Three Marketing Tips and Ideas for Small Business Owners

Every business these days needs an eye-popping, responsive website. User experience is key, so a professional, well-designed site that performs well across all platforms goes a long way in marketing your brand. This sounds expensive but need not be if you partner with the right design company.

You can also lower costs by providing outstanding written content.  No one knows your company as well as you do, so write some sizzling information about what sets your service or product apart from the competition.  Not a writer?  No problem. Look for inexpensive writing talent on freelancer websites.

Establish Your Business Across Social Media Networks

Businesses that are not on social media are missing the boat.  Studies show that as of 2016, 78% of the United States population had a social media profile.  That number alone should make you rush to your smartphone, tablet or laptop to starting setting up a social media business page right now.  If you deal with customers outside of the U.S., here is another eye-opening statistic: by 2020, experts expect that a third of the world’s population will be on social networking sites.

On what social media sites should you establish a presence?  Start with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and expand to Pinterest and Instagram if they are appropriate for your business. It costs nothing to set up a page, and the potential rewards are huge. Just make sure that you continue to post new, interesting content and engage with your followers.  These people might very well be your next customers.

Set Up Other Communication Channels

Social media is where it is at these days, but there are other communication channels worth setting up. The goal is to get your small business in front of as many eyeballs as possible.  How?

Set up a YouTube channel about your business. Inexpensive videos are easy to produce, but if you do not have the time or expertise, then you can find low-cost video designers on sites such as Fivver and even Craigslist.

Each video should be about a specific topic and be short, to the point and easy to follow.  Interesting, entertaining or informative videos that solve a problem will draw viewers and best of all subscribers. These subscribers will receive a notice when you post a new video, letting you build your brand and a loyal fan base. Some of these subscribers will become customers.

Start a podcast series. Similar to YouTube videos, podcasts are fairly easy to produce.  You can upload these to Apple’s iTunes and Google Play and get your message in front of millions of potential listeners. As with videos, your podcasts should be interesting and informative so that they build credibility and a loyal following.

Establish an email list. When potential customers come to your website, ask them for their email address by offering them a free newsletter, coupon, e-book, report or other incentive.  Use a clear and concise call to action, such as “Sign Up Now” or “Subscribe Today.”  Use a commercial email service such as Constant Contact or Mail Chimp to collect the email addresses, and then treat them like gold.

Why? Because according to McKinsey and Company, email performs better than any other marketing channel.  Send your subscribers pithy, interesting email notices about upcoming specials, discounts and new products once or twice a month. In time, some of these subscribers will become customers.

Take the Next Step

Need to take your website and company marketing beyond the basics?  Then it is time to work with a professional website development and marketing company. It will create a strategy and implement a plan that will take your business to the next level in today’s highly competitive business environment.