Small business owners are always searching for ways to attract new customers, improve their marketing efforts and increase activity on their site. There are hundreds of articles out there with tips and advice on how to grow your business. While many of these offer you good advice, there is also a lot of clutter that can throw you off your marketing game. To help you avoid the clutter and prioritize these valuable small business marketing tips, here is a list of what we consider to be the top seven small business marketing ideas.
Automate Your Marketing
Marketing automation (MA) is the practice of using software to automate marketing tasks, streamline lead management, and help you create evergreen campaigns. The premise is simple: MA allows you to streamline your marketing processes by automating some or all of the steps required to nurture leads. That frees you up to focus on other areas of your business, while also allowing you to nurture leads and customers over a longer period of time.
Boost Social Media Content
For many businesses, social media is a critical tool for engagement with followers. There are many ways to use social media to connect with your followers, from interacting with them on Twitter or sharing videos on Facebook to creating Instagram contests. However, the algorithms that determine how posts are displayed in followers’ feeds are constantly changing—and the changes can make it harder for businesses to rise above the noise in their followers’ feeds. Boosted posts or paid advertisements can help businesses achieve higher visibility and increase engagement.
Content Marketing
It's no secret that content marketing is a powerful tool. Content marketing allows you to connect with potential customers, develop trust and prove your business' expertise in your niche. But what happens when it's time to turn the tables and talk about your own business? The key to any good marketing content is providing value to your audience. Your content should help people learn about or understand something that has to do with your business. This information can be educational or entertaining, but it should always be helpful.
Know Your Audience
When you are writing your marketing copy, it is important to come from the perspective of the person you are trying to reach. This is called knowing your audience. When you know your audience, you can better tailor your message to appeal to them. Do they like to read or listen? Do they prefer social media or are they more traditionalists? How old are they? What are their income levels, interests and hobbies? Once you know all of that, it becomes easier to reach out to them. If you know your audience well, then you will be able to use the methods of communication that are most effective for them.
Monitor Reviews
Monitoring reviews of your business can help you identify and fix problems, manage your reputation and grow your business. You can't control what your customers say about you online, but you can take steps to make sure it's positive. Yelp is one of the most popular sites for online reviews, and it's free. You'll also find reviews on other sites like TripAdvisor, and Google. Business owners can register for an account to respond to reviews, ask questions and post photos of their products or services.
Routine Data Cleaning
Data cleaning can be a tedious and time-consuming task, but it should never be neglected. In fact, the more you neglect it, the worse your data will get. Treating data like an afterthought can lead to bad decisions that hurt your business. It’s very possible that, if you have been neglecting data cleaning for a while, your database has a combination of mistakes, outdated information, and duplicates that could be costing you money and impeding future marketing efforts. Schedule time once a month or once every quarter to comb through your data and make sure everything is current and accurate.
Video Content Creation
Video content is great for marketing because it's highly engaging. People like to watch videos. It's also easy to share videos on social media and other channels, which helps your brand's reach grow. Video marketing can drive traffic back to your website, improve your search engine rankings and increase conversions. It's important to keep in mind that the quality of your video will help determine how effective it is for marketing. The more professional you make it, the more attractive it will be to your audience. If you have the resources, you should invest in a high-quality camera, lighting and editing software. However, there are also plenty of free video tools that can help you make a video.
These seven ways to attract customers to your small business should help you create a larger customer base that is more receptive to your brand. Now it’s time for you to put these methods into action. Don’t waste any more time. This could be your big break!