Build Your Digital Foundation: Digital Marketing Tools for Every Business

Have you been struggling to figure out what your business needs to be visible online? Or are you starting to work with an agency that is asking you about Google tools and trying to get access to your social profiles?

You’re not the only one. When we start working with a new client, we understand that onboarding takes time, and a lot of times it takes longer when the client doesn’t have the right access to the foundational tools.

Understanding how Meta, GA4, Google Business Profiles, and social media setup works will help you better understand what it takes to build a strong digital foundation. Our team at Cannonball Digital breaks down why these digital marketing tools are essential to ensure you have everything you need to access your tools.

A digital foundation is all those little things that provide your business visibility and credibility to your customers while they are online. 22.8% of consumers research products five or more times before buying, according to eMarketer.com. So, if your products, services, or business are not online you aren’t showing up during the buying process either.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, well I have a website, a Google Business Profile, and a social media account, isn’t that enough? We would say that is just the start, now how can you leverage those plus more to get a better understanding of your target audience, market presence and growth path.

Our Recommendations:

• Give your digital marketing agency admin or editor access to your website when it makes sense to the services they are providing and security measures allow.

• Use a flexible CMS like WordPress or Webflow for easier updates.

• Ensure tracking tools like GA4, Tag Manager, and Meta Pixel are installed. They’re an essential part of your digital foundation.

• Update content regularly and ensure SEO best practices are in place.

Google Business Profile – Get Found Locally

Do you have a brick & mortar location? Do you strictly work online? Either way your need for a Google Business Profile (GBP) is essential to being found locally, and provide additional credibility to your customers. Did you know that your GBP brings visibility to more than where you’re located? AI and Search Engines use the information within your GBP to show up when your customers are looking for your products & services or finding your social media posts.

Our Recommendations:

• Verify your business – when working with an agency this is important to giving others access to your account.
• Update your hours (holidays, seasonality, etc).
• Provide updates – yes, just like a social profile!
• List your products and services.

Google Analytics — Track What’s Working (and Not Working)

Have you been tracking your website traffic for years? Did you just look at the words “Google Analytics” and think to yourself, what is that? Either way Google Analytics is an important tool to understanding how your website and marketing strategy are serving your customers.

Google Analytics tracks each session your users have, tracking the source they came from, the time on your site, what they do while there, plus more. But if you aren’t tracking these things correctly, your customer data could be skewed.

Our Recommendations:

• Utilize Google Tag Manager for implementing.

• Track key events that matter to your business and goals.

• Connect to your Google Ads.

• Analyze the data to better understand your audience needs.

Social Media Setup — Build Connection and Awareness

Meta, LinkedIn, X, Snapchat, TikTok, the list goes on and on when it comes to social media. It is intimidating to know where to start when building a social media presence for your business. Before you start building a new profile do your research as to where your target audience actually is online the most (you could start within your Google Analytics), nowadays it’s not about being in all the places.

It’s about being consistent where it matters. If your audience leans older or spans a more general demographic, Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram are a great place to start. For younger audiences who engage with trends and short-form content, TikTok might be a better fit. And if you’re a B2B business or targeting professionals, LinkedIn should be your go-to platform that can be supported by social media marketing tools.

One of the most important steps that is often overlooked is researching how to properly set up your business profiles and deciding who should own them. We’ve seen many cases where Facebook Business Pages, Instagram accounts, or LinkedIn Company Pages were created under a personal profile or assigned to the wrong person, causing major headaches down the road.

To avoid access issues or ownership confusion, take time up front to ensure everything is set up under the correct admin accounts, and that your team (or agency) has the appropriate level of access. A clean setup now can save you from messy problems later.