Attracting investors is crucial to all business brokers. But if you're a business broker who hasn't updated your strategy in a while, it's time to make some changes. Having a strong digital marketing strategy is paramount to your success.
Did you know 75 percent of investors now factor social media content into their investment decisions? You need to make sure your brand is getting attention online.
But where do you begin? There is a lot to learn about digital marketing, especially if you've never considered your digital strategy before.
This guide will cover some helpful digital marketing tips for business brokers. Read on to hear how you can build a digital strategy that attracts investors.
Audience Awareness
Digital marketing strategy begins when you know your audience. Think about who you are trying to reach with your content.
Who are the investors you're trying to attract? What are they looking for? Your content should interest them and ultimately provide useful information or solutions to their needs.
When you understand who your target demographic is, you will be able to create content that captures their attention.
Audit Your Website
If you haven't updated your business website in a while, you should consider auditing your website. This will help you determine where your website is falling behind, and which areas need attention.
You may find your website has an outdated design that does not meet the current standards. Or there may be ways to increase your website's accessibility.
Auditing your website is a great way to improve your digital marketing strategy, and set you up for success.
Build a Blog for Investors
Once you've determined who your audience is, begin creating content for them. One way to reach investors is through a blog.
Blogs entries should cover topics your audience is interested in. Posts should never be more than a few thousand words in length. Blogs should share valuable industry knowledge but remain conversational and easy to digest.
When you create a blog, make sure you are using keywords that will get your content noticed, and make your content searchable online. Put a lot of thought into your headline as well, as this is what will draw traffic to your blog and website.
Informative blog content helps business brokers establish themselves as industry experts. It will help your business gain credibility and trust with investors.
Conversational Marketing
If your business uses a software system for customer service, consider conversational marketing. This is a great way to engage with potential leads in an organic way.
Simply share resources and information about your services on a case-by-case basis. It allows you to customize the customer service experience. But it also boosts the client experience, because you are addressing customer needs with information that is relevant to their individual concerns.
Conversational marketing is expected to continue growing in the next few years, as more companies move towards enhancements to the customer experience. As a business broker, this will help you tailor the experience to the investor you're speaking to.
Email Marketing
Email is one of the most effective business marketing tools available. But before you can use email efficiently, you need to build up a mailing list.
One way to gather leads through email is with the use of a lead magnet.
A lead magnet is a free resource offered to your audience in exchange for their email signup. Lead magnets should showcase your expertise without revealing your services in too much detail. This may mean offering a free risk management checklist for investors.
Once you buildup an email list, you can maintain regular communication with your mailing list. Share updates about investment opportunities as well as industry-specific news.
Email is a great way to gain trust and build rapport with your leads while ensuring you stay top of mind.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Managing your budget for digital marketing is difficult without a strategy. Digital advertising is important to your brand but it's important to spend your advertising dollars efficiently.
By using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, you can ensure the money you invest into your marketing is resulting in conversions and brand recognition. PPC creates lower costs for your business and higher accountability for marketing services to make sure your message is reaching your audience.
Photography & Video
High-quality images are important to digital marketing for business brokers. Visual content appears higher in search rankings online. It is also important to the identity of your brand.
Although it's easy to rely on stock images for your content, it's not wise. Professional, custom video and photography will help your business develop a sense of expertise.
Take time to set up professional photography and use professional equipment for your digital strategy. Do not overlook video as many investors rely on platforms like Youtube to source information from business brokers.
Strong images will help you control the way your brand is perceived and build brand recognition. It will help you attract investors.
Podcasts
Podcasting is among the most effective marketing trends for business brokers. Podcasting is affordable and yields a large reach. It's a great way to reach a new audience as podcast topics are highly searchable.
Hosting a regular podcast will make your brand more personal—suddenly there's a real person or people behind your business. Podcasting will help you establish yourself as an industry expert. This will boost brand loyalty and build trust with prospective investors.
Search Engine Optimization
It's not enough to create compelling content. You need to make sure your content is reaching your target demographic. That's why it's important to have a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
When it comes to digital marketing tips, SEO itself should rank at the top. Strong SEO will increase your visibility by making sure your content has a higher search ranking.
Social Media
If you aren't paying attention to social media trends, you're missing out on one of the biggest pieces of digital marketing for business brokers.
80 percent of investors admit to using social media as a part of their workflow, and 30 percent say social media has influenced their investment decisions. It is one of the best ways to reach your target demographic.
Business brokers should have a strong digital presence on a variety of social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube. But Instagram and TikTok can be helpful as well.
Strong content uses storytelling to help promote a brand or service. Storytelling is effective because it evokes an emotional response from your audience, and increases brand recognition.
Social media is also a place to share visual content and infographics, build strong community partnerships, and engage with social media influencers.
Webinars
Offering a free webinar is a great way to attract new business leads and investors. Webinars can be held in real-time using video conferencing technology, or prerecorded in a video or series of videos.
Webinars should offer industry-specific information and expertise that will benefit your audience. It's a great way to showcase your industry knowledge and services. But webinars can also help you track your leads.
When you host a webinar, you gain leads for your email list. If you share a video webinar on your website, you will be able to see who watched the entire video, and determine what kind of lead they may be.
Track Insights
Once you've created a strong digital strategy and compelling content, it's time to track your insights. Insights allow you to see where your traffic is coming from.
On Facebook for example, if you look under insights you'll find a section about people. This will allow you to see who your top fans are and who is engaging with your content the most. This will help you hone in on your demographic.
Paying attention to this will allow you to learn more about your audience and their interests. It will also help you identify where you're missing the mark.
Insights can also help you identify trends in your content. It's important to see which content is resonating with your audience.
By tracking analytics and insights, your business will know which elements to your digital strategy are working. But you will also identify areas where you are missing the mark, and pivot your strategy to make improvements.
Business Brokers Need a Digital Strategy
Developing a digital marketing strategy may not be the first thing on the minds of business brokers, but it is crucial to their success. If your business doesn't have a digital strategy, you are missing out on opportunities with investors.
Introducing the elements discussed in this guide will ensure your content and messaging is reaching your target demographic.
If you believe your business needs a digital strategy, but you aren't sure where to start, SmithDigital can assist you. Let's schedule a meeting so we can make your marketing dreams come true!
