If you own a small business, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of advertising. In today’s digital age, the rate of change in marketing is accelerating rapidly. With so many small businesses competing, those that don’t employ the latest strategies will be left behind. But that doesn’t need to be you! Let’s break down 5 quick marketing wins to set your business up for success:
1. Get Social with Your Customers
Social media marketing is the easy way to engage and grow your customer base (and it’s here to stay!). So, if you’re not one of the 70 percent of small businesses using social media, now’s the time. But with the number of social media channels to choose from, which is best for your business? If you’re unsure, start with a Facebook Business Page. Almost all small businesses (86%) are on Facebook. This should come as no surprise, considering the 2.27 billion active monthly Facebook users. That’s a lot of potential customers up for grabs! Using Facebook Audience and Page Insights tools, you’ll learn what makes your audience tick and the most-effective ways to market your business to them.
However, with ever-changing social media algorithms, it’s becoming more difficult for small businesses to get their content noticed organically. Consider boosted posts and paid advertisements to further reach your ideal audience. By targeting with specific criteria, such as demographics, interests and behaviors, a small investment could result in a big impact for your business.
2. Keep Sending Those Emails
With the rise of social media, some small business owners don’t think they need email marketing. Don’t be fooled! Email marketing enables you to reach new prospects while also enhancing relationships with current customers. It significantly outperforms social media in new customer acquisition—nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined.
The first step in a successful email marketing program is to build your email database. You’d be surprised how many customers will offer their email addresses, especially if you make it worth their while. Exclusive discounts and early access to events/promotions will certainly pique interest. To grow your database even faster, there are several reputable email list providers to choose from. Marketing to these potential customers will take additional effort on your part, as they’ll need to understand what your business provides and what’s in it for them.
People get a lot of emails. In 2019, Radicati estimates 117.7 billion consumer emails will be sent and received – a 6% growth over 2018. With that in mind, how can your business emails break through the noise?
5 Ways to Optimize Your Email Marketing
- Personalization so the recipient feels like the email is custom-made for them
- A strong subject line that increases the likelihood of your email getting opened
- List segmentation to cater your message by customer type (new, loyal, lapsed)
- Images and videos that make your email appear more exciting and reputable
- A call to action prompting the recipient to do something (buy, sign up, share, etc.)
3. Run a Google Ads Campaign
When you want to find a product or service, what do you do? You Google it. With more than 3.5 billion Google searches each day, Google Ads, a pay-per-click advertising platform, can help you reach more customers much faster. This type of search engine marketing drives traffic to your website with highly targeted ads. When a prospect searches something on Google, a page of top results comes up. If you have the right budget and keywords, you can get your business on that page.
That being said, Google is definitely not the cheapest marketing option. If you aren’t careful, you could quickly spend most, if not all, of your marketing budget. It’s best to consult with the experts before going all-in. Get started with a Google Premier Partner, that has passed certification in Google Ads with proven revenue and client growth that ensures no wasted ad spend.
4. Discover the Benefits of Direct Mail
You might have thought direct mail was a thing of the past, but the statistics show otherwise. Advertisers spend $167 per person on direct mail to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold. That’s a 1,300 percent return. And with most businesses turning to social media or email marketing instead, direct mail is a less-saturated vehicle to reach your audience.
Direct mail provides an opportunity to be creative and stand out. Remember to keep the 40/40/20 rule (marketing principle) in mind: 40% of the success of a marketing campaign is reaching the right audience, another 40% is based on the offer and the remaining 20% is based on various other factors, such as presentation and format.
5. Blog Like Nobody’s It’s Your Business
WordPress, the most-popular online publishing platform, has more than 409 million unique visitors viewing 20+ billion pages each month. Blogging on WordPress, or any other platform for that matter, is an excellent method of reaching your customers. Blogs don’t bombard readers with ads but rather educate them on the services and products you’re selling. Blogging enables you to establish your expertise on various topics related to your business and provides a steady flow of content for social media promotion. The best part? It’s FREE.
By writing blogs, you can dramatically increase your number of leads as well. Businesses using blogs as part of their content marketing mix get 67 percent more leads than those that don’t. Remember, you’re reading a blog right now!
Today, marketing is more critical than ever to growing your small business. It’s also no easy task. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for marketing. Every business has different needs, which should dictate the methods to reach their customers. However, by utilizing some or all of these 5 quick marketing wins, you’ll be sure to make a positive business impact.
