Five Ways to Market Your Business

There are several obstacles that small businesses face when it comes to marketing, budget and information overload are two things that come to mind.

Many small businesses when just starting do not have the marketing budget to hire a firm for several thousand dollars a month to market the business. There are many of you out there who are bootstrapping it as we speak!

The other thing that I see frequently with businesses is a complete overload of information about who, what, and when they should be marketing. Someone tells you to write an e-book and sell it or that you need to start a podcast. Even, though these are both great ways to market your business, let us get even simpler. Let us talk about some ways you can start marketing your business that is budget-friendly, easy, and will not take up all your time.

Tell Friends and Family

Let me preface this by saying, you should not expect your friends or family to be your biggest source of business. The reason you should tell them about your business is simple. Most times they are your biggest cheerleaders and want to see you succeed, so even though they may never be an actual customer or client they will likely help you spread the word about your business.

A couple of tips here. Tell them about your business, do not bombard them with a Facebook page or group invites unless you think they would be interested. Even then it is best to make sure that your audience is engaged and adding friends or family to your social media platforms can hurt engagement.

Get on Social Media

You need to be where the people are and that is on social media my friends. According to Backlinko, in 2020 the user base for social media was 3.81 billion! That is almost half the world’s population! Even if you are not trying to reach a worldwide market, utilizing social media to build your brand and connect with your local market is a wise choice. Starting you can even use social media organically to grow. Which is just a marketing term meaning you are not paying for ads.

Things to know before diving into social media.

• Do a little bit of market research, figure out what platforms your competition is using and determine if that is a good fit for your business. You do not need to be on every platform right out of the gate. This tends to cause a lot of overwhelm and burnout when you run your social media.

• Understand your target market, this will help you create content that resonates with them.

• Content should provide value to their lives. Do not contribute to the noise. Great ideas for content are informational pieces, inspirational, business-related high-quality posts that are share-worthy. Do not forget to sprinkle in a little business promotion.

Email Marketing

You have probably heard that you need a freebie, opt-in, gift, etc. for your customers and clients. This is marketing talk for start that email list! This doesn’t need to be complicated, think of something that you get asked over and over again in your business and turn that into an easy download for website visitors.

In addition to social media, email is a great way to stay in contact with people interested in your business as well as past customers. As soon as you start marketing on social media you should also have an email list set up. You can do that with many free platforms like Mailerlite, Mailchimp, and more.

As you build this list be sure to send out emails that are full of value.

Think about what people do with junk mail…they throw it away. Email is no different if you send out junk emails people will unsubscribe. Keep them engaged.

Google My Business

Did you know you can set up a Google My Business account? Well, you do now! This is a platform by Google where you can set up a business profile that includes things like services, blog posts, maps, etc. There is so much that I can’t even cover in this blog. But I highly recommend heading over to www.google.com/business and get your account set up. You do not even have to be a brick-and-mortar business to set up an account.

When someone Google’s your business, your Google My Business profile will show up for them. This is a perfect way of giving them some extra information about your business before they even land on your website.

Business Networking

There are many ways you can network with other businesses both in-person and online. If your business is local, consider joining the local Chamber of Commerce is a place where you will meet with other business owners and network. Often, members will refer potential clients and customers to each other’s businesses. Many organizations meet for business networking so check out your local area and find one that fits your needs.

Networking online has become a great way to meet potential clients and customers. You can connect with potential clients and customers as well as, meet other business owners and start a referral system. Some great places to network are Facebook groups and LinkedIn.

Start A Blog

 Assuming you have a website for your business, and you should. Consider writing a blog. This is a great way to put your knowledge out there. You will have people landing on your blog without you even knowing who read it simply because they enjoy your content. Remember the goal here is value. Make your blog SEO-friendly and then remember to share it on your social media platforms. A blog can help you create many pieces of content.

There are certainly more ways you can market your business, but these are just a few things for you to think about. Be sure to check back for a more detailed look at each of these areas of marketing.

Happy Marketing!

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