With tight budgets and limited time, small businesses often
struggle to stand out against the competition. But with a little innovation and
elbow grease, a small business can improve their visibility and remind
consumers why they should be chosen over the larger fish in the pond. The following business marketing ideas can
help make your business one to remember.
Get Involved at a Local Level
One of the best budget-conscious marketing ideas is to look
at ways to increase your involvement in the community. It can be through
volunteering, hosting a networking event, or sponsoring a fundraiser. This kind
of community involvement proves to be invaluable for a multitude of reasons.
In addition to the obvious benefit of increased brand
awareness, these activities can also produce valuable connections that might
never been created. More important? More community involvement and interaction
increases the likelihood of local websites and social media sites mentioning
your business. This provides Google with
valuable signals to help boost your business’ appearance in the coveted Google
local search results, ultimately helping you gain more potential customers.
Repurpose Your Content
Recycle and repurpose content to increase ROI. Recycle
content by updating a popular post. For example, take one of your most popular
posts from last year, update that article with new, relevant information and
republish it.
You can also repurpose by posting the same content in
different formats. For instance, take an article and create a podcast using the
same information. Recycling and repurposing content stretches ROI.
Make Sure your
Website is Current
Does your website look like it hasn’t received an update in
decades? Make sure your site is using the most current technology. There are many platforms available to make
your website stand out and that are easy to use on the back end. If you need help designing and providing
content for your website, contact the experts at SK Consulting. Websites don’t have to be difficult to be
effective. If you don’t have an updated
website (or a website at all), people will take notice – and not in a good
way. After all, you don’t want to spend
so much effort driving people to your website if it sucks.
Be Strategic, Realistic, and Consistent With Your
Organic Search Marketing
Using a blog on your website for content marketing is a
cost-effective business exercise. Also, you do not have to be a magician to
rank highly for keywords on Google that will deliver sales. Perform a detailed
keyword analysis of your competitors and write content for long tail
keywords that have less competition to start with. Even when competing with
players with larger marketing budgets, it is possible to build up organic
visitors to your website over time. Know your message and understand what you
want to be known for.
Tell People You Can’t Help Them
Remember, not everyone is your customer. No matter what you’re working on or offering,
you can’t help everyone. No product or service is perfect for every person and every
situation.
Instead of hiding flaws or issues, be open and transparent
about them, so when you talk about the benefits of your business, people will
believe you. And the funny side effect is that you’re likely to turn those who
are not a good fit with your business into your advocates.
Write a Mini-eBook
If you have a fresh, controversial, or unique solution to a
problem in your industry…write a book! Advances in digital publishing have made
it possible for just about anyone to write a book. As a product or service
provider, you can use your book as a key piece of your publicity strategy.
Launch your book, and your brand goes with it!
Encourage Customers to Review Your Business
Increase positive customer reviews! A 2016 BrightLocal study revealed
that 84 percent of consumers trust online reviews just as much as personal
recommendations, and 74 percent say that positive reviews make them trust a
business more.
Remember, negative reviews can severely damage a brand’s
reputation. Consumers are more inclined to share bad experiences than good
ones. That’s why it’s important for brands to be proactive about getting
positive reviews. If you provide great service, the ask shouldn’t be a hard one
to make.
In fact, according to data from that same study, 7 out of 10
consumers will leave a review if asked to do so. In addition to improving your
brand’s online reputation, businesses with a higher number of positive reviews
may also rank higher in search results.
Find Your Niche
Focus on a specific niche within your industry. For small
businesses, it can be challenging to compete with larger companies that are
established and have access to more resources. One marketing strategy for
differentiating your business is to carve out a small niche of customers.
Rather than market your product or service to everyone,
narrow your target down to a limited segment of customers. As your business and
brand grows over time, then you can look for opportunities to expand your
customer base.
Re-think Mobile
Mobile is becoming more and more popular not only for
searching the web, but also for making purchases. With mobile payments
increasing, consider other mobile purchasing trends, like buy buttons. These
tools are increasing as customers are feeling more comfortable purchasing on
mobile devices. This means that purchases might be made more directly through
websites and social platforms like Facebook. Utilize mobile marketing to ensure
that you are giving your customers every opportunity to purchase. Adapt to
their needs.
Blog with a Purpose
Show your customers that you are relevant! Don’t just write a blog to write a blog or to
sell, sell, sell. The biggest mistake
small businesses make is when they create content to try and sell instead of
help. Write content that actually adds value to your readers. Don’t worry about
giving away any secrets you may think you have, just focus on helping your
audience. Every time you write something before publishing it just read it and
ask yourself: “is this helpful?” Keep blogging.
Be consistent. Inbound marketing
is a long-term commitment with a huge payoff.
Ideas?
These are some pretty great small business marketing ideas, if
we do say so ourselves. And there are plenty more. How do you effectively and efficiently market
your small business? If you don’t,
contact us today! We’d be happy to help
you take over the pond and enter the ocean!
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