As a small business owner, you wear many hats. You’re the CEO, the CFO, and the head of marketing all rolled into one. And when it comes to marketing your business, you can’t afford to waste time or money on strategies that don’t work. We’ve put together this comprehensive guide on the best ways to market your business.
From SEO to social media marketing, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get results. So whether you’re a complete novice or a seasoned pro, there’s something here for everyone. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
Best Ways to Market Your Business
Investing in marketing can set your small business up for success. Marketing your small business can be challenging due to lack of visibility and resources. However, there are key strategies you can use to raise brand awareness and build a pipeline of qualified leads that turn into sales.
Whether you’ve just launched your business or have been running it for years, you need to consider these best ways to market your business.
Having an online presence for your brand is incredibly important. In 2019, 70% of respondents said being able to buy in-store or in-person was an essential factor when deciding which brands or retailers to purchase from.
For local businesses, it is essential to have updated information readily available for potential clients. This allows them to make informed decisions about your company.
If you’re new to marketing, this might sound like a bunch of gibberish. Don’t worry.
Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Here are some tips to help you market your business
1. Define your brand’s identity.
Consistent brand identity will help you appear more professional and attract new customers. A 2020 study found that nearly 9 out 10 people are brand loyal. Nearly 25% of them will be more brand loyal in 2020 than in 2019.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, described branding as “what other people think about you when they’re not there.” Your brand is what people feel when they hear your company name. It is the combination of your brand name and logo, your aesthetic, and all your assets.
2. Understand your buyer persona.
What is the customer like when they search for your product? What are their problems? What is their job? A buyer persona is a story about your ideal customer that can be used to create a website that’s optimized. A buyer persona is a story about your ideal customer that allows you to better understand what they are searching for so that you can include them on your website.
3. Create a logo or other branding elements
Consider your color scheme and browse palettes with Adobe Color. You can create your palette or browse pre-made or custom color palettes.
Upwork and Freelancer are great places to start a logo design. While there are many options to design your logo online for free or at a lower cost, a freelancer/agency can provide a better product and help you connect with a designer who can update and modify your brand assets as you grow your business.
4. Use a CMS template to build your website.
You may want to create your own website if you are a tech-savvy small business owner. The process is made easier by a CMS (content management system).
Many CMSs offer templates that you can customize for your website. These templates are available for free or for a small fee. There are templates that suit all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.
Most CMS platforms provide plugins that can help you optimize your website for search. Look for SEO plugins. This will help you rank higher on Google.
There are many free tools and services that can help you get started if you have never created a website before or aren’t familiar with the technical aspects. Make sure to install HubSpot Marketing Free or Google Analytics when you create your website. This will allow you to track who is visiting your site.
6. For web design assistance, consult agencies or freelancers.
A freelancer or marketing agency that specializes in web design can help you create a website for your small business. This is a great option if you already have a website and need to update it for SEO (search engine optimization).
You can use Upwork (filtering based on design/creative), Codeable for WordPress experts, or Freelancer to find a freelancer/marketing consultant in your area.
7. Make use of SEO to improve your Google rankings
Have you ever tried to find yourself or your product/service online if you have a business? Did you ever wonder “Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?” You probably wondered “How can I rank on Google?” Or “How can my Google ranking improve?”
There are many factors that influence the ranking of a site or page on the Google (or other search engines) search engine result page (SERP). Backlinko lists some of the top Google factors, including having relevant keywords (and their location on your site), having high-quality content and a fast page load, and how frequently you post content, as well as having high-quality content.
Google basically tries to find the most relevant content to present to the person who is searching. If I am searching for the best salon in Newport Rhode Island, it would not be helpful to me to find a website of a salon that is closed and is located in Newport Kentucky. However, it would be useful to find a salon near me with great Yelp reviews and a simple-to-navigate site. Contact information would also be helpful. Google wants to show the most relevant and highest-quality content.
HubSpot defines SEO as “techniques to help your website rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs)”. This makes your website more visible to people searching for solutions via search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing. It’s basically the idea of structuring your website so that it appears first on search engines.
A few things are usually part of an SEO strategy. These include buyer persona research and keyword research. These three areas will help you understand how your target market searches online and position your company to be found by the right people.
8. Find keywords opportunities.
Keyword research can be used in conjunction with buyer persona research. To find the most relevant keywords for your brand, you can use the personas that you have created. Then, use KW Finder to find the keywords related to your target audience.
You can then do some on-page SEO optimization and research. This is where you place your keywords in the right places on your website, such as in the meta-description, page title, and H1 tags.
9. Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices.
Google searches are most commonly done via mobile devices. It’s therefore important to have a site that is easy to navigate and clean when someone enters it from their smartphone. SEO can also benefit from a mobile site. Search engines like Google reward you with a higher rank if you have one.
To build a mobile-friendly website, you don’t need to be a tech pro. Many CMS platforms, such as HubSpot, offer mobile-optimized templates.
10. Optimize your blog posts
When it comes to search engine ranking, content and blogging are very important. Your search engine ranking will improve if your keywords are used more often in your informative and high-quality content. Blogs are a great way to be an authority on your topic, product, or service.
SEO is a key component of your writing. Use this SEO checklist for bloggers or a WordPress plugin such as Yoast to ensure that you do.
11. Experiment with video and photo content.
HubSpot Research found that more than half of consumers want to view videos from brands. A majority of social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, are adopting more visual layouts. It’s a good idea for marketers to create a few videos to keep up with these trends. These tips can make it easy to produce a few videos.
12. To scale your content, hire a freelancer to help
Hire a freelancer if you need help with creating blogs or promotional content. This is a better option than investing in a full-timer. You can find a freelance videographer, photographer, or blogger on Upwork. For a larger project, you might also consider hiring a marketing agency.
