An effective small business relies on connecting your products or services with their intended buyers, but that doesn’t have to be expensive; marketing your company could actually be more affordable than you realize!
Inbound marketing is a strategy designed to draw potential customers towards you by creating relevant and valuable content. Learn how to implement and measure ROI of inbound marketing efforts.
Online Marketing
Marketing experts often recommend that small businesses invest 7-8 percent of their annual revenue on marketing efforts. But this may seem like an extravagant amount when more funds could be better used on product or service innovation.
An effective small business marketing plan employs multiple tactics to reach potential customers, from traditional to online methods like email and social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
Content creation on your website can help build trust with potential customers by offering valuable industry insights and showing off your expertise in their industry. In addition, an effective content strategy will enable your products or services to rank higher in search results related keywords.
Tools such as Ubersuggest can generate keyword ideas to help focus your content marketing efforts, while once published you can use Google Analytics to measure their success – this tool not only tracks campaign performance but also provides insight into how customers find and interact with your website.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing remains an integral component of most small businesses’ strategies, while digital media plays an increasingly larger role. Traditional methods include radio ads, television commercials, print ads and direct mailers among many others.
Traditional marketing can often be less expensive than digital; TV advertisements in particular can cost an immense sum to create and air, while newspaper or magazine ads may cost significantly less to run.
Traditional marketing provides businesses with tangible brand experiences. Print materials may be more powerful than online ads in creating lasting memories of a company; additionally, printed material provides access to audiences that might not use their services online – providing opportunities to expand reach, engagement and revenue growth. Idea Financial’s revolving line of credit or term loan solutions provide businesses with funding solutions for investing in traditional channels in order to expand their reach, engagement and revenue growth.
Lead Generation
As a small business, lead generation is essential in order to move your organization forward. It could mean the difference between keeping the lights on and expanding client base and revenue streams.
Introduce email marketing as part of your lead generation strategy – it is an affordable, scalable and measurable method that is well worth exploring. Incorporating search engine rankings as well as consistent social media engagement into this mix is also essential to successful lead generation.
An additional way of generating leads is offering free samples of your product or service, similar to how car dealerships provide test drives. This can be an effective way of turning potential customers into clients.
Host or attend events to generate leads – networking meet-ups, industry conferences or markets may work well – or use paid ads such as Google AdWords as part of your lead generation strategies; such ads target specific search terms to get in front of prospective customers before they even know they need your products or services.
Social Media
Effective small business marketing can increase brand recognition, enhance customer service and bring traffic to a website. At a fraction of the cost of targeted ads, small businesses can use social media channels like Twitter to promote blog posts directly to followers and interact with them directly.
Social media may seem like an afterthought to small business owners juggling multiple hats at once; however, its power lies in being used strategically by these entrepreneurs as an essential marketing tactic to reach new audiences and build brand recognition. A well-maintained profile that offers varied content regularly posted to reach these new markets can make a world of difference to any growing organization.
Keep your goals for social media marketing measurable, attainable, relevant and timely – this means setting an SMART timeline and tracking metrics of success to track. Social media offers an incredible way of connecting with audiences instantly while gathering feedback to improve products and services.