Even if you are starting up a new business or operating an existing one, it is inevitable that your marketing strategy would chalk out the focus on a robust online presence.
Creating a plan to improve your online visibility can be quite intimidating, particularly for online marketing newbies. As a former head of marketing for two small businesses, I know firsthand that the world belongs to e-commerce (a mind-blowing 2.5 billion global e-commerce customers forecasted by 2028)
I help small businesses with their inbound marketing strategies and tactics, so that they can attract more clients and grow.
I put together a list of small business marketing ideas to help you launch well and achieve growth. Come back here while your strategies evolve for more in-depth insights and information.
Small Business Marketing Tactics
Well, marketing is nothing but bringing your brand to awareness of the target audience and making sure that it gets converted into sales thereby passing qualified leads. But, doing all that is really difficult especially with the limited visibility and resources most small businesses have access to.
Thankfully, there are ways you can scale your marketing efforts without breaking the bank, hiring a large team, or deciding where to invest further. Create awareness and sell your stuff by:
- Creating a Working and Pretty Website
Think of your site as an online store. This could be a whole site, a particular landing page, or even just your social media profile — whatever it is, make sure that they look good and work well. Keep your site professional and functioning well: this involves checking the code itself, as well as high-quality images.
- Starting to Automate Email Campaigns
Email campaigns are a critical part of marketing. Automation of follow-up emails helps in saving time and resources as well. Get email addresses with opt-in forms, receipts, blog CTAs, or in-person sign-ups. If you want to build your list fast, consider promotions or giveaways (within privacy laws).
- Spending on the Right Places in Advertising
Get listed on platforms where your ideal customers are located — Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, or Google Ads. Consider keeping tabs on the performance of your ads to maintain a seamless spending flow. For instance, a handcrafts business might fare better on Pinterest ads than on Google or Etsy Ads.
- Establishing a Presence on Social Media
Take care of one social media at a time making sure about the quality and engagement, be it Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram (Top Platforms in 2024). If anything, building up your presence on a single channel can be better than spreading yourself thin everywhere.
- Collaborating with Influencers
By leveraging trusted voices in the community, social influencers have a profound effect on your business through influencer marketing. This is where microinfluencers come into play — those who have followers from between 10k to <100k can significantly amplify your strategy. They can help you get traffic, increase sales, and get more emails.
- Running Attractive Promotions
Promotions can influence both sales and marketing opportunities. Discounts & Special Deals — These can drive immediate sales but also email signups, social media follows, shares & likes. It’s no secret that every shopper loves a bargain, although for some of them the perfect deal is just around the corner in form of an awaited sale or as putting together smaller promotions towards optimal value. By providing desirable deals, you will be able to attract these customers and create fan out of them that could write positive feedback or recommend your business to their friends.
- Dealing with your surveys carefully
Managing reviews are vital to preserving your reputation. Configure alerts and monitor any and all channels where customers leave feedback. This kind of positive reinforcement can demonstrate appreciation for your customers on one side but also being active on addressing negative reviews, showcasing integrity and issue resolution. It helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace as it can influence (in a good way) future customers and enhance your brand’s identity.
- Hunt For No-brainer Local Partnerships
Networking in your hometown can be incredibly valuable as well. Seek opportunities to partner with established local businesses or organizations. This opens the door to discover more about your industry and introduce yourself to new clients or partners, say by visiting a local community market, networking at tradeshows. They can even lead to local partnerships so you could be getting co-promotions or cross referrals.
- Opportunistically (and Optimistically) Optimize
Marketing is a marathon with no finish line, just an ever-changing series of modifications. Expect to adjust your tactics as industry norms, mandates, or world events transform. If you have to, upgrade your SEO because of algorithm changes or adjust your marketing tactics, respond to those challenges head-on. Track your metrics, adjust as necessary and be adaptable to snatch up new opportunities while the getting is good (or at least still viable).
Key Online Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
- Define Your Brand Identity
A brand, according to Jeff Bezos is “what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Your brand is made up of more than just your name, logo, and visual style – it says something about the values you stand for. Consistent and powerful brand identity helps you to increase in professional believe as well new customers.
- Develop Your Buyer Persona
Compile a Full Profile of Your Ideal Customer. Know their pain points, demographics and interests. This will allow you to make your website as well as marketing efforts in a way that suits them.
- Create Your Logo and Brand Elements
Choose a color palette that represents your brand (Use tools like Adobe Color, Coolors, etc). If you are serious about your brand, look into hiring a freelancer on Upwork or Freelancer. In many cases, having quality enough design is important and simply worth the money invested.
- Craft CMS Template to Build Your Website
Select a Content Management System (CMS) that offers custom templates for your site. Most of the CMS platforms include SEO plugins to help you rank high on Google. Select a template that is either according to your level of experience or add plugins provided by them to help increase the performance of your website.
- Establish Your Go-to-Market Strategy
Plan accordingly with your customer journey. Create content that draws in, engages and converts prospects. The best option is an effective go-to-market strategy template.
- Book Freelance Writers for Content Production
For example, regular, run-of-the-mill content like blogs or promotional materials could be easily rectified with a freelancer; they can return every fortnight for an hour or two if necessary — likely at much cheaper costs than hiring a full-time employee to do the same work. If you need content creation writers to help with your strategy or videographers and photographers to plan out images on your web page, Upwork can be a good option.
