Mickie E Kennedy October 7, 2020 
If you own a small business, you need to tell people what you do and why they should be your customer. The best way to do that is through small business marketing.
Marketing your small business doesn’t need to be expensive. For a small investment in your time, you can boost your business.
Most small businesses use social media and email marketing to help drive interest in their brand. But what other tactics can you use that will push your small business beyond the competition.
Well, fortunately, we’re in the business of increasing visibility for your small business so we know what works. Read on to learn about seven innovative ways to engage in small business marketing.
1. Define and Share Your Message
For small businesses, it’s important to know what your own message is and share it with your audience. Small business marketing relies on a defined brand and making sure people understand it.
Whatever your small business, having a message that you can convey to your potential customers that they can easily understand means you’ll have more success.
How you tell the story of your brand is important. You want an authentic story. This makes it easier for your consumers to connect and engage with your product or service.
Make your brand story something people can remember. This will mean they are more likely to think of you and your small business when they need a service you provide.
2. Engage With Your Community
Small businesses are integral parts of the local community. Engaging with that community is a crucial part of small business marketing. If you are active in your community, your small business will thrive.
Get involved with local projects that tie to your brand and message. Support local not-for-profit organizations. Talk to business leaders and community leaders to help spread the word about your business.
Your community also extends past the geographic area. It also includes other businesses involved in your sector. For example, if you are a resource for media covering what your small business does, help them out with information and stories.
3. Do the Analysis
Analyzing your small business marketing is something you should do on a regular basis. Not doing this means you may continue to invest in marketing efforts that don’t represent a good use of your time and money.
Use Google Analytics and other services to see how you are doing. Check open rates and click-through rates on your emails. Look at the engagement and ROI you are getting on your social media and email campaigns.
Ask people for feedback so that you can adjust what you are doing. Change the message a bit to take advantage of search terms. Spend more time and money on the platforms that get the most engagement.
4. Use Video
Video is increasingly the preferred way for people to find out about small businesses. Your customers want to find out about you and your products in an easy way. Videos offer just that.
Video is a proven tactic to get people to click on your content. When they open a video you have their attention. They’re more likely to follow through on their initial interest if you include a video.
As with the brand story earlier, make sure your video is authentic. Keep the videos short and relevant.
You’ll lose customer interest quickly if your videos feel too like a sales tool. Show them the personal side of what you do. Use videos to share expertise and ideas that your customers can take advantage of.
5. Make Sure Your Website Is up to Speed
Your website is one of the most important parts of small business marketing. First of all, make sure you have a website. Relying only on a Facebook page will lose customers.
Keep your website up to date. Make sure you post new content regularly. If something changes about your company, put this on the website so that people aren’t finding services or products that you no longer offer.
Invest in SEO, or search engine optimization. Including keywords and search terms that people might use to find your small business will increase traffic and discoverability.
Without an optimized website, your small business will likely come up too far down on Google search results for your potential customers to find you.
6. Invest in Social Media
Most small businesses don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing. But most do have time as a resource they can spend. That’s where social media comes in.
Social media marketing is effective and cheap. It is a great way to share what you are doing. It allows you to be a part of your local community and your industry community.
For an effective social media strategy, you need to know what platforms your audience uses. It’s no good having a great TikTok presence if your primary customer base is only on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Do your research so that you know where you’re most likely to find your customers on social media. Then leverage your brand story and voice so that you have an authentic and engaging presence.
Post content regularly. Use relevant hashtags to make sure you find your audience. Use your social media to push people to your website.
7. Never Stop Learning
Education is one of the key ways a small business can improve its marketing. You need to stay on top of changes and trends in your business sector but also in how you market your services.
There are lots of free online resources that you can use to educate yourself. Sign up for marketing newsletters. Follow small business marketing gurus on social media.
Read articles about the latest changes in best practices for marketing. Investing in yourself will pay back in your marketing efforts.
Small Business Marketing Will Help Your Business Thrive
If you own a small business, investing in your small business marketing efforts will pay off. Don’t expect people to just show up and start spending money on your business. Use marketing to bring them to you.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but you do have to be willing to spend your time. Be a part of your community. Talk to people through every medium you can.
Do your research. Learn new things. Give people a reason to care enough to spend their money with you.
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