You need to create a marketing strategy that emphasizes an online presence, regardless of whether you are launching a small business or if you have one. It’s important to reach potential customers online as 97% of consumers search for local businesses online.
It’s not easy to grow your small business online. It’s easy to see why you would feel overwhelmed by the task of identifying your target audience, marketing your services, and getting word out.
It might feel like you are trying to learn another language by adding marketing strategy development.
Don’t worry! You can quickly increase brand awareness and earn ROI by implementing the right channels and strategies. Let’s find out what should be the core of your small-business marketing strategy.
Quick Take-Aways
Marketing strategies are designed to optimize your online assets and promote you company.
Why is it important to create a small business marketing strategy?
Every business wants their name to be known. However, small businesses with limited budgets may struggle to find traditional and online marketing ideas. It can also be difficult to balance marketing expenses with the costs of running a business. Advertising is expensive, so it’s not surprising that small businesses have difficulty getting noticed.
The twist is that advertising is no longer the best way of generating leads. Today’s average person sees approximately 5,000 advertisements per day. This is more than twice the amount of ads that were seen in 1980s. Ad blocking software is now being used by over 250 million people. If ads aren’t the best way to build customer base, then what is?
Digital marketing that is well-planned and executed consistently will ensure the brand and sales wheels are turning for even the smallest businesses.
Did you know that half of small businesses do not have a digital marketing strategy? Many small businesses have a small marketing budget. It can be difficult for small businesses to gain visibility in the local community.
Marketing strategies can help you build brand awareness and a qualified lead pipeline that will convert into sales. You can increase your small business’s reach by using digital strategies.
You must first build a foundation before you can dive into channel strategies. These are the elements to consider before you get started with your channel strategies:
Understanding your target audience’s needs and priorities will help you present your business as the answer. Set performance goals to ensure that your resources and budget are focused on your objectives. Find ways to leverage existing customers to become brand advocates. Use automation and promotional tools free of charge where appropriate
How to Create a Small Business Marketing Strategy
There is no secret to creating a small business marketing plan. The following strategies will help small businesses achieve high ROI and get their time back.
Although it might take some trial and error, investing in marketing will result in increased sales and a better brand image.
1. Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO), which is a marketing strategy that can make a small business stand out beyond a website design, is possibly the most effective. SEO refers to optimizing your website for search engines and end users to easily find your company.
The more you rank on Google, often the better you will be able drive traffic to your site. Local traffic accounts for more than 35% of all traffic. This means that customers who are looking for your services in the search engines results will be more likely find you.
You can use SEO to:
Create a Google My Business AccountRequest reviews from customersOptimize your website using local keywordsCreating blog posts and videos that are relevant to the local communityUsing local pagesFocus on getting high-quality backlinks
Marketing Insider Group is constantly improving our strategy to serve clients and ourselves.
We recommend that small businesses publish blog articles several times per week. Start small, even if you don’t have the time or resources to do it all. You can find our guide on how to write a blog post that is perfect and skip the trial and error involved in blog posting.
Expect to only write a few lines about a trend in your industry and then expect your website not to be viewed by too many people. Research SEO blog post strategies and other SEO techniques that can help you build your search credibility.
2. Advertisement via Pay-Per-Click
Small businesses can display ads on search engines when customers search for specific keywords. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) allows them to advertise. Although it can result in a costly bidding war, local markets tend to be less competitive. The PPC model allows you to keep your budget under control.
It sounds great, right? How does it work?
You can bid on keywords such as “local printing company” and “office supplies near me”, and create ads around these phrases. The algorithm used by advertising platforms to show your ads on search engine result pages will be based on keywords relevance and landing page quality. Each time someone clicks on an ad, you pay.
It works for some people. This must be done with thought! Don’t just throw money at the problem. Make sure that your business roots are strong like your website, strategy and branding messaging. Next, evaluate if PPC advertising can really make a difference to you.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to reach your target audience, with 4.3 billion expected email users by 2023. 81% of small businesses say that email is their main lead generation and retention tool.
