23 Feb Marketing Tips for Small Business Success
The new year is a great time to think about your small business’s marketing strategy. It’s a time for reflection, celebration of the previous year’s successes, and planning for the upcoming year and beyond. Take a moment and think hard about what has worked and what did not work over the past year. Whether you’ve been in business for just a few months or 20 years, there’s always room for improvement…and Prime Storage Commercial is here to help. We’ve compiled some great (and budget-friendly) marketing ideas for small business owners so that you can reach more potential customers and grow and scale your business.
Drip campaigns are a great way to turn leads into customers.
Drip campaigns are email sequences that are sent automatically when triggered by a pre-selected action of your choosing. For example, a series of emails that you send out after someone purchases a product – a week after their purchase an email with a promo code for their next purchase, 2 weeks after their purchase an email asking them for a review, 3 weeks after their purchase an email featuring a new product they may want to consider purchasing. Drip campaigns are fully automated so all you have to do is set them up on the back end, which is easier than you might think. There are tons of marketing tools out there that offer automation services and can guide you through the process of creating the series of emails for your drip campaign – take a look at AWeber and Pabbly.
Blogging is a great way to show your value.
Blogs are wonderful content marketing tools that allow you to position yourself as knowledgeable and trustworthy in your industry. According to a study by HubSpot, businesses that blog get 126% more monthly leads than those without a blog writing process. Make a list of topics you think potential customers would be interested in reading about and decide on a blogging schedule – we recommend at least 2 posts a month. Be sure to use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics when creating your blog and writing your posts. Do your keyword research, use both internal and external links in your posts, and research what your competitors are doing. If you need some help getting started, check out Semrush. They have tools to help with SEO, content marketing, competitor research, social media marketing, and more.
Video is king!
More than 80% of traffic online is video traffic, so if you want to reach consumers online you need to be producing video content. Not to mention that social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are all focused on video. And before you go off thinking you need to hire a professional and spend thousands of dollars to produce video content, all you need is your cell phone and a tripod. If you have the resources to allocate to professional video production, there is value in that, but if you are a low-budget one-man shop, don’t let that deter you from creating videos to share online. Need some ideas to get started? Do a behind-the-scenes or day-in-the-life featuring your business, interview a recent customer, demo a product, pack up an order live, or show off the community in which your business is located. Happy filming!
Being on social media is a must.
In the digital age we are living in, being on social media is an absolute must for your small business. With 72% of U.S. adults regularly using social media, it helps drive conversations, build brand awareness, and form relationships with customers. You should be posting regularly, responding to comments and direct messages, sharing posts that you are tagged in, and joining in on relevant trends. Not sure what to post on social media? Pose a question to your followers, host a giveaway to reach new audiences, share customer reviews, celebrate your achievements, and don’t be afraid to add some humor to your posts.
Consider creating a customer referral program.
Customer referral programs are a great way for small businesses to create a loyal customer base. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers said they trust word-of-mouth, or recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. That means that direct referrals can help you get high-quality leads. Consider incentivizing your customers with a gift card or special discount if they refer a customer to you. And don’t wait for clients to refer you on their own! Use email and social media to communicate a request for referral within a day or two after a client makes a purchase.
Don’t sleep on influencer marketing.
Social media influencers hold the title of influencer for a reason – they have developed a large following/audience that trusts their recommendations. If you can get an influencer on board with your product or service, it’s pretty much a guarantee that they will get members of their following to try it out. Oftentimes brands will offer a discount code to an influencer for their followers to use as well – just another way to introduce your business to new customers. You can find influencers in your niche on your own by searching through social platforms or by using free online tools such as Influence.co. Influence.co allows you to search for influencers by category, the number of Instagram followers, Facebook page likes, average monthly visitors, and more.
Texting is a great way to improve ROI.
Consider contracting with a business text messaging platform to reach your customer base. It’s fairly affordable at around $.01 – $.05 per text and a great way to communicate with your customers. It also has a higher average open rate than any other channel at 98%. You can text details about an upcoming sale, invite customers to an event, say Happy Birthday (and perhaps offer a birthday discount code), send a shipping confirmation, and more – the possibilities are endless!
Budget for paid ads.
You should set aside some money in your annual budget for paid advertising. Most digital advertising platforms like Google and Yelp offer tools to help you reach the right audience. With these very targeted online ads, your dollars go towards reaching those who fall under your target audience. You can target based on things like interests, demographics, location, and keywords, and set your budget. The most common types of paid ads are pay-per-click or PPC, where you don’t pay upfront, but pay when someone connects with the ad or “clicks”. The most common types of PPC ads include search ads, social media ads, display ads, Google shopping ads, and re-targeted ads.
Now that you have some answers on how to grow your small business with marketing, it’s time to think about office space. If you are looking for a new office space to lease for your business, check out Prime Storage Commercial’s office listings. With various options from small single rooms to large office suites and standalone buildings, Prime has spaces available to meet your needs.