Marketing a web design business can be a hustle in South Africa. The business demands a very specific target audience which may be hard to find in your day-to-day life. However, that does not mean it is impossible. Instead of thinking harder, investing more into advertisements, you have to think smarter. In this article, let us explore a few important methods to market a web design business in South Africa.
Marketing a Web Design Business in South Africa – an outline.
So, you are into a web design business and you have everything set up digitally — the website, the content, your contact details, and more. Yet, you are finding so little attention on the internet. Why is that? Well, let us see what affects your overall visibility on the internet.
a. Search Engine Optimisation related issues.
Since you are into a web design business, you must be aware of SEO and its importance. In layman’s terms, SEO is what affects your organic visibility on the internet.
However, it is not impossible for your business to get it wrong either. SEO is a very complicated field and getting it right can take months to a year. In this case, you need a new approach with your SEO strategies.
We highly recommend following Neil Patel‘s blog for SEO tips and tricks. Here’s a starter to how you can make your SEO better.
b. Targetting the wrong audience.
Since nobody seeks a web design service in their day-to-day life, you have to target a very specific audience through whichever advertising platforms you use. When you talk about web design, your clients would be other small or medium businesses for the most part.
Nowadays, advertising platforms have evolved quite well. You may create and develop an advertising campaign as you like. In this, make sure you target the right audience in your advertisements so that they reach the right people.
Related: Social Media Advertising in Cape Town | A Compact Guide
c. Lack of Content Marketing strategy.
If you are a new web design business in South Africa, this is especially important for you. Content marketing strategies allow you to show off your knowledge to the audience, reinforcing your identity in the industry. If you are not doing this, you are losing important customers to your competition.
So, how can you do so? Get some interesting blogs up on your website; get a social media channel and interact with your target audience; create interactive posts for a better reach, and more.
Related: Content Marketing on Social Media | What You Need to Know
So, how exactly do I market a Web Design Business in South Africa?
Well, there is no ‘ace in the hole’ solution for this. Every firm has its own way to do marketing and promotion. So, before we actually explore the points, please note that you should take this article as a helpful reference. It is not a substitute for professional advice.
So, let’s explore a few methods that may help you with marketing your web design business in South Africa.
a. Invest into your Business
And by investment, we are referring to the financial investment specifically. Yes, we know that you are running this business for profit but in the beginning, you are probably going to face losses.
And that is okay!
Everything has to have some investment if you want to reap a profit out of it. So invest in your business, but more importantly, invest smartly. Make sure you keep track of your budget.
Get on multiple advertising platforms, advertise your business to the right audience, make sure your website is maintained properly. Lastly, there is nothing wrong with hiring a team of experts for your initial startup strategies. If you think that would help you better, do it!
b. Understand your target audience.
As mentioned previously, yes, understanding your target audience does matter. For such, you have to carry out systematic research. Collect data from your competitors, conduct surveys or polls, use keyword search tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and so on.
Of course, for in-depth research, you will require a tool with advanced features. In this case, Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest is a good consideration for starters.
Here’s a hint. Most of your clients will be those who also have a startup/small business just like you do.
You may even reach out to them personally to see whether they need some web design expertise for their business.
c. Establish your authority in the field
You started your web design business with a dream: to share your skillset with the world and provide your clients with a website they deserve. That is noble, but does that help you establish your authority? No.
You have to do more. You have to show!
Show that you are quite knowledgeable in the field and that you care about your audiences being educated about the latest news and information related to your field. The best effective way to do so is through a blog. You can also expand this further through a social media channel.
Make sure your articles represent your knowledge firmly. Use appropriate statistics wherever necessary (people are prone to trust and love numbers better!) and let the magic work out.
Oh, and did we mention that it boosts the SEO on your website? It surely does. Research some keywords that are relevant to your business and share your knowledge with the world!
d. Guest posting
Posting blogs on your web design business website is fine. But since you are new, the SEO might not just work as intended yet. However, you can try and boost that; and the answer is guest posting.
What is it exactly? The main purpose of doing guest posting is to gain a solid, high-quality backlink to your website. Getting a strong backlink also boosts your SEO tremendously.
Secondly, it also helps with boosting your reputation and authority across the internet. However, make sure that you appear as a guest poster on a website that is relevant to your business. Of course, there is no harm in doing guest posts on a random website; but to achieve better results, this is the way to go.
e. Be social
And by being social, we don’t just mean being socially active on social media, but being social physically as well.
Of course, having a social media account is definitely a plus for your business. You can instantly connect with your target audience and so can they. You will also be able to share useful content and promote your services through your channel.
But there are more ways to be social. For example, you can always join a professional networking event. These events can be physical or nowadays, online too. Don’t miss the opportunity if the event is even remotely related to your business practices.
Furthermore, you can also consider hosting a workshop to share your knowledge and adjacently increase your reputation. Or, you can also create groups and newsletters for your clients and enthusiasts who are interested in your business.
Related: Small Businesses and Social Media | Is it really effective?
Bottom Line
There are many ways to grow your web design business in South Africa and we only just touched the tip of the iceberg here. However, you may be able to use these as a reference to market your business better physically and on the internet.
If you would like to consider getting a second opinion for marketing your business, consider contacting us. We would be glad to provide our expertise wherever necessary.
Or do you need our services? Then feel free to give us a call. Digital Lime Green is a website design and digital advertising agency in Cape Town, South Africa and our goal is to provide affordable, high-quality services to empower small businesses in South Africa.