Free digital marketing help for small businesses

The Wisconsin Small Business Development Center Network hopes to help up to 150 small businesses through no-cost, tailored digital marketing services.

The new statewide Digital Marketing Clinic expands upon an already-successful model at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which pairs interns with businesses under the direction of adjunct professor Kathy Fredrickson. During the spring and fall 2020 semesters, 98 Digital Marketing SOS Project students identified needs for 52 businesses and delivered solutions to meet their goals.

“Small businesses struggle to find the time to plan and implement their digital marketing efforts,” Fredrickson says. “This is unsettling, and many feel they are behind. Our interns help them get ahead and develop a competitive advantage in challenging times.”

Dan Bosman, associate director of the SBDC at UW-Oshkosh, is running the clinic with Fredrickson. He says an effective website, social media approach and email marketing are critical to finding and growing customers, “which is critical not just in the age of touchless delivery but beyond as consumer habits continue to shift.”

Services over a 10- to 15-hour engagement include a mix of the following:

• Strategic recommendations
• Keyword research and landing page optimization
• Website audit and design/development
• Social media audit, schedule development and implementation
• Content creation

The Wisconsin SBDC Network offers no-cost, confidential consulting and business education to new and existing businesses. In 2020, the SBDC served 4,371 clients, resulting in $106 million in capital investment, 260 new businesses and 19,731 jobs supported, accordingly to preliminary results.

To learn more and fill out an application for the clinic, click here.