- Professional Web Design
To increase your chances of success, employ the help of a freelancer or web design agency if you are less tech savvy, or need to revamp an already existing website. Hire experts on Upwork, or sites like Codeable to improve your website.
- Track Your Site Using Analytics
Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor the performance of your website and gain insights about your visitors for free.
- Improve your Google ranking via SEO
Another way to enhance the visibility of your site is by investing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Place keywords at the proper place and with a passive perspective, write good content, page load time, site architecture to climb on top of the search result pages.
- Conduct Keyword Research
Use tools (KW Finder) to find out some keywords that are relevant for your targeted audience. Include those phrases in your meta descriptions, titles and headers on your website for better SEO.
- Optimize for Mobile Devices
As I have said above, most of the searches made are on mobile phone, so make sure that your website is mobile friendly. Use mobile-friendly template to increase the overall user and seo experience.
- SEO optimised Blog Writing
Write your blog posts with strategies to keyword the highest end of search engines and become a beacon for authority in topics that are most relevant.
- Test Different Visual-based Content
Develop attractive photo and video content that hooks your audience. Over 50% of them say that they want to see videos from brands.
- Create Business Pages on Main Platforms
You have to claim your business pages on Facebook, Yelp, and Google. These platforms make up for local visibility and customer reviews that can improve your online reputation.
- Social Media Strategy
Leverage Instagram, Pinterest, and twitter to communicate information and share prospective customers. Don’t get too greedy: Stick to platforms that fit in your brand.
- Service Customers through Social Media
Answer customer questions and comments through social channels to show they are attentive, this will gain their trust. You might want to have a social media manager as well so they can take care of your community engagement in the best possible way.
- Craft High-Converting Landing Pages
Build landing pages with high value resources behind a contact gate. Make sure those pages are graphically appealing and that they serve respective purposes in your marketing strategy.
- Develop an Email Marketing Plan
Keep an email list and send Updates / Promotions. Design newsletters using tools and measure engagement metrics.
- Coupon Inclusion in Emails or Landing Pages
Add a coupon, or promotional code in your emails and landing pages to increase interest from potential buyers and induce them to make a purchase.
- Distribute Your Distribution Channels
Display your social accounts and newsletter sign-up prominently on your website. Thereby increasing the likelihood of making a contact between you.
- Offer Free Webinars
Run webinars providing educative content is one FINE strategy to inform your (most likely new) prospective customers. Shameless plug #1: webinars are a great way to exhibit your thought leadership and capture leads.
- Try Co-Marketing Partnerships
This includes teaming up with non-competing businesses with the same target demographic. For both parties, Co-branded campaigns is a way to reach new clients.
- Incorporate Customer Reviews & Referrals
Encourage happy customers to spread the good word through social media and rating sites. New customers might be practically driven in by word of mouth and online referrals.
- Try Out New Marketing Techniques
Adapt to new marketing trends and platforms. Experiment with a clear hypothesis and, expect to fail, and refine your hypothesis until you succeed.
So here are few advertising ideas you can use to promote your small business:
Advertising Ideas For Small Business
- Set Up Google My Business
One such simple method is to create a Google My Business profile, which can help your business to be easily be found online. They can include vital pieces like contact information, hours of operation, photos and services using this free tool. There is analytics provided to follow customer engagement, review publisher keyword traffic. Even if you only sell products online, this is highly recommended for you.
- Tap Into PPC Advertising with Google & Bing
PPC by way of Google Ads and Bing Ads can be a game changer for business owners like yourself. Using this method will enable your business to be featured on the first results. Make sure you set up your PPC campaign to make the most of it, and that your landing page is setup for conversion. You could also read the Ultimate Guide to PPC or use a PPC planning template.
- Utilize Social Media Ads
Social Media is an affordable way to advertise a product or service to the relevant audience. While Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are typical choices, other social platforms like Shoppable tool on Instagram or Pinterest advertising features are worth exploring. Pinterest especially is known for its strong conversion numbers, making it one of the few sites where paid advertising can be a good investment.
- Selling Things on Etsy & Amazon
Amazon and Etsy — eligibility to sell on either marketplace allows you to participate in their sponsored products programs. Amazon CPC Ads are run on your listing automatically, and Etsy Ads promote your products in search results, as well as category pages. They are cost-effective ways to expand the reach of your product.
- Utilize User-Generated Content
If your customers are happy with what you do, so should be whoever watches them in your ads. Ask them to review you or tweet something nice about your company, and ask for permission to use their tweets in your marketing materials. As user-generated content is crafted by your actual customers, it offers genuine social proof and boosts the credibility of your brand.
- Develop a Referral Program
Motivate your current customers to refer your service to their friends and family with special offers like discounts or gifts. What Mark Zuckerberg said, “Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend.” The reality is that referred customers are more loyal, spend more money, and with referral programs It’s one of the best marketing strategies.
- Be sure to market your business with the local Chamber of Commerce
If you have a storefront, think about running through your local chamber of commerce. Most of the chambers have an annual where they give you a free promotion using sources they have with local government sites, social media sites and email newsletters. This will help you increase your presence locally and allow for great networking opportunities.
Begin Marketing Your Business Now
As the horizon of conventional marketing is climbing up, digital marketing is becoming more important for competitive edge and brand awareness. It is an investment in your business for the future. The small steps you make now can have a big impact on where your business will be positioned in the future.