Marketing for small businesses and startups is challenging because of the lack of manpower and budget generally associated with big corporations. However, times have changed; small businesses can now find a variety of marketing tactics to stay competitive.

The digital world is not as expensive as traditional forms of business promotion which means small-business owners can take their startup to success with the right use of technology and creativity.

In this post, let us take a look at a few small business marketing ideas that should help you grow your brand in size as well as reputation.

1. Build An SEO-Friendly Website

One of the first things any new business should prioritize is creating a website where people can learn about the products and offerings.

If you have built a website that is optimized for search engines, you have already made a great start. Driving organic leads to your website should be the first thing you do before investing in other marketing techniques.

Here are some tips that should help you:

• Create high-quality content on the currently trending topics in your niche
• Carry out keyword research before creating content for your site
• Include primary keywords in your titles, landing pages, meta descriptions
• Focus on long-tail keywords
• Use structured data to get a higher ranking on search engines and differentiate your listing from others
• Don’t ignore the importance of design elements and page load speeds

While a lot goes into creating an SEO-friendly site, these tips can help you get started in the right direction.

2. Dictate Your Brand Story

Any business benefits from forming a personal connection with the target audience and building a brand image. Telling a brand story is an effective way to do this.

Brands that tell a story about how they came about emerge as more authentic and memorable for the audiences and create lasting impressions.

Most successful businesses have a dedicated page on their website to showcase their brand story. So, if you want visitors to remember your brand, don’t ignore the power of storytelling.

3. Leverage The Power of Social Media

One of the most affordable marketing methods for small businesses is social media. In fact, social media marketing is the secret behind the success of any small business.

Find out what platforms suit your brand and products the best and create business accounts to engage audiences and spread your brand message for free.

Here are some tips for getting started with social media marketing:

• Build a presence on platforms that your target customers use
• Post content regularly
• Use eye-catching visuals to attract more people
• Establish a brand authority
• Use relevant hashtags to improve visibility
• Add your website link in your bios

Social media marketing is a wide area. Start from the basics the platform offers and keep experimenting with new tactics as your brand grows.

4. Embrace Video Marketing

Video content engages audiences in a way other types of content don’t do. As a business, one of your primary goals is to connect with the audience. Remember, however, that you don’t need an extensive budget for video marketing to benefit your small business.

You can use a simple online video ad maker to create or repurpose your videos to make them stand out when users scroll through their feeds.

Videos can boost your efforts at every stage of your sales funnel from brand awareness and product promotion to conversions and support.

Live streaming is the latest trend in video marketing that allows you to stream a video in real-time to your audience to keep your target customers engaged and updated.

5. Advertise Locally

While small businesses and startups don’t have the same reach as the major brands, they can leverage local advertising to see similar results.

Take advantage of ad opportunities on platforms like Facebook and Instagram for a cost-effective way to target the most relevant audiences. Here is how you can benefit from local SEO:

• Claim your listing on Google My Business
• Include location-based keywords in social profiles, title tags, articles, and descriptions
• Register with online directories and build citations
• Use schema.org

Apart from these, you can increase your local visibility by hosting events, sponsoring teams, and attending events.

6. Create & Use eMail Lists

Email marketing is one of the most rewarding marketing techniques for any business and small businesses are no exception.

To build a list of subscribers, consider running contests or giveaways that require email for entry or creating premium content pieces that take email addresses for access.

Send a newsletter to your subscribers on a regular interval to deliver meaningful content such as special offers and deals, tips and tricks, industry news, or testimonials while promoting your products and services. 

7. Use Guest Posting Opportunities

Guest posting is an excellent way to establish brand authority and increase reach. Look for opportunities to post on authoritative sites having a good following.

This will expose you to a much larger audience and increase traffic to your website if you have linked your site in the content.

Overall, this strategy gives you a chance to get a much bigger return. To get started, look for the best places to post.

There are several blogs readily accepting guest posts to make it easy to approach groups of people looking for what you offer.

8. Host A Contest Or Giveaway

Most people like to win contests and receive things for free, particularly when participation is easy.

You can try hosting a giveaway on Instagram where participants should follow your account, tag their friends, and share your post on their stories to get a chance to win.

Remember to choose a reward that suits your brand. This will help you spark interest in your products and brand while increasing your followers and reach.

Final Thoughts

If you own a small business or startup, these tactics should help you achieve your marketing goals.

These are tried-and-tested techniques that provide you with the push you need to get your marketing game right, particularly when you are starting out in this competitive landscape.

The number of ways to market small businesses is only limited by your creativity. Use innovation and creative ideas to make the most out of small business marketing.