13. Start a business page on sites like Facebook or Yelp.
If your business is focused on a specific area, the most important accounts are Yelp, Facebook, and Google’s Business feature. High Yelp reviews increase your authority online and improve your search ranking. Yelp allows you to claim your business for free. You can customize your profile, add photos, and start asking for reviews.
The same applies to registering your Google Business Page. Google allows you to register your business and add photos. If you have ever tried to search for your business on Google Maps but failed to find it, it is because you haven’t claimed it yet!
You can create a Facebook Business Page so people can find you and your hours.
14. Build a social media marketing strategy
Facebook and Yelp are great tools for local searches, reviews, and recommendations. However, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest will give you more opportunities to share your posts and content, as well as promotions, on platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.
These platforms will allow your customers to purchase your products and services online.
15. Use your social media accounts for customer service
If you have the resources, you might consider hiring a social manager with community management experience. Community managers are responsible for responding to followers’ questions and concerns.
16. Create engaging landing pages
In return for filling out a brief form with contact information, a landing page provides your potential customers with a free resource. They might be more impressed by your company and more likely to purchase the full product once they have received the resource.
17. Build your email marketing plan
Once you have started creating regular content and landing pages, you will want to share them with those prospects who are most interested in learning about your product. We recommend creating an email marketing strategy.
You don’t want to overwhelm people who sign up for your mailing list with too many emails. However, you want to send enough emails to keep them informed and engaged. Here are the results of our email marketing strategy overhaul.
HubSpot or any other affordable tool that allows you to create and send emails with professionally designed templates is a great option if you have never sent regular newsletters. Many email tools offer basic analytics that allow you to track open rates and click rates.
18. Use discounts or coupons on landing pages or newsletters
Your audience will be delighted if you include a coupon in your marketing emails. A discount might encourage customers to purchase a product or service at full price. It can be beneficial to give prospects a code for a trial period if you offer subscription services.
19. Share the channels you use to distribute your content on your website
Once you have established a few social media accounts that allow people to sign up for your newsletters, highlight this on the website so that your visitors can follow you. Companies can do this by displaying all their linked social icons and a sign-up call to action on every page of their website. These icons can be found in the top right corner of each page or at the footer. These are visible but don’t distract from any content.
20. Host a free webinar.
A webinar allows potential customers to sign up for an online course hosted and hosted by you. These courses last between 30 and 60 minutes and give you the opportunity to answer questions and offer tips on a topic that is relevant to your brand. This strategy can not only help you build your credibility in your field but it can also open up new opportunities for sales leads.
21. PPC Advertising is a good option.
If you are working hard at SEO but still need an extra boost, PPC (or pay-per-click) advertising may be a good option. This search engine marketing technique uses Google AdWords and Bing Ads to rank higher. You should optimize your landing page before you start to explore PPC. Advertising dollars will be lost if clicks don’t convert if you pay by the click.
This Ultimate Guide to PPC will help you get started. To plan an optimized campaign, you can use this PPC planning template. A few tools and software are available to help you track, edit, and report on your campaigns.
22. Use social media to advertise
Many of the major social media platforms offer affordable options for advertising that will allow you to target a specific audience. Many small businesses have been advertising on Facebook and LinkedIn for years. Instagram now allows brands to advertise via its Shoppable tool.
23. Try experimenting with using influencers to promote your business.
Is there a person in your area who is considered an expert in the field you are interested in? If possible, reach out to them to see if they are willing to share a personal experience with your product or service via social media. This will let their followers know about your product. This will make your product more trustable to these followers.
You can also pay one or two freelance influencers if you are unable to find one. For more information on this strategy, see our Ultimate Guide to Influencer marketing.
24. Consider co-marketing.
Is there another local business that offers a similar product or service, but isn’t a direct rival? You might consider collaborating with them to create a cobranded campaign that promotes each other via social media, email, and on your blog. You’ll not only give your partnering company additional promotion, but it will also let their fans learn more about you.
25. Create a go-to market strategy.
Once you have activated all the tools necessary to promote your product, you will need to create a promotional strategy that aligns with the customer journey. Consider what content will engage, delight, and attract your prospects and how to convert them into customers.
26. Solicit testimonials from happy customers.
Your product or service is a good investment when a satisfied customer reviews your company on social media. Word of mouth is still a significant factor in someone’s purchase decision, even on social media. A prospect could be more inclined to buy if they see a friend posting positive reviews about your business on Facebook, or if they post a picture of a meal at your restaurant on Instagram. Social media referrals are 71% more likely to make a purchase.
Encourage customers to share their love for your product on Yelp and Google. You might also consider placing signs with your account handles if you own a physical business, so customers know who to tag when posting pictures of your product.
27. Try marketing experiments.
Don’t be afraid of trying new things, whether it’s a social platform or a marketing trend. If your experiment goes well, you might be ahead of the curve. It never hurts to be a thought leader in your industry.
Be sure to have a solid hypothesis in mind before you try a new marketing strategy. This will help you stay focused on the end goal and decrease your desire to chase after the next big thing. If you are successful, plan for your next steps. Here are some tips to help you lead a successful marketing campaign.
How can I market my business quickly?
What are 5 ways to promote a business?
- Create a website for your business and make sure it is optimized for search engines.
- Use social media to promote your business and interact with potential and current customers.
- Make use of local SEO techniques to ensure that people in your area can find you easily online.
- Advertise through Google AdWords or other paid advertising platforms.
- “Word of mouth”
How do I market my local small business?
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best ways to market your business, then this guide is for you. We’ve covered everything from SEO to social media marketing, so you can be sure to find something that works for you. So what are you waiting for? Start implementing these strategies today and see how they can help grow your business!
