Small business owners rarely have big marketing budgets, making it difficult to promote their services and products. However, many strategies and free tools are available to help with this. Overall, the goal is to reach the target market through various means, such as social media platforms, local events, and word of mouth.
Hiring a marketing agency is often the best solution. These professionals already know what works and will use the right strategies to reach your potential customers.
Before hiring a professional, it’s wise to learn some small business marketing ideas. These “secrets” are what marketing agencies use frequently.
“Secret” Marketing Strategy Ideas for Small Business Owners
How do you get people to notice companies, especially when dealing with small businesses? Marketing ideas are crucial, and here are five options that represent successful strategies for generating brand awareness, leads, and traffic without a large budget:
1. Set Up a Google Business Profile
A company profile on Google is actually one of the most effective free marketing strategies available to local businesses. Your brand will show up on Google Maps, which is the “near me” section in Google Search. It also appears on the right-side Knowledge Panel within branded searches.
Share Details About the Business
With your Google My Business profile, you share photos and details of your company, such as location, contact information, and products/services. If you want more traffic, this search engine is the ultimate choice. Overall, it helps your target market find your brand when they want similar items.
Customers Can Leave Reviews
Plus, customers can share ratings and reviews about your brand directly on your Google Business profile. This will help you attract potential clients through the search engine. Therefore, it’s wise to share this link with everyone, and encourage them to write about their experiences.
2. Focus on Social Media Marketing
Having a strong social media presence is essential for small businesses. It will help promote the brand, define your image, gain customers, and build relationships with the target audience.
Your business must be on the right social media channels to reach your ideal customers. This also means having a content marketing plan to help you engage on those platforms.
Video Content Reigns Supreme
Video content is driving views on social media now, which is why you must have a strong presence for your small business. Ensure that you’re publishing relevant content that shares valuable information with your fan base.
Tagging Is Important
When possible, tag loyal vendors, partners, and customers on your social networks. That will broaden your organic reach to a new audience and help you grow your following.
In fact, social media engagement like this attracts new customers. Make sure you ask current fans to tag your company page on their channels, as well.
How Can a Digital Marketing Company Help?
While you can use various tools, it’s a full-time job to manage multiple social media accounts, post consistently, create engaging content, and keep up with all the new trends. Therefore, it might be wise to hire someone offering digital marketing services.
3. Engage the Audience Through Text and Email Marketing
One good marketing idea is to send messages about your services and products through various channels, such as text and email. Creating successful SMS and email marketing campaigns helps you reach more people who are interested in your offerings.
Your email list, which includes current and prospective customers, is a valuable asset as a small business owner. Therefore, building it up should be your top priority.
Focus on Quality Content Over Quantity
Getting people to provide their email addresses isn’t easy, so you might want to send a monthly newsletter. To ensure everyone signs up, you could offer discount codes in exchange for the contact information.
Generally, it’s best to focus on quality here. People don’t want their inboxes flooded with many promotional messages; they might unsubscribe. Coupons can help potential customers decide to open the email and engage with your brand.
Don’t Forget to Test the Email First
After creating your email campaigns, make sure to send a test message to preview everything. Look at it from the customer’s perspective to ensure that there are no mistakes.
4. Implement a Strong Search Engine Optimization Strategy
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a confusing technique for most small business owners, but a well-executed strategy can be highly profitable.
Overall, SEO addresses how search engines can find your content online. There are many ways to create your strategy, and the first is through your website. Carefully plan out each page with articles and blogs that focus on a keyword (research this first). You’ll find many helpful tools to get you started.
Add Content Frequently, and Establish a YouTube Account
Think of SEO as an online marketing investment. Overall, you must frequently add content, articles, and blog posts to your website, ensuring that they are valuable to the reader.
You can also establish SEO on YouTube. Start by focusing on specific keywords or phrases before creating and optimizing videos for the platform.
Use Keyword Research to Hone in on Appropriate Phrases
There are various ways to conduct keyword research. A local SEO strategy might be best if your company is based in one area. However, if you sell nationally, you may need a different way to reach customers.
Focus on keywords that aren’t overly competitive. This will give you a better chance of getting seen, especially if you’ve just started your SEO marketing campaign.
5. Create a Referral Program to Reward Existing Customers
Having paying customers is valuable, especially if they provide reviews and referrals.
It’s easy to source new leads through your existing network. Reward repeat buyers with a customer referral program or a loyalty system.
Why Should You Hire a Marketing Agency for Small Businesses?
As you can see, there are many marketing ideas to help you establish a base of loyal customers. Focus on your brand identity, use social media ads, and watch as your company grows and thrives.
While many of these things seem simple to do, they require a lot of effort and time. Therefore, it’s best to hire a marketing agency for small businesses. PGN Agency is the go-to solution for assistance.
We can help you set up your business account on Google, provide marketing tools, check out your direct competitor, and much more. Contact us to get started today.