Welcome to Manchester, the ‘capital of the north’, where you’ll find beautiful churches, trendy shops, and some of the UK’s greatest sports teams. It’s a place that truly understands the power of online marketing, and as the first stop of our UK holiday blogging series, we’re going to tell you all you need to know about marketing your business online in this fantastic city.
Marketing Is For Everyone
One of the things that makes Manchester so special is that it embraces change. In a world where fast-fashion and digital marketing can easily clash, Manchester is home to some of the most iconic luxury brands, alongside popular independent retailers who’ve embraced the digital age.
This city loves a bargain, and whether you’re selling luxury goods or office equipment, you’ll find plenty of people who’ll be willing to negotiate. Price comparison websites have made shopping for goods and services much easier for consumers, and the rise of agile retailing has led to more tailored services and faster delivery times. As a result, you’ll find a very open and collaborative business environment in Manchester.
If you’re interested in marketing your business online, you’re in the right place. With a little research and a lot of networking, you’ll soon be able to establish yourself as an authority in your chosen field, and start attracting and retaining customers across the UK and Europe.
Why Should You Choose Online Marketing for Your Business?
Although Manchester is a fantastic place to do business, it’s not without its challenges. The city suffered a serious terrorist attack in 2017, which left over 20 people dead and dozens injured.
The events of that terrible year are still being felt, and while some people may see it as a blemish on what has otherwise been a golden era for the city, companies need to take a more proactive approach to ensure they can continue to flourish. This is where digital marketing comes in. With the right planning and investment, you can use digital marketing to reach new customers, build credibility, and gain market share. Even better, you can integrate digital marketing into your business’ overall strategy, and measure the success of your efforts to prove the value of such a strategic approach. Let’s have a look at each component of digital marketing and how you can use them to grow your business.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Perhaps the simplest and most basic form of digital marketing, SEO is all about getting your website to show up when potential customers search for your products or services online. Without good SEO, no one will ever find your website on search engine results pages (SERPs), and you’ll never get the opportunity to convince them to buy your goods or services. Fortunately for you, we’re experts in this field, and we’ve put together a guide on how to win with SEO, which you can read in full here. Essentially, you need to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field, and then you can focus on growing your audience digitally.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
SMM, or social media marketing, is all about getting the word out about your business via social platforms. Most people have a presence on at least one social media platform, and if you can get the hang of it, you can use these platforms to broadcast your brand message to your target audience. It’s a quick and easy way to gain credibility with customers, and establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field. With SMM, you can start simple with a few social channels, and then gradually grow your presence on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to gain the maximum exposure possible.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
If you’ve been paying attention to the news in recent months, you’ll know that advertising via paid-per-click (PPC) is one of the biggest trends in online marketing right now. Essentially, with PPC advertising, you’ll pay for each click on your ad, which drives potential customers to click on your ad, and eventually leads them to make a purchase. While this may seem like a costly option, particularly if you’re paying per click, you can get very targeted traffic, and easily measure the results of your efforts. If you’ve been considering advertising on social media, this is a viable option to gain credibility and generate leads online.
Email Marketing
Last but not least, let’s not forget about the queen of digital marketing, the humble email. If you’ve been paying attention to the news in recent months, you’ll know that email marketing is also one of the biggest trends in online marketing right now. Thanks to the proliferation of free email services like Gmail, and the ongoing trend toward digital dominance, you’ll find a huge audience that could become your customer base. Building a mailing list is simple, and you can use a tool like Mailchimp to get the ball rolling. From there, you can use email marketing to send out regular informative emails, or even seasonal promotional emails.
We hope this short guide to online marketing in Manchester has given you some insightful information about the city, and about the various platforms and methods you can use to market your business there. If you found it useful, don’t forget to check out some of our other UK city guides, where you’ll find all the information you need to establish yourself as an expert in your field.