Small business marketing enables your products and services to gain more awareness, attracting leads and customers to expand your customer base and grow. Finding effective strategies will be essential in driving business forward and helping your company flourish and thrive.
No matter your budget or time constraints, there are various marketing tactics you can try – traditional, social media and email campaigns as well as more interactive events such as workshops.
Online Marketing
Many small businesses depend on their marketing ability for survival or failure, whether through traditional methods or more innovative online tactics. Established companies may dedicate an entire department to marketing; but even smaller enterprises can implement effective online campaigns to reach their business goals and thrive.
Online marketing strategies typically consist of email, social media and digital advertising. LinkedIn provides businesses with an ideal venue to network with potential customers and share information about their products or services while simultaneously sharing industry updates and generating new leads.
Another online marketing tactic includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which works to increase website visibility within search results. Tools like Ubersuggest can assist businesses with this objective while digital advertising offers low upfront costs that can be combined with other strategies to drive traffic to websites – for instance offering visitors free gifts in exchange for providing contact info.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing refers to all efforts that do not fall under the purview of digital media, such as print, radio and television ads. Although traditional methods might seem outdated, traditional marketing remains an effective component of your small business’s marketing plan.
Reaching non-digital audiences such as older demographics or specific geographic regions can be achieved using non-digital advertising channels, while creating brand awareness and driving leads.
Traditional marketing offers another advantage over digital advertising: It can often be easier to track. Google Analytics makes this possible: for example, using this data source you can see how many visitors came directly after seeing one of your traditional ads.
HubSpot recently conducted a study which showed how traditional marketing is an excellent way of building trust among consumers. A surprising 73 percent disliked online pop-up ads compared to only 36 percent disliking television or radio ads – this shows consumers are willing to take more risks with traditional advertisements that they trust more, increasing likelihood for purchase from brands they like.
Social Media Marketing
Use of social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Pinterest can enable small businesses to effectively distribute industry news, generate leads and connect with prospective customers – while potentially being cost-effective methods of reaching targeted audiences.
Small business marketing can play an essential role in shaping a company’s growth and development, helping build brand recognition and revenue over time. Effective marketing focuses on communicating value to audiences in ways that build trusting relationships.
Though large enterprises may have the budget for dedicated marketing teams, small businesses can take advantage of cost-effective online and traditional strategies to market themselves effectively. By choosing an appropriate blend of strategies to reach their customers and build community connections. Sign up to Hints & Tips, Constant Contact’s bimonthly newsletter offering practical and actionable small business marketing tips you can implement right away to expand their business.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of the cornerstones of a small business’s digital presence, as written content can help generate leads and drive sales.
To make content marketing effective, it is key to have an in-depth knowledge of your target audience and develop a buyer persona which can guide the type of content created and distributed through various channels.
Once you understand who your audience is, the next step should be figuring out which content formats they find most compelling – this could include written articles, videos, infographics and images among other options.
Content you create must be well-written and informative while being engaging enough to hold onto the attention of your target audience. Finally, SEO (search engine optimization) best practices should always be employed when producing such material – this ensures it appears on search engine results pages (SERPs). Repurposing of existing pieces – such as turning it into an eBook or SlideShare presentation – may also prove fruitful.