The bitter truth: You need to handle a lot of things by yourself as a small business owner
If you are a small business owner, you likely have to do many things alone. You are usually limited with resources and time. You can’t afford to spend too long doing the wrong thing. Even if you don’t become a pro in a short time, you should be working on the right path and start seeing results as soon as possible.
This article introduces tips for marketing your small business. They are simple and easy to do and will help you increase sales if you implement them.
Introduction to Small Business Marketing
These are the characteristics of a small business:
- Limited resources
- Few Employees
- Limited marketing
You can’t afford to waste time at all. So, you have to focus on affordable or low-budget marketing strategies. Usually, you can focus on social media.
Free and Fast Marketing Ideas
These are some of the strategies you can use. (For more information about them, check out this post: Low-Budget Marketing Ideas)
- Guest posting
- Social media
- Email marketing
- User-generated content
- Podcasting
- SEO Blogging
- YouTube
- Build a community
The truth is, if you execute them well enough, you don’t need too many ideas.
So, what are tips for marketing your small business?
#1. Understand tools/channels before you use them
These include:
Each channel and tool has its own dynamics. For example, what works on Twitter won’t work as effectively as it will do on LinkedIn.
So before you start creating content or hire a content writer, try to understand the platforms. Before downloading an extension, take your time to read reviews, studies, and guides on how to use them.
Since we are discussing tips for marketing your small business, I suggest using at least three from LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
You can find guides about each of them here. How does that platform work? What kind of people are there? What are their interests?
You can learn about some blogging tools for a start.
#2. During communication, write or talk like a friend
Who would you trust with your time and money? Your friend or a stranger?
So when you are writing or selling, present yourself like a friend. It’s time to scrap the “we” and “they” in your copy for “I” or “specific names.”
“We will listen to you” becomes “Ade, our head manager, will listen to you, and he has been doing this for 5 years.”
It’s a lot easier to communicate with a person by not pretending to be a whole organization at a time.
Let’s say you want to enquire about a product. So you sent a mail and got this response:
Hi, Jen
We receive your mail and we are happy to show you some of our best offers at the moment.
Please, check the attached links and pick your choice.
Look at this:
Hi, Jen
I am Bran, a customer care rep at Y. After receiving your email, I was prompted to show you our best offers at the moment.
Check the links below to see them. Please, don’t hesitate to ask me any questions.
Which option is friendlier? Which of them do you feel connected to?
#3. Remember, your buyers hate stress
People are selfish with their time. They hate being sold to, tricked, or sent on meaningless errands.
Also, they hate going through a lot of trouble. They want to buy by using one button. They want to subscribe without any hassle.
Instead of putting your mail into the sales letter, why not use a contact form? Make it easier for them.
Instead of asking them to go to your DM before telling them prices, why not direct them to a page showing the prices of all their options? Then, with one click on the price, they can purchase without stress.
People don’t want to have too much trouble for anything (especially if that involves giving out their money). They’re distracted by many things every damn time, from emails to pop-ups to social media. So you have to make their options easy.
#4. How to promote your business on Social Media: Give quality things and expect nothing attention
Blogging is a lot different from social media.
On social media, the attention is fickle. You are just a stroll away from being distracted. You are a click away from checking a profile that has to do with selling toys to the one that is dedicated to porn.
So you have to fight for attention. You have to offer many valuable things for people’s attention to stand out. That’s why giveaways are always trending, and people follow those who give them free things.
Write this down if you have to: My customer attention is the biggest gift on social media. Earn it and keep it.
So how do you do that?
#5. Don’t sell. Instead, help, teach, or entertain.
They hate being sold to, but they love free stuff and being entertained. They love to stay in beautiful environments where they can listen or speak freely.
Give them free stuff that they want, and you will have them in your corner.
Entertain your buyers. They will like you.
Later, and I mean 10% of the time, tell them about your product.
Your buyers will remember you when they need your service.
#6. Know your audience
The first step when marketing your small business is: Know your audience.
It should have come first in the post, but I don’t think you will understand them enough until you start creating content for them. You will learn more about your buyers when your content starts generating sales.
Understand who you want to sell to before posting, sharing, or selling anything.
Who are these people? Can you feature them in your advertisements, posts, or content?
As a simple exercise, you can do keyword research, check online communities, or use tools like Google Trends or Analytics.
Look at this ad for noodles:
I bet you remember it.
Watch the video again. Now answer these questions: who are the people who like noodles the most?
What do they want?
The answers are “kids” and “poems.” Those things are in the ads.
Can you do that?
Of course, you can if you pay attention to your buyer’s interest. Who are they? Talk to them. Find out where they are hanging out. Eavesdrop on them. Then, give them what they want to hear, and they will listen to what you want to sell.
#7. Get attention
Get that attention.
That’s why people still argue that using sexual images will enhance sales.
Steamy content does get attention, depending on your target audience, but are your targets perverts or horny?
Remember these tips for marketing your small business. The one who gets the most attention has the upper hand to win. However, bad publicity will not give you sales or build a reputation that sells products.
The other factors that can make sales impossible are
- If they don’t like you or your product, point 4 and 5
- If they can’t proceed to buy without hassle, make it easy — point 3
- And if you are not getting attention from the right people who can purchase, know your audience — point 5
The last point is when you target the wrong person because you don’t “know thy audience/buyer.”.
What to focus on when trying to get attention
- Titles / first line
- Cover images
- Controversial topics (this will lead to lots of discussions, but be careful, so you don’t attract backlash instead of sales)
#8. If all else fails, entertain, engage, or give.
“This is so delightful to watch” is not a mere compliment. That’s another way of saying, I love this so much and can give you my money if you want to sell something helpful.
You can plug in what you sell once people start coming to you.
Another typical example is bringing industry experts to talk about your products. Let people ask questions and give them answers that solve their problems.
Of course, this strategy will not work if “the answer” is what you are selling in the first place. Think about people who offer consultation services.
But you can still apply this idea and talk about something that interests or engages your audience. Choose something slightly related to your industry.
#9. Learn from what worked in the past
Learn from your predecessors and competitors. You can learn from any online marketing strategies that work, even if used ages ago.
You can do the following:
- Keyword research
- Studying or analyzing your competitor’s best-performing content
- Reading books
So, find the template, learn from it, and think of how to apply it in today’s world. Afterwards, check the results and iterate.
If you need ideas for copywriting, you can check some swap files on the internet.
#10. Use tools
Data and tools are available for use.
Get them and use them to drive results faster.
Some of the tools come with free or paid plans. So choose the options you can afford.
Some tools that can help understand what buyers appreciate or what they are looking for
- Buzzsumo
- Google trend
- SEMrush
- Moz
For creating online marketing content
- Canva
- Buffer
- Google charts
- iMeme
- Adobe Spark
#11. Improve and repeat what works.
Online marketing is a continuous and strategic game. It’s like casting nets into the sea. Of course, many fish are in the river, but throwing the net at the right time, place, and tools is all important.
Sometimes, you get extremely lucky. You’ll often get sales because you follow principles that have worked consistently.
These Are the Best Tips for Marketing Your Small Business
It’s not all you need, but it’s important to understand them to get results as soon as possible.
Further readings:
- 15 Real Ways to Make Extra Cash From Home or Online
- Content Writing for New Businesses: An introduction to Writing that sells