About 20 percent of all small businesses fail in their first year. In the first five years, 45 percent close down, and 65 percent close within the first ten years. So as a small business owner, how do you make sure your business beats the odds and stays in the game for the long run?
Knowing how to market your small business is crucial to making your business a success. Read on to learn sure-fire ways from an local SEO company about marketing tips for small business owners that will keep you running at the top of your industry.
1. Brand Identity
One of the most important tools at your disposal when learning how to market your small business is strong brand identity. Your brand identity is the logo, colors, and fonts you use to identify your business to customers. When you first begin your marketing efforts, you should work with a marketing expert who can help you create a strong brand identity.
Your brand identity can help customers identify your company among the sea of other businesses vying for attention. When customers see your logo, fonts, and colors, they can begin to build a mental association with your business. If you want to see these associations in action, take a look at the things McDonald’s golden arches can communicate—as soon as customers see that simple logo, they know they can get quick, cheap burgers and fries.
2. Facebook Advertising
Once you’ve learned how to market your small business and have your brand identity locked in, it’s time to start looking into advertising options. Facebook advertising is one of the best options for small businesses, not least of all because it’s so scalable. You can spend $10 on a campaign or $10,000; it all depends on your business’s needs and customer range.
Nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults use Facebook, making it the second-most used social media platform. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another website that can get your content in front of 70 percent of the country. And thanks to Facebook’s intelligent advertising algorithms, you can make sure that your content reaches your target customer base.
3. Social Media Presence
Aside from advertising through Facebook, your business needs to maintain a strong social media presence. In today’s world of constant digital marketing, people want to work with brands they feel connected to. One great way to build a relationship with your current and future customers is to stay active on social media.
Using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep customers up to date on all the exciting things happening in your business, from new merchandise and sales to employee birthdays. You can share inspiration for your customers through Pinterest and engage with your younger audiences through Snapchat and TikTok. You can also use platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to promote content from your website.
4. Content Marketing
Frequently, when you’re putting together a digital marketing strategy, it can be tempting to focus only on selling your product. But customers don’t want their only experience with a business to be you harassing them about making a purchase. If they feel like they’re getting other valuable content from you, they’re more likely to stay engaged with your messages and buy from you down the road.
One of the best ways to manage content marketing is to start a blog for your business. Use your blog to share some of your expertise, tips, or information that your customers may find helpful. Not only will this keep them coming back for more helpful information, but it will establish you as an expert in your industry.
5. Search Engine Optimization
When creating those blog posts, it’s a good idea to pay attention to search engine optimization best practices. SEO can help your website show up higher in search engine rankings when someone searches for businesses in your industry. This technique uses the factors search engine algorithms look for when arranging search results to make sure your website ranks highly.
Pick a keyword that does well in search engine rankings and use it a few times through your blog post. Make sure you link to a few reputable outside websites to establish your site’s credibility. And make sure you keep your blog post easy to read and low on things like passive voice and adverbs.
6. Website Optimization
You can have the best blog posts and strongest SEO in the world, but if you don’t have a solid website to house them in, it won’t matter. Your website needs to be beautiful, easy to use, and fast. Almost half of the customers will abandon a website if it takes longer than two seconds to load, so make sure your website is optimized for speed, as well as design.
More than half of all web traffic these days comes from mobile devices. So you need to make sure your website is optimized for mobile usage and desktop usage. Many popular website platforms, including WordPress and Squarespace, include automatic mobile optimization in their web designs.
7. Customer Education
Another great way to create strong content for your customers is to host customer education webinars. Remember, at the core of it, customers come to your business to solve some problems in their lives. A webinar is a great way for you to engage customers with your company while showing them how your products can solve their problems.
Host a webinar demonstrating how to use one of your products or solve a common customer problem in your industry. Conduct Q&A sessions where you invite customers to ask you about how your products work, how they’re made, or any downfalls they have. You can also tackle FAQs in your industry and provide customers with the answers they’ve been searching for.
