Contributed post.
Marketing a small business isn’t easy. It’s simple to read articles online, but when the time comes to put this into practice, the actual implementation can be a lot harder than it looks. Ideas may be laid out so it looks like nothing can go wrong—but things can go off the rails if you’re not careful.
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This post looks at marketing your small business using approaches that are effective but not complex. Small business marketing can be as simple as it looks, as long as you know what you takes things one step at a time.
Local SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the set of practices that help your website rank near the top in Google and other search engines when prospective customers are looking for what you offer. Local SEO uses specific tactics to maximize visibility for your website within a specific geographic area and “near me” type searches.
Using the right techniques will help your content rank higher, help your website establish trust, and make it easier for your business to bring in new, high-quality leads thanks to their marketing.
If you own a local business and you are looking to attract customers from your area, you’ll need to need to invest in local SEO as well as universal tactics like optimizing your website loading speed. This includes using keywords such as city names to ensure that you rank when users search a query in your area. It also uses location mapping to bring up your business when someone is using their local search.
Social Media
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Social media has the potential to positively impact your business if you use it properly. There are too many companies that don’t take the time to update their social media regularly and engage with their followers. Being inactive on social media is like leaving the lights off in your establishment; customers will wonder if you’re even open for business.
To avoid that fate, make sure you have someone dedicated to the social media side of your business. Ideally you’ll set up brand accounts on all the major social media platforms. It’s a big effort but one with a potentially sizeable payoff.
Try to create interesting and engaging content for all of these platforms, even though it may need to be a bit different for each of them. For example, if you’re going to be advertising a weed eater product, you want to ensure it reaches the right audience with the right content. Using photos for to demonstrate its ability on Instagram along with video on YouTube will serve you well.
Website Design
If you’re not driving as much traffic as you’d like to your website, you need to figure out how to improve this. Start with your home page: does it clearly display what you sell and what makes your business special? Does it make clear to site visitors where to go next?
You need to ensure your customers and clients don’t need to scroll endlessly looking for the pages or products they need. Include a search box on your website to make it fast and easy for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for. You may also want to add a chatbot to your website to provide immediate answers to common questions from your customers and clients.
Traditional Marketing Methods
Finally, don’t forget about old-school, offline traditional marketing techniques that companies like yours can still productively use. For example, direct mail gets your brand in front of the precise potential customers you want to reach.
Other traditional methods include advertising in your local newspaper (if your community still has one) or in coupon mailers. A more modern version of this type of marketing is advertising on local websites like Nextdoor.
It’s challenging at first to get your business seen and noticed, but taking small steps in the beginning can make a world of difference. Creating a business you can be proud of and one that will stand the test of time takes persistence. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your business success won’t come instantly either. But a huge part of success is just sticking with it.