Digital marketing guide for SMEs

It would not be an exaggeration to say that SMEs are the lifeblood of the Turkish economy. SME, which stands for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise, can be a fast-growing and branded company, or it can close its doors in a short time. So how should SMEs survive in the digital age and what should they do?

In this content, I will explain the steps an SME should take in digital marketing, regardless of its sector. First, let's look at some data on SMEs in Turkey.

• Over 3.75 million businesses in Turkey fall into this category
• SMEs account for more than 99 percent of total enterprises in the country
• However, 70 percent of employment and 42 percent of turnover comes from SMEs
• One in every three SMEs operates in wholesale and retail trade

(TÜİK, 2022)

Although small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of economies, their survival is a challenge at certain times. Keeping up with the requirements of the age, i.e. "digitalization", is one of these challenges. In recent years, the concepts of digitalization and digital transformation have been used a lot for SMEs. This transformation is, of course, an approach that increases efficiency in business processes and saves costs. However, the subject of this article is digital marketing, not digital transformation. In other words, the sales philosophy on which digital transformation should be built.

Digital marketing for SMEs: What to do and how to start?

Before discussing what digital marketing is and which methods can benefit your business, it is necessary to show how serious the digital competition era is for SMEs.

According to TOBB data, 128 thousand companies were established in 2023, while 25 thousand companies were closed. Most of the companies that closed down were, of course, SMEs. Businesses that could not sell their products and services to their customers and could not resist competition unfortunately shut down. So is there a solution to this? Regardless of your field of activity, there are applications that will make you stand out in the digital world. 

Digital marketing covers the methods of delivering your products, services and message to the target audience through digital channels. These channels include websites, e-commerce sites, mobile applications or social media accounts. Google ads, ads for your Google business profile, or SEO are among these channels. All you need to decide is which digital marketing tools you should use and how you should use them.

As a digital marketing expert, I will help you answer this question at the end of this article. 

Why is digital marketing important?

Traditional marketing methods are becoming less and less effective. You may have a staff member distributing a brochure in the mailbox of a website. But you don't know whether those brochures are being received or not, or even if you have a target audience. When you place an advertisement in the newspaper, you don't know who read it and how many times they read it. 

Digital marketing ensures that this marketing communication is delivered to the right person in the right medium. Therefore, it gives results. If you do not want your business to be among the tens of thousands of SMEs that close every year, you should step into digital marketing. Otherwise, you may be on the losing side in a highly competitive environment.

There are processes and applications that businesses can manage themselves. However, working with digital agencies to manage the right marketing channels in the right way will give more effective results. Because each of the areas such as social media, SEO, e-commerce or Google ADS is a big world with its own specialties. 

Don't waste time to take your business to the top league by starting with a professional marketing team. 

Basic steps and online sales channels 

Whatever the service you provide, whatever the product you sell, the first step to being visible on the internet is a website. In this sense, you should build a channel where you will sell your products and services or inform people about these products and services. Opening an e-commerce website gives you the chance to reach tens of millions of internet users in Turkey. You can proceed by choosing one of the following alternatives:

• Ready-made e-commerce website packages
• Shopify or ikas-like services
• Infrastructures like WooCommerce or Opencart
• Store on e-commerce marketplace sites
• Online advertising platforms

You can start by determining a strategy according to your product and service group. Once you have built the platform where you will contact the customer, it is time for digital marketing applications for SMEs. 

Search engine optimization (SEO)

While opening a corporate website or e-commerce site is an important step, it is not enough to reach the target audience. In order to reach your audience by being visible on Google and other search engines, you need to do more. SEO is one of the most important of these. SEO, which is the abbreviation of search engine optimization, enables a website to rank high in search results for relevant keywords. SEO has hundreds of criteria and with regular algorithm updates by search engines, all the rules can change. But its basic applications include the following: 

• Keyword study: Analyze the volume and competition of keywords your audience is searching for. 
• Content optimization: Make sure that the content on your site is unique and compliant with SEO rules.
• Visual optimization: Ensure that the images on your site do not slow down site speed.
• Internal SEO: Ensure that meta descriptions, H tags, redirect links are appropriate.
• Mobile: Make sure the site offers a good experience on mobile devices.
• External SEO: Try to get links to your site from authoritative sites.