8. Google Adwords
Have you ever run a Google search and noticed that the first few results have “Ad” next to them? Google Adwords is a channel that allows you to pay to get your business name at the top of Google search results. Even if you’re trying to meet a marketing budget for small business needs, Google Adwords can be an affordable option.
You may wonder why you need to bother with SEO if you’re going to pay for Google Adwords or vice versa. For one thing, the more you use each, the more customers you’ll draw in through search engine results. But the more search engine optimized your site is, the cheaper your Google Adwords campaigns will be.
9. Email Marketing
Email is another powerful tool in your small business’ internet marketing efforts. Social media campaigns are wonderful, but for them to work, they have to wind up on your customers’ feeds. But email marketing goes directly to your customers and can provide a more tailored experience.
Send out weekly or monthly newsletters with updates about what’s new in your company. Send out promotional offers to loyal customers or those who haven’t purchased you something in a while. Send out birthday wishes and coupons, customer loyalty rewards (more on that later), and surprise sale announcements.
10. Free Offers
Few things get customers’ attention like the word “free.” Everyone wants a freebie, and sending out free offers can be a great way to draw new customers. People may be more motivated to spend money with your company if they know they’re getting something free out of the deal.
Run a BOGO campaign or offer customers a free gift with purchases over a certain amount. You can provide free consultations so customers can get an idea of which of your products or services they can use before committing to a purchase. You can also offer free product samples to customers to see for themselves just how beneficial your products are.
11. Coupons
If free offers aren’t a great option for your company, you can also send out coupons and sale offers. Customers are more likely to spend money if they think they’re getting a deal on something. For instance, think about whether you’d be more willing to spend $50 on something that was full-price or $50 on something that was originally priced at $100.
Use your established marketing channels to send out coupons and discount offers to your customers. You can send them a voucher on their birthday, after making a purchase, or when you haven’t heard from them for a while. Holiday sales and tax-free weekends are also good opportunities to give customers a discount on your products.
12. Loyalty Programs
As a small business, most of your bread and butter will come from drawing in repeat customers. You want people to have a positive experience with your company and return to you again and again. One great way to make sure this happens is to establish a customer loyalty program.
Give customers some freebie or discount after they shop with you a certain number of times. If they spend a certain amount of money with you, let them save up reward points to redeem for free merchandise later. Not only will this keep them coming back, but it will make them more likely to recommend your company to their friends.
13. Local Networking
Often, running and learning how to market your small business can feel like a very solitary thing. You’re trying to keep your business afloat, and you don’t have any of the typical corporate structure to rely on for support. This makes it more important for you to lean on your local network of small business owners.
If your area has a small business association, become a member and attend their meetings. For one thing, you may get valuable insights and marketing tips for small business owners. But you can also start to build a network of fellow entrepreneurs with whom you can share the joys and challenges of being your own boss.
14. Event Participation
When learning how to market your small business, attending trade shows and industry events can accomplish a few things. In addition to networking with other industry business leaders, you can also connect with your customers and demonstrate your products in person.
In our post-pandemic world, many in-person business events have been canceled. Attend virtual conferences and events to find creative ways for your customers to interact with your business. Consider hosting an outdoor, socially distanced event where masks are required or allow customers to reserve times for personal product demos.
15. Traditional Advertising
Even with all our amazing technological advances, there’s still something to be said for traditional marketing efforts. Direct mail, select print advertisements, and traditional media advertising are tried and true methods for a reason. Those methods get customers through the door, and your business should consider them in your marketing plan.
The downside of traditional advertising is that it tends to be a little more expensive than digital marketing. If you’re working on a budget, try working with local news stations, smaller local publications and niche media for your print ads. You’ll be able to focus more on your target customers and will get more bang for your buck.
Learn How to Market Your Small Business
Knowing how to market your small business effectively can make the difference between your business being a success and being one that doesn’t make it. Focus on creating quality, engaging content for your customers and showing them how your products can improve their lives. Take advantage of social media and SEO marketing strategies and some carefully selected traditional marketing methods.
If you’d like help getting your marketing on the right track, check out the rest of our site at EWR. We’re a results-driven agency that can help you leverage the power of search to drive your business forward. Contact us today and start blasting to the top of the rankings.
