Marketing Ideas for Small Business

Introduction

The demand for innovative marketing strategies is ever increasing in an era of competitive startup enterprise. Small businesses have the added pressures of limited budgets and time constraints to ensure that they stay in the thick of competition. As a result, it is in the interest of startups and small businesses to offer marketing techniques that are fresh, effective and also easy on the pocket.

 

Often times it is the simplest marketing strategies that help businesses stay ahead of the curve. After all it was Da Vinci who said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Here’s a look at some simple ways for small businesses to think big in terms of marketing:

 

1. Be Social – Online and Offline

In today’s day and age, sky’s the limit when it comes to marketing ideas, but the easiest way to get the ball rolling is to expand your reach, both online as well as offline. Spread the word about your organization within your locality by using weekend newspapers to advertise in, invest in custom posters and business cards and don’t be shy to share it with people within your local area to get the word out.

 

When you are starting a business, it always helps to start from scratch. Marketers have always engaged in traditional methods such as email marketing and newsletters because they are effective and reliable. Also, remember, it always helps to stay in touch with people from within your own community, so expand your business networks through online communities such as Facebook groups, LinkedIn Groups and Twitter lists…the list truly is endless.

 

 

2. Blog + Podcast = Innovative Marketing!

Blog, blog, blog – you know the drill. Create and curate content that is relevant to your business. Blogging is a great way to talk directly to your customers about your business and show them that you care about your business offerings just as you do about them.

 

Also, engage in podcasts. Stay up to date about your products, about the industry and become a voice on business practices through podcasts and collaborations with other leading voices in the business. This shows that you are invested about your business, its growth and are willing to learn from others within the industry. In the age of innovative marketing, it helps to be in the forefront of things and find newer, creative ways to show that you care. If you are unsure of this, remember what Steve Jobs said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”.

 

 

3. Content Remarketing

Before you brush it off, this is more than just about content being the king. So while most marketers are aware of the importance of a good website with relevant content in it, what is also handy to know is how to use existing content across other social channels to increase views, likes and shares across these channels by adding new image to the old content and re-sharing it across your Instagram channel or your Facebook page.

 

As Napolean Hill once said “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way”, the trick lies in refurbishing old content with creative additions to make it brand spanking new – this is an easy, less time consuming and also a really effective manner to reuse content that previously didn’t get enough leverage, and to make the most of what you already have!

 

 

4. Seeing is Believing – Start Vlogging

Take content marketing to a whole new level by video logging about it. If living in the millennial generation has taught us anything at all, it is that, action really does speak louder than mere words. So get behind or in front of the camera and talk about your products, interact with others in the industry, allow your audience to see the face behind the business.

 

Don’t forget to stay “live” with applications such as Google Hangout and get serious about your business with a bunch of others from within your network. It could be something as simple as making phone videos about “unboxing”, or simply just making informational videos. It’s not uncommon; in fact founder of Moz Blog, Rand Fishkin has successfully mastered the art of incorporating updates about marketing through weekly vlogs.

 

 

5. Paid Online/Facebook Advertising

While every organization, big or small engages in SEO, it is important to stay two steps ahead of everyone in the business by allocating necessary allowances for online advertising which is known to increase company’s brand presence and reach. Expenses can easily go through the roof, so it is mandatory to consider financial loans for marketing in case of small businesses and startups. According to Moz, Facebook advertising costs 0.25 cents for every 1000 impressions.

 

 

Conclusion

Small businesses have big challenges: to be able to attract new customers and stay relevant to the existing ones, while managing costs without having to cut corners; however, digitization and technology has enabled marketers to be able to innovate with appropriate tools and go that extra mile to keep customers happy and bring in more business. New businesses are often confronted with limited budgets, however, with simple and innovative marketing techniques, it is easy to ensure growth of business and your investments.