Marketing Tips B-1

 

10 marketing tips for small business success 

Key takeaways

• Creating value through content marketing can position your brand as an industry leader

• Harness the power of referrals with online reviews, business partnerships, and a referral program

• When spending money on marketing, choose channels that let you closely target your target audience

When you’re trying to get visibility for your small business, there’s no need to let a limited budget get you down. Established brands may have more money, but you can still have the smartest marketing strategy around. Discover 15 budget-friendly (and some free) marketing tips for small business owners, so you can reach more potential customers and get the most from every cent. 

10 cost-free marketing tips for small businesses

No marketing agency? No problem. Even beginners can implement great marketing tactics without spending a dime. Here are 11 small business marketing tips that you and your team can implement right now. 

1. Turn leads into customers with drip campaigns

A drip campaign is a sequence of emails that send automatically on a scheduled timeline when triggered by a preselected online action that you choose.  Don’t worry, it’s simpler than it sounds. For instance, if you own a yoga studio, you could have a welcome email instantly sent when a new lead joins your email list. Over the next week, they may receive emails introducing them to your instructors, describing your class offerings, and offering a free first class. 

Drip campaigns keep leads engaged when they’re actively in need of your product or service—and they’re easy to create. Email marketing tools like AWeber and Pabbly, which offer automation with their free plans, can guide you through the process of creating each email in your sequence and setting up your trigger. After that, emails will engage your leads without much extra effort on your part.

2. Re-engage customers with email newsletters

Most marketers identify email marketing as the best way to achieve customer retention. By sending regular emails with valuable content, you can keep existing customers (who spend 31% more than new customers) coming back.

A weekly or monthly email newsletter is a great start. Build loyalty by regularly updating customers on your business, current promotions, industry news, and more. Build your first email marketing campaign using these basic email marketing strategies.

3. Offer value through blogging

Blogs are excellent content marketing tools that allow you to position yourself as an industry leader. You can build trust by writing in-depth blog posts answering specific questions your target audience may have. For example, a landscaping business may write a blog post about artificial grass installation, detailing what it is, how to do it, how much it costs, and how professionals can help.

To ensure your blog reaches the right readers, use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics. Inserting keywords—for example, “artificial turf” and “artificial grass installation”—throughout your post, linking to other pages on your website, and linking to external sites with high domain authority can help you rank higher on search engine results pages.

4. Optimize your site for best results

Another key SEO tactic is website optimization. Search engines don’t just take your content into consideration when determining your rank; they also consider how easy your site is to use. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly, your navigation is well-organized, and your web pages load fast. Pro tip: Reducing file sizes can help. 

5. Boost engagement with video content marketing 

Video is expected to make up over 82% of consumer internet traffic by 2022. Plus, Facebook and YouTube—two major platforms for video—are the world’s most popular social networks, while TikTok is quickly rising.

You don’t need professional video editing skills to take advantage of this online marketing tactic (or even go viral). With just a smartphone camera, you can use video to:

• Do live Q&As with potential clients
• Give followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business
• Explain a process (like how to fix a clog for plumber marketing)
• Do a product demo

6. Start conversations with social media marketing

No digital marketing conversation is complete without mentioning social media, which 72% of U.S. adults use. From Facebook and LinkedIn to Twitter and Snapchat, social media platforms drive conversations, which help build brand awareness and relationships with clients.

Beyond publishing social media posts that offer value to your followers, make sure you’re engaging with your potential clients. Respond to comments and direct messages (DMs), share posts you’re tagged in, and join trending conversations relevant to your brand. 

9. Partner with local businesses

A great way to generate more referrals is by partnering with other brands. Work only with reputable brands offering complementary services so you can share exclusive referrals. As an example, a carpet cleaning company may partner with housekeeping and window cleaning services. This tactic helps you reach leads actively in need of your product or service. 

10.) Start a Rewards and Referral Program From the Outset

This is a simple yet effective marketing strategy that small businesses often overlook. You may think that these programs are meant only for large businesses who have a substantial number of customers. However, that is not necessarily correct.

Small businesses have a lot more to gain from such an initiative, as it is one of the best ways to generate leads. Think of it from customers’ perspectives. 

Would you buy from a brand that you’ve never heard of simply by looking at a promotion or ad? No, right?

But, if someone you know and trust recommends it, would you consider at least checking it out? The answer for most would be yes.

That’s the power and beauty of referral marketing, and that is precisely why you should have a referral program in place. By providing rewards, you can incentivize your existing customers to recommend your brand to their friends.

Also, you can give rewards to customers who complete certain actions, like following your social media channels or making a purchase. This will ensure that they engage more with your brand, fostering customer loyalty.