As I learned with my first lemonade stand, you have to spend money to earn money. Online marketing is the same way—if you want to make a positive impact, you are going to have to spend some of your budget on paid search ads, display ads, social ads, etc. It can be intimidating. Especially when your head is spinning with questions; how to get started, how much it costs, how to know if Facebook Ads or AdWords even work. Whether you tackle this yourself or hire someone else to help, it can be so worth it!
Why do I need to pay for Facebook Ads, you ask? Due to some Facebook trickery, unpaid views on Facebook posts may be as low as 1% of your audience.
As the most widely used search engine, Google has a surplus of offerings that can help your small business. As part of an initiative that started in 2015, Google ran Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map in order to get local businesses online. According to BCG Report, The Connected World, businesses that have an online presence grow 40% faster than those that don’t. If you missed the boat, now is time to hop on the bandwagon!
By creating a Google My Business account, you can take control of the information about your business, such as hours of operation, address, phone number and website. Now, with the new local search ads, your business can appear on the Google Maps app or website.
Tips to try now:
• Get a Google My Business account.
• Google your business—check out the information already there, see what you can do to improve it.
#4: Champion One Social Channel
I’ll be the first to admit, social media is hard and irritating. Especially when you are trying to juggle Facebook and LinkedIn and Instagram and Pinterest and Google+ and Twitter. It’s hard to tell if it even works at all! Having a presence across channels is great, but I’ve found it is more effective to choose one channel that your customers are most present on to pursue.
Whether you have just started a small consulting business, run a local consignment shop, or opened a café, you are constantly looking for ways to attract business without breaking the bank. Here are my best strategies, digital and off-line, to market your business while ultimately saving you money!
#5: Email Marketing
When you’re a small business, email marketing is a perfect opportunity to establish loyalty. If your customers and prospects are handing over email addresses, it opens the door to send out sale or event notifications. If sales and events aren’t really your speed, think about sending a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter. People are more likely to be loyal and engage with a business that shows its humanity; take the time to announce new employees, an award or even big family events; i.e. “If you are wondering why our fabulous designer Joanne has been MIA, it is because she just became a mom! Look at this beautiful cherub (insert baby picture here). She will be back in action next week, come by to congratulate her!”.
#6: Publish a Blog
Blogging is not only fun (think of all the time you can now justify spending on memes), it can be hugely useful for exposure and branding. Your company blog is where you should demonstrate to potential customers and fans that you’re an expert in your field and are dependent upon for guidance and advice.
You can also utilize this platform to brag! Anything from award announcements, project completions, hitting big milestones or preaching about your business savvy is fair game here.
Tips to try now:
Quality over quantity but consistency is important. Commit to publishing a new blog post at least once per week.
Check out Drizly for tips and examples of great blog posts tailored to their industry.
Make sure you’re optimizing for SEO so people can find your blog content.
Stand out from the crowd. Be a unicorn in a herd of donkeys. Be original and quirky and uniquely represent your business through advertising and marketing. Show everyone not only why your business is awesome, but why it is head-and-shoulders above everyone else.
Reach us to make your site stand out from crowd and be original,
contact us now.
