Small Business Series #5 - The Digital Checklist

Starting a small business can be like herding cats. There’s a billion different things you can and should be doing, they’re moving targets, and somewhere there’s a terrible smell that you don’t know where it’s coming from. At Frontside Consulting, we’ve helped a lot of small businesses get off the ground and to a healthy start, so here’s a quick guide on what you need to get buttoned up to get your digital presence dialed in.

We do realize that these can be pretty in depth items which we’ll dive much deeper into for future SBS blog posts.

For eCommerce

• Buy a domain. Godaddy.com is pretty simple

• Keep it simple. Use a .com domain if you can.

• Choose a website platform and purchase it. 

• We like Squarespace and Shopify

• Squat on social properties Create accounts for the following social media platforms that are relevant to your business. Review our channel context blog post to see what makes sense for your business

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Threads

• X/Twitter

• Pinterest

• YouTube

• LinkedIn

  Update your LinkedIn Profile and make sure to use your profile images & hero image as free ad inventory

For Local Businesses

• Google My Business

• Facebook Page

Make sure your business is represented in both areas as accurately as possible with your address, hours of operation, etc…

Creative (Photo, Video, Graphic Design)

• Find a Great Graphic Designer to work with

• Create a Brand Logo with the following formats:

• Favicon

• Social Avatar (1x1)

• Long Banner

• 4x5 Logo

Tagging and Analytics

• Install Google Analytics 4

• Install Google Tag Manager

• Install Ad Platform Tracking

• Meta Ads

• Google Ads

• LinkedIn

• Pinterest

Practical/Tangible Marketing

• Get some Business Cards so you can start telling people about your business as you go about your life. We use www.moo.com or you can also use a digital business card product like www.blinq.com

• Stickers? Slap one on the back of your laptop, or maybe on your surfboard:

Lastly, find a marketing partner to help get the word out about your new small business. We recommend www.frontsideconsulting.com but again, we’re a little biased.

So there you have it. Of the bajillion things you have to do, at least we’ve helped you square away part of it.

As always, if you find our content useful, give us a follow on our social media and subscribe to our monthly email newsletter so you’ll be the first to know about new content and all of the things going on here at Frontside Consulting.