Email marketing is the only tool that allows you build a personal relationship with your customers and keep them coming back after they have made their first purchase. You can send drip campaigns to customers based on an action, such as signing up for a consultation and completing a purchase. Or you can send regular newsletters with company updates and product information.
These are the top 5 email marketing strategies to use successfully:
Segment your customers according to activity or demographics. Use a CRM or an EPS to automate email sending at the right time. Create compelling subject lines to ensure your email is clicked
4. Social Media Marketing
Social media is essential for small businesses that want to reach a wider audience and interact with customers frequently. Although it might not be the most important driver of sales growth for your business, social media can help you achieve awareness and brand goals.
Social media users spend on average 3 hours per day. Although it can seem daunting at first, it is important not to be too spread out and join every platform.
Instead, you should be focusing on your target audience. What are they doing the most? What kind of content are they most interested in? What can you do to make the most impact?
Consider the following platforms depending on your customer’s needs:
Facebook: Post pictures, status updates and customer success stories. Twitter: Share news and answer customers’ questions quickly.Pinterest: Use Pinterest to spread visual content such as blogs, infographics and e-books quickly.YouTube : Dominate with user-generated video content. Instagram: Showcase your services using high-resolution imagery
Remember this: Being on social media when you feel like it isn’t enough,
Smart strategy could be used by small businesses for their social media accounts. Once you have figured out your audience, create a realistic content plan. For a few weeks, stay consistent and make minor adjustments.
5. Content Marketing
What should be the core of your marketing strategy for small businesses? Content marketing.
Content marketing refers to the process of creating and publishing content that is useful to your target audience. Your content should address their needs and challenges while also positioning your company as the solution.
Content marketing is a long-term strategy. It can take a lot of time to establish a relationship with customers and search engines. Content marketing, done right, can help your business position itself as an industry leader and establish long-lasting relationships.
You should have a variety of formats for your content to showcase your industry knowledge and to learn about the preferences of your audience. These content types are helpful to consider when you’re starting.
BlogsWhitepapers or e-booksInfographicsVideosPodcasts
It is important to create quality content. Every business is an expert in a particular field. You can share your knowledge online to capitalize on that expertise. When customers search for information about the topic, they will find your content.
Instead of trying to get your customers to push an ad in front of their faces, customers will come looking for you. The more valuable the content is, the greater the loyalty you will build with your customers. Make sure to combine content and search engine optimization (SEO) so your content appears in Google searches.
Content is not just text. You can enhance written content with quick visuals. Engaging your audience with visuals will help increase their engagement, whether you include a well-constructed infographic, relevant photos or visual references or even a short video.
You can even take it a step further and stream live on social media. You can hold a Q&A session on Twitter Spaces. Give visitors a tour of your facility on Facebook. Or show them how LinkedIn Stories works. Your audience will trust you more if you are transparent with them.
6. Ratings and reviews
Your online presence is influenced by the products and services you offer, in addition to the content you create. It is important to know that customers are leaving reviews about your company and products on sites like Yelp, Amazon, Google, and Amazon. This is great if you provide something exceptional and offer excellent customer service.
It could have serious consequences if it is not. It is important to encourage positive reviews and take steps to rectify any negative ones. You don’t have to manipulate reviews to fit your company’s image, but you do need to make it easy for customers to leave reviews and respond quickly to negative reviews. Here are some suggestions:
Encourage customers to leave reviews. Make it easy for them to do so and provide a link to where they can see reviews.
7. Online Reputation Management
SEO was mentioned earlier. Just as you should be careful about negative reviews, so you should also be cautious about negative or defaming results from search engines. Negative results in search engines can be more prominent than positive ones and make it difficult for customers to trust your business.
The topic of reputation management is very complex. You can simplify the matter by checking your search results for your company name regularly.
You must be honest with customers and friendly in all your dealings. You have a better chance of attracting positive attention to yourself than negative ones.
Five Questions on Small Business Marketing Strategy
It can be difficult to figure out a marketing strategy for a small business owner. We can begin to dig deeper once we have a solid foundation. These are five important questions about marketing small businesses.
