Starting a new business is not easy and requires a lot of time and effort. You need to perfect your service offering, choose the right sales channels, research your target customers, and more.
But no matter how good your product or service is, without marketing people won't know about your business. Marketing is an essential part of establishing your brand and generating sales leads for your small business. In this post, we will discuss some of the best marketing techniques that can help your small business grow both its size and reputation.
So let's get straight to the point.
Marketing ideas to grow your small business in 2024:
1. Build an SEO-friendly website
The first thing a new business needs is a website where people can learn about your business and buy your products and services. If you're building a website that's optimized for both search engines and conversions, you've already passed the first hurdle.
Getting organic traffic to your website should be your top priority before you start investing in other marketing strategies.
Here are some things to consider:
- Create quality content on trending topics in your field.
- Before creating content for your website, do extensive keyword research.
- Incorporate your primary keywords into every landing page, title, meta description, etc. of your website.
- Use structured data to improve your web page's SERP rankings and differentiate your SERP listings from other pages.
- Focus more on local SEO and long-tail keywords.
- Don't forget to consider the technical aspects of SEO, such as page load speed and website design.
Building an SEO-friendly website takes a lot of work, but these tips will get you started on the right path.
2. Tell your brand story
Connecting with your target audience and creating a clear brand image is important for any business. Telling your brand story is a great and effective way to achieve that.
Brands that are authentic and have a good story behind them are often more memorable and leave a lasting impression. So if you want people to remember your brand when they hear about it for the first time, tell your brand story.
For example, Burt's Bees takes every opportunity to tell the amazing story of how the brand came to be. This is a simple story about a boy and a girl who meet, fall in love, and create something that will last long after they're gone.
The website has a detailed “About Us” section, as well as a separate page to tell your brand story. It also includes key milestones in the founder's life and the brand's history. Using videos and photos to tell a story is noteworthy and memorable.
Source: burtsbees.co.uk
3. Leverage social media marketing
One of the cheapest and most effective forms of marketing a small business owner can invest in is social media marketing.
If you want to invest the time and effort, you can do this in-house for minimal cost. And as your business grows, you can leverage social media marketing tools to manage your accounts.
Here are some tips to get you started with social media marketing.
- Choose the right platform where your target customers are active.
- Find your brand voice and stick to it.
- Post social media content regularly and consistently.
- Capture your audience's attention with high-quality, eye-catching visuals.
- Add your website link to your social media profiles.
- Use tactics like: Drive social media traffic to your website.
- Use popular and relevant hashtags to reach more people.
- Create your own branded hashtag to track your campaigns.
Many things are necessary to lead to victory social media marketing strategy. These are just a few tips to get you started. Once you've mastered these, dig deeper to improve your skills and try more advanced social media marketing strategies.
4. Start a rewards and referral program from the beginning
There are plenty of examples of marketing strategies that include rewards and referral programs to inspire you. This is a simple but effective marketing strategy that small businesses often overlook. You might think that these programs are only for large companies with a significant number of customers. However, that's not necessarily true.
Small businesses have more to gain from such efforts, as this is one of the best ways to generate leads. Think from the customer's perspective.
Would you buy from a brand you've never heard of just because you saw a promotion or ad? Don't you have the right?
But if someone you know and trust recommends it, would you at least consider checking it out? Most people's answer would be yes.
That's the power and beauty of referral marketing, and that's why you need to implement a referral program. By offering rewards, you can motivate existing customers to recommend your brand to their friends.
You can also reward customers for completing certain actions, such as following your social media channels or making a purchase. This allows customers to engage more deeply with your brand and fosters customer loyalty.
5. Invest in analytics early
Having a data-driven marketing strategy gives you an edge and makes your efforts more effective. As a small business, you can't afford to make mistakes and need to do things right the first time. That's where data and analytics come in handy.
And the best part is you don't necessarily have to pay for a sophisticated software solution to get it. There are many free and affordable options available.
For example, social media analytics is available for free as most platforms have built-in analytics tools that can provide you with all the important information. Similarly, for your website, you can use Google Analytics to gain insight into the performance of your various landing pages.
One thing you should invest in is social media monitoring tools Because it helps you track and respond to relevant conversations. This is very important for small and medium-sized businesses because it is very important to respond to customer inquiries and resolve problems quickly. An established brand may be able to get by with a few negative reviews, but for a small business, it can be devastating.
So, no matter what type of marketing strategy you try, be sure to track and measure its performance metrics and do your research before implementing it.
6. Establish expertise in your field
This is one thing that will help you differentiate yourself from others in your niche and build your brand image. Other people are probably using the same marketing strategies as you, so you need to find additional ways to differentiate yourself.
One such tactic is to focus on establishing yourself as an industry expert.
Here are some ways to do this.
- Sign up for HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and answer questions from journalists. These are usually published on reputable websites, and mentions and backlinks from such websites will help your reputation.
- Start a blog and create useful and informative content on topics in your field of expertise.
- Join community forums like Quora and answer questions there.
- Participate in discussions on social media about relevant topics within your field of expertise.
- Host webinars and podcasts on informative and relevant topics. Invite other experts to gain more visibility and reach.
Once you start making waves in the industry, people will start inviting you for interviews and podcasts. Making time to participate in these things will further enhance your reputation.
7. Create and promote explainer videos
This tactic is relevant for all businesses, but it's especially important for new businesses looking to spread brand awareness.
Even the best companies with great products can sometimes struggle to gain initial traction and get people to learn about their brand. And when you launch an innovative product, it's even harder to get people to understand what it is and how it can help you.
This is where product tutorials and instructional videos come into play. These videos demonstrate the product's features and its various uses.
This removes the first hurdle that prevents most companies from getting their target customers to understand the value they provide.
For example, take a look at this instructional video for Panasonic's ES-SL33 shaver. This product was innovative and had many advantages over regular razors. But without this instructional video, this brand would not have been able to communicate how it is different from other razors.
So, the next time you launch a new product, promote it by creating an explainer video that engages consumers.
What's next?
If you own a small business and are struggling to meet your marketing goals, try the tactics described in this post. These are proven marketing techniques that will give you the boost you need to stay ahead of the marketing game.
Try them out and see the results for yourself.
FAQ
What are your marketing ideas for small businesses?
Try some of these creative marketing ideas for your small business.
- Include a social media contest
- Share user-generated content like photos and videos
- jump on trends
- Gather feedback
- Partner with other small businesses
What makes a good marketing idea?
Incorporate these powerful marketing ideas into your marketing strategy.
- Build a referral program
- Hold contests and giveaways
- Use video
- Utilize influencer marketing
- jump on trends
How do small businesses build their marketing?
Here's how to create a marketing plan for your small business.
- Set reasonable goals
- Understand your target market
- Please explain your product or service in language that anyone can understand.
- Determine your unique selling proposition
- set a budget
- track results
What are the four main marketing strategies?
The four P's of marketing strategy are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. These are examples of a marketing mix, a combination of tools and methodologies that marketers use to achieve their goals.
About the author
Writer
Werner, who has been in content marketing for over 15 years, founded Influencer Marketing Hub in 2016. He successfully grew the platform to attract 5 million visitors per month, making it an important site for his marketers of brands around the world. His efforts led to his acquisition of the company in 2020. Additionally, Werner's expertise has been recognized by leading marketing and technology publications including Forbes, TechCrunch, BBC, and Wired.
