7 Ways to Start Marketing Your Small Business TODAY

No matter which industry you’re in, there are bound to be competitors vying for customer attention. With new businesses and competition cropping up every day, you need to start marketing if you intend to build your business. If you want attention and recognition from your targeted demographic, you need to market heavily and market well.

But sometimes small business owners are reluctant to venture into the world of marketing. Modern marketing techniques are quite intimidating and can confuse people who are not familiar with them. There are so many options to choose from, so where can you start? Here are seven ways for you to start marketing today:

1. Have an Awesome Website

The first impression is the most important impression, especially in the world of the internet. If your website is slow to load, doesn’t have the right content, the right structure, or design, it’s very likely that your prospective customers would immediately turn away. You have just a few seconds to capture the prospective customer’s attention on the web. If you can’t achieve that, your marketing campaign won’t be very successful.

A website will play a vital role in making a good first impression. You need to ensure that it’s well-designed, has good structure, and is user friendly. Your visitors should be able to access information easily. Your website looks and design should also promote your brand image. We see your website as the hub for all your marketing efforts, which is why this should be your first step to start marketing.

2. Build a Social Media Following

Social media is very influential. It allows you to connect and interact with your audience. You can engage your customers by asking for feedback, announcing special sales and events, and keep them informed about your company. The idea is to ensure that your business and products are always at the forefront of their minds.

By building a social media following, you’re expanding your reach and engaging new customers. For every new follower, you get access to a number of connections. This growth can be exponential, helping your business grow by leaps and bounds. By building a following, you improve your overall reputation and visibility and that will help your business.

3. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC ads are the fastest ways to bring traffic to your website. You’ll actually start seeing increased traffic in a matter of hours, not weeks. You can consider PPC ads as a very effective shortcut to building awareness of your company. It will help you establish a reputation quickly and get your company name out there. It’s a great tool for newly established businesses that don’t have any reputation to work with.

PPC will be your introduction card and make your prospective customers aware of your presence. Your ad spend can be tailored to exactly how much you want to budget for: often less than a few hundred dollars per month (with the option of ratcheting it up once you see an effective ROI.) You want to get good return on investment on your campaigns, after all. Efficient reporting and optimization will ensure you’re targeting the right people and your campaign is effective.

4. Content Marketing/Blogging

Small business owners often underestimate the power of blogging and content. They don’t realize just how important it is to establish their authority in the industry and get the right results. There are several ways in which content can help your business.

• You can include keywords related to your products and services into your content. This would drive organic traffic to your website.
• Good quality content will help you establish your authority and reputation. When your prospective customers read the content, they’ll know you have knowledge of the industry and provide reputable products or services.
• Content will also help you get quality backlinks from high-authority websites and publications. Backlinks are an important part of SEO. They will drive organic traffic and improve your reputation.
• Good content will also help improve your rankings in the search engine results pages.

Of course, the content needs to be well-researched and well-written to be effective. If you just write an article and stuff it with keywords, sophisticated search algorithms will pick that up. Your content needs to be relevant to the search terms and the information needs to be as accurate as you can make it.

5. Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing is effective, but not easy to implement. You need to print or create promotional materials like sales booklets, pamphlets, newsletters, etc, and directly mail it to the address of your prospective customers. It’s a good way to increase your visibility, but it’s a slightly cumbersome process (especially with the post office.)

To pull it off you need to plan the content, order prints, source addresses, and physically mail them. Most small business owners don’t have the time or the resources to take all these steps successfully, let alone the budget to make it effective. But for those with the time and money, direct mail could be a good option.

6. Cold Calling

This is an old-fashioned and fairly intrusive technique. You can directly call clients and try to persuade them to buy your products. In some cases, this technique is effective. However, more often than not, you’ll just frustrate your prospective customer. Cold calling is disruptive and will take up your customer’s valuable time.

Naturally, they won’t appreciate it. In fact, some of your customers might actually request that you take them off your calling list. You don’t want to alienate potential customers. It’s a good idea to engage in subtler techniques before attempting to use this one.

7. Physical Signage

This is probably the oldest form of marketing. You place signs or stickers on visible areas and hope that your prospective customers might see it. If your sign manages to catch the attention of the prospective customer, there’s a chance they could become a customer. However, the scope and effectiveness of this marketing technique is very limited. After all, it’s only visible to people who pass by the signage.

Conclusion

These steps will help you establish a reputation and gain the attention of your prospects. If you want to start marketing and promoting your business, please contact us for a free consultation or check our website for the range of services we have to offer.