the digital marketing platforms available to you.