1. SMBs can learn marketing tips from Fortune 500 companies.
Large companies think they can be known for something. However, their egos can get in the way of being recognized for it. Smaller companies are more likely to keep their customers in mind and be recognized as thought leaders in their industry. SMBs can use our services to create mission statements that are customer-focused to guide their strategies.
Second, smaller companies are less technologically savvy. We have seen them outmaneuver their larger counterparts with better customer experiences, authentic and engaging content, and more interaction via social media.
Third, smaller businesses tend to have more passionate workers who are eager to share their knowledge, engage on social media, and drive new customers and recruits. SMBs need to recognize this strength and make sure that their marketing strategies include customer and employee engagement.
Retention is key to a high-return on investment marketing strategy. Working closely with customers can be a key to growth in larger businesses. SMBs are subject to similar pressures for different reasons. However, the math behind SMB growth engines is different. They require growth with less investment. High ROI and low investment are key to Customer Retention Programs.
2. When designing marketing campaigns, where should marketers focus today?
We don’t like the term “campaign”. It is everything wrong with modern marketing.
Customers and buyers today are constantly searching online for answers, education, and information. Smart marketers create programs that are always on to meet this need. This includes non-promotional and educational thought leadership, engaging employees in content creation, social engagement, and finally creating and testing the right paths for conversions.
3. What’s the secret to digital marketing success?
Marketing programs that are extremely successful are constantly in operation. They test the message and content constantly. They adjust the targeting parameters and audience filters constantly. They optimize the visual elements of every program. They also test conversion paths. It is important to be always available.
4. What should SMBs do today to approach campaign development? And what are their most common mistakes?
Sometimes, SMBs are so driven to achieve their sales and lead goals that they neglect the final stage of the buying cycle. Marketing programs should be as close as possible to the buying process.
This requires a lot more content creation in the initial stages.
On average, 100 people are involved in the initial stages of a customer’s buying journey. These are people who are aware they have a problem, but don’t know how to solve it. It’s time to explain it and why it is important (no products yet).
There are 10 middle-stage buyers for every buyer. These people are seeking deeper education. Spend some time with them (but not too much product).
You now have the right to speak about who, what and why you are better.
5. These are some great tips to design customer journeys.
It’s easy to understand what your customers require at every stage of their journey in digital society. You can use Google auto-fill and related searches to determine what content we should create. Because I sell content marketing services, I know people need content marketing strategies tools, templates, and examples. Google auto-fill and related searches have shown me that this is what most people are looking for.
Once you have compiled a list, you can organize them into categories. You can then use Google Trends to determine which topics and categories are most important to your customer journey.
Other tools can be used to help us determine which questions to answer with our content during each stage of our buyer journey and which channels our customers are most interested in. LinkedIn is a good place to start for B2B companies. If you are in fashion, however, you need to be on Instagram. These decisions should not be left up to your gut. Each of these options can have a quantifiable impact.
We must also measure the results of our efforts. Is your website showing up on the first page of search results for each stage of the buyer’s journey? Track your visibility relative to your competitors by identifying the top 15-20 search terms that your customers use throughout their journey. Remember that your competition online might be an online publication, or a mommy blogger.
Create a Small Business Marketing Strategy
You don’t have to limit your resources or spend a lot of money to be able to leverage a marketing strategy for growth. You can learn more about your customers and develop a marketing strategy for small businesses.
These marketing strategies will help you increase brand awareness and convert more customers in your area.
SEO increases your online visibility to potential customers who search for you services on GooglePaid Search is a great way of supplementing SEO efforts and driving more traffic to your site. Email marketing lets you stay in touch with customers relevant to your business. Social media keeps you connected to customers and relevant in real-time. Content marketing helps establish your thought leadership by using credible materials
Are you unsure how to market your small business? Book a consultation to find out more about our Weekly Blog Writing Services, which provide quality content in a seamless manner.
Marketing Insider Group published 7 Smart Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses.
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By: Haley McDevitt
Title: 7 Smart Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
Sourced From: marketinginsidergroup.com/marketing-strategy/small-business-marketing-strategies/
Published Date: Tue, 17 May 2022 16:00:17 +0000
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