3 Essential Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Small business entrepreneurs place a great amount of value in how they spend their time, resources and investments. It is not secret that they want to maximize every opportunity and this is especially true when it comes to their marketing strategy.
These 3 top recommendations for a developing a success marketing strategy a small business should be considered as they look to drive in revenue, expand, and reach their desired customers.
#1 – Align the marketing strategy with your business objective
Most entrepreneurs and CMO’s alike just want to get started and start talking about which social media campaign they should be investing in. Rather, the initial talking point needs to be about how does the marketing strategy going to support the business objective.
By having a clearly defined business objective, you will become laser focused on what you are trying to achieve. The right digital marketing tools will give provide the data insights, enable development of relevant content maximizing both your time and marketing investment.
#2 – Build a Website
Today’s consumers are heavily involved within the digital landscape. In fact, here are some quick facts you should think about:
• 93% of website traffic are driven by search engines
• 40% of consumers are searching for local businesses or service with intent to purchase within one day.
• 29% of small businesses plan to use a website for the first time in 2020.
So, by not having a website you are potentially missing out on a tremendous revenue opportunity. In addition, consumers want to learn more about the companies they are buying from. They want to know if the product they are considering have rating and reviews, is it local, and what does the company stand for?
This is the perfect opportunity not only to give your company a voice but allow customers to start the digital exploration with you anytime and anywhere.
Website Hosting
Before you get started thinking about building a website from scratch you need to determine where you will host your website. A website host is essentially giving your website a home on the web. There are plenty of options for both free and paid website hosting. Some popular free platforms include WIX, WordPress and Tumblr.
However, it is strongly recommend going with a paid website hosting option and here is why.
Free website hosting option:
• Not your own website extension – i.e. www.companya.wix.com vs www.companya.com
• Limited Functionality
• Minimal Customization or Few Templates
• Not 100% Site Ownership – The platform could shut down their free services anytime and you could lose your web property.
Paid website hosting option:
• You own your website extension i.e. www.companya.com
• Full Functionality and Customization with access to a ton of templates
• 100% Site Ownership
• Very affordable for single websites
• Access to great customer support for technical questions
By having a website, you will deliver tremendous advantages so consumers can find you. Working with online keyword tools, you can optimize your SEO to have your website being found on page 1. This may take a few months but a Paid SEM strategy can get you there tomorrow depending on your marketing budget.
The key takeaway is that the website gives both your brand a voice your customer wants to hear. The customer wants to not only understand what you sell but what you are about. This is a perfect opportunity to guide the conversation and win over prospective customers.
#3 – Building A Video Marketing Strategy
Getting started now on building a video marketing strategy would be a wise investment of both your time and money. Why?
Here are 3 quick reasons why you should consider producing video content:
1. By 2022, 82% of online traffic will be dominated by videos. This means that both current and future consumers will more than likely going to want to see your product or service in action rather than read about it.
2. Improves your SEO ranking. There is a complex algorithm in the way search engines like Google evaluate which websites are listed on page 1. Usually this takes months to achieve. However, having video content on your website is a critical element that will accelerate your organic progress to page one.
3. Demo or DIY Videos are in high demand. 90% of people are looking up “DIY” videos on YouTube. Again, why wouldn’t you want to creating a positive experience on how your product or service best will meet you’re the needs of your target customer. You can control the conversation and could be a leader in this respective space.
Starting to develop video content is not as difficult or expensive as it may seem.
There are many affordable options for video applications you can leverage to help create high quality video content so you can get started right away.
It is recommended trying out some of the free video applications first to see which are suited to your experience level. Also, remember to invest in some basic video accessories based on your budget. These items could include a smartphone tri-pod or a clip-on microphone for better sound quality as well as basic lighting accessories.
Additionally, “free” video applications can be limiting or even have a mandatory watermark on the videos you produce. The one time or monthly fees are very reasonable. Some are as low as under $20 a month.
Bottom line: Building video content will become essential for your business but don’t think you can’t afford it.
Summary
As a small business owner looking to grow your time and resources are extremely valuable. The follow three recommendations will help you grow and expand your target marketing.
1. Integrate your marketing strategy with the business objective
2. Make sure you have a website for your business…seriously this is a must have
3. Invest in developing video marketing
I hope you this will help you achieve the results you always desired.