One of the first questions that I'm asked by small business owners is what they should be doing to successfully market their business. While most marketing plans will require getting to know the business and their target audiences, there are 5 marketing tactics that hold true no matter what industry you may be in. In this article, I will explain 5 marketing tactics you should be utilizing as a small business and some of the ways they can help you gain more exposure.
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Blogging
Content is king. This is an old saying that you may be familiar with. However, you may not realize just how important your website’s content is in ensuring you make it to the top of the search engine rankings. Every single word or phrase that you include in your blogs is being analyzed by Google’s indexing robots to determine how relevant your content is to what someone is searching for. Simply put, the more relevant your content is for a given search term, the easier it is for people that are looking for it to find it.
Investing in quality, SEO-rich content is essential for small businesses that want to increase their reach and draw in new customers. I know what you’re thinking, “my website only has 4 pages, how can I continue to add more content?”. One of the easiest ways to do this is to provide new content updates regularly through your websites blog. Make sure you provide engaging content with internal links to other pages on your site for the most impact.
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PPC Advertising
In the past, advertising was seen as an expensive venture that provided little to no return in some cases. I understand how it can be hard for a business to invest money in a strategy if they feel it isn’t working as intended. However, the rise of digital advertising has made it possible for small businesses, even with a very small marketing budget, to get their feet wet with PPC advertising through search engines or social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest.
Not only can you get started with a small budget, you will have the ability to receive detailed reports that allow you to determine whether the advertising is working or if it needs to be adjusted to be more effective. One of the easiest ways to do this is to run two different ads at the same time as a process called A-B testing. Once you determine which is performing better, cancel the ineffective ad and continue to tweak the successful one. This allows you to consistently get the most bang for your buck.
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Social Media Management
No matter who your customers are, they are likely spending a lot of time on social media networks. As one of the easiest ways to keep up with your family and friends, social media has continued to grow exponentially and has become a staple in our culture for all age groups. For this reason, it is important to ensure that your business is represented on these platforms as accurately as possible for continued growth.
Deciding your target audiences will make it easier to craft your online persona and build a reputation online. This is also a great way to develop a personal connection with your customers and humanize your business. Social media has also become a great source of word-of-mouth business and allows you to easily reach potential customers as well as your brand’s biggest fans. Remain consistent in your posting each week and respond to any comments, shares or messages as soon as possible for the most impact.
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Email Marketing
If you are like most people, you likely check your email several times a day. This phenomena is due largely in part by the flourishing smartphone industry. No matter where you are at any given time, as long as you have reception you have the internet and everything it provides right at your fingertips. Not only does this increase interconnectivity, it allows small business owners to reach their customers in new and exciting ways.
If you don’t currently have an email marketing list, now is the perfect time to start building one. Not only is this the most inexpensive form of marketing available, it’s also one of the most effective. In fact, according the most recent statistics, email has a media ROI of 122%, making it incredibly effective. If you are struggling to build your email marketing lists, try adding a opt-in to your contact form or online ordering system if you have an eCommerce website.
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Get On The Maps
If you have ever searched for a local business on Google, you are probably familiar with the map listings that appear at the top of the page. The good news is that these map listings are completely free for your business and provide more exposure than you probably think. As a Google Partner, I have hosted many workshops around Tulsa and the surrounding areas to help local businesses get their location on Google’s map listings.
Getting your business on the maps is an incredibly easy process and no business should be without their own map listing. To get started, simply visit the GYBO website and claim your business listing. If it isn’t available, just follow the step-by-step process to complete your business listing. On the off-chance that you run into any problems, contact me and I would be happy to help you complete your listing.