The basic points above are a summary and dozens more could be added. By getting service from a good SEO agency, you can bring your site to the best places in search engines.

Search engine marketing (SEM)

SEM, which is the abbreviation of search engine marketing, includes the practices of reaching visitors on search engines through advertising. By allocating a certain budget, you can reach users who want to get information about your products and services. SEM, when planned correctly, represents a serious turnover for SMEs and is very effective in terms of return on investment (ROI). 

For example, let's consider a construction company that will make a profit of 2.5 million liras from a house it sells. For users searching for "house for sale in Istanbul", the cost per click (CPC) is set at 10 TL. If this business has an advertising budget of 100 thousand TL, it reaches 10 thousand potential buyers. If it succeeds in selling a house to even 1 person out of the 10 thousand people whose contact information it reaches, it will have made a profit of 2.5 million with a budget of 100 thousand TL. 

Google ADS is the focal point of the SEM process. Even if businesses can manage Google ads at the entry level, it is best to proceed with a professional team. 

Social media marketing

Social media is another important part of the digital marketing process for SMEs. According to Sirkhet Consulting data, 57 million of Turkey's 74.4 million internet users will be using social media by 2024. 

By managing your business' social media accounts correctly, you can reach your target audience. Many users who spend hours on social media every day may be interested in your products and services. But of course, there are things to consider here too:

• Content: The content you produce on social media should accurately reflect your brand image.
• Advertising: You should highlight your social media content through tools such as Meta ADS.
• Trends Stay on top of new content trends like Reels to grow your social media account.

Another important issue for businesses is, of course, the choice of medium. Because not every medium has the same effect for every business. Instagram is a must for a clothing brand. However, for a law firm, communication via LinkedIn is very important. 

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is also known as influencer marketing or phenomenon marketing in Turkish. On social media, collaboration with users with a high number of followers is very important. Influencer profiles, which people see as opinion leaders, have an impact on purchasing decisions. Therefore, do not neglect to work with effective influencers who produce content in the right field. 

In the influencer marketing process, many different alternatives may be possible, including affiliate marketing. You can create a volume in this area by contacting people who are compatible with your brand identity and appeal to your industry. 

Email marketing

Reaching your target audience via email is another practice to consider. You can build an email list by collecting customer data on your website. If you produce content that informs people and creates value, rather than just using sales-oriented phrases in emails, you can create a list with a higher loyalty rate. 

You can get conversions by sending weekly or monthly emails through Mailchimp and similar email sending services. 

Content marketing

Content marketing, or content marketing, is an effective step in the digital marketing process for SMEs. You can reap the rewards of your work with evergreen efforts whose effects can be seen for many years. Content marketing is about creating valuable content for people and strengthening the bond between them and your brand. 

• For example, a bicycle brand promoting its product with the title "The cheapest bicycle" on its blog is not a very attractive practice, as users who are exposed to hundreds of advertisements every day are not very receptive to this language. 
• If the same brand publishes content on its blog with the title "What should you pay attention to when cycling at night?", it will attract the attention of cycling enthusiasts. Moreover, because it's content that benefits people, the connection between the brand and the audience is strengthened. 

Content marketing is closely related to blog, SEO and social media concepts and should be built correctly. 

The above suggestions are steps that can put your business ahead in the digital marketing guide for SMEs. The list can of course be extended, and the work that can be done may vary according to your sector. 

In today's increasingly competitive world, there is no possibility for any brand not to be digital. For this reason, you should start with the right marketing - communication plan and strengthen your brand by getting services from professional agencies.