As a small business, getting your name out there is the only way you’re going to grow. Marketing allows you to build a consumer base, establish brand recognition, and ultimately sell more of your products or services.
There are many ways to market your business in the 21st century; here are just seven.
Social Media
The average social media user in the UK now spends almost 2 hours on social media every day, making these platforms a valuable place for advertising your business. To get it right, evaluate which platforms will be most important for your brand and define your marketing goals–do you want to promote brand awareness or increase product sales?
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can also be a lucrative way of addressing your target audience. Influencers–social media users with a large following–are now found in all industries, though they’re perhaps best known for being aligned with the beauty, fashion, and food industries. With influencer marketing, you can directly communicate with people who are likely to buy your product, increasing the chances of sales.
SEO
Another vital element to business marketing in 2022 is search engine optimisation (SEO). Optimising your website with valuable keywords can increase your standings in search engine results, driving more people to your business. Creating high-quality, optimised content like blogs will also improve your company’s reputation.
Email Marketing
Email marketing can be tricky–the average email open rate is only 17%. However, if you can build a loyal brand base, it can also be a valuable way of communicating with your customers. It’s also highly cost-effective and can significantly drive sales when used alongside other campaigns.
Pay Per Click Ads
Many companies now use Google Ads to market their business, and the payoff can be immense. With pay-per-click ads on Google, you only pay when a user actually visits your link, making it a valuable way to target specific customer groups or test specific campaigns.
PR
Media coverage can be advantageous for small companies, especially those that haven’t built a large consumer base yet. If you’re launching an innovative product, have an exciting collaboration in the works, or just want to shout about a subject important to your business, PR is the way to get your company in the pages of the newspaper or on local news channels.
Local Advertising
Even in a world where almost everything is online, real-life, local advertising still has its benefits. This doesn’t have to mean old-school doorstep mailing; instead, target local events where you can share your expertise and network with others. For example, you could speak at small business meetings and industry conferences or work with not-for-profit organisations.
Our Advice
Marketing is crucial for businesses, and there are plenty of ways to go about it. However, you don’t have to try every one of these seven methods; we’d discourage that.
The key to successful marketing is knowing your business goals and audience and choosing the most effective marketing methods accordingly. For many brands, this could mean solely focusing on social media and email marketing. For others, local brand awareness is more important.
It might take time, but realising what’s most effective for your business will lead to more success later.
