3 Channels to Use to Effectively Market Your Small Business
Your small business needs a way to get on the map. However, relying on digital ads can quickly eat up your marketing budget, and word of mouth might not get you the momentum you need to expand your reach quickly.
Luckily, there are a number of online platforms and resources at your disposal to create engaging marketing campaigns that will grow your customer pool, earn more revenue, and help your business reach new heights. Best of all, most of these are free or cost effective so you can get the most bang for your buck and maximize the value of your marketing strategy.
In this article, we’ll explore the top platforms you can leverage to get the word out about your business, including:
A well-designed marketing plan can give your business the fuel it needs to bring attention to its services, products, events, campaigns, and more. Let’s jump into the essential marketing platforms to add to your strategy and how you can harness their full potential.
Your Website
You likely use your business’s website to house important forms and resources, but did you know that it can also be used as a powerful marketing tool? By regularly generating content on your website, you can expand your digital reach and get visitors excited about your business.
To help promote your business and its products or services, add the following elements to your website:
- Compelling landing pages: Landing pages are your opportunity to dive deeper into your business and its offerings. For example, you might create an “About Us” or “Our Products” landing page to discuss your company’s brand and the benefits of buying a product or service from you over a competitor. You can also create landing pages to help spotlight fundraising events and campaigns to earn your small business extra revenue, such as a peer-to-peer campaign or dance-a-thon. Ensure your landing pages are not only clear but also visually appealing by adding photos and videos that align with your branding.
- Blog roll: A blog is a great opportunity for your business to share important updates about your offerings, highlight rewards and customer loyalty programs, spotlight events, share stories from customers, and more. Maintain a regular posting schedule, such as creating new blog content once a week or three times a month. This will help to communicate freshness to site visitors and demonstrate that your business is eager to connect with its community.
- Clear calls to action: When site visitors visit your business’s website, you likely want them to complete one of the following actions: buy a product or service, register for an event or class, or donate to your latest fundraising campaign. To help drive conversions, create bold call-to-action buttons throughout your website. A call-to-action button directs users to their next step by including a hyperlink to the relevant resource. For example, if your small business offers classes, you might create a call-to-action button on your homepage that says “Sign up for a free trial!” Your calls to action should stand out on the page, so use a distinct color within your branding guidelines or bold lettering to catch your visitors’ eye.
You’ll also want to prioritize accessibility in your web design, so make sure to use alternative text for images and create a strong color contrast between the foreground and background to increase readability. This way, everyone who arrives on your website can engage with your content without experiencing any obstacles.
Social Media
Social media is one of the best promotional tools available for businesses. By regularly posting content to a variety of platforms like Instagram and Facebook, you can encourage new audiences to check out your business and increase your brand visibility. To leverage social media to the fullest, use these tips:
- Think about your target audience: In order to stand out in potential customers’ crowded social media feeds, you need to generate content that is tailored to your target audience’s interests. For example, if you’re hoping to reach a younger audience with your business’s services, you might create short-form videos on TikTok and Instagram that incorporate popular trends. Or, if you want to reach an older demographic, you could share customer testimonials on Facebook to build trust. Consider your audience’s demographics and what type of content is most relevant to them.
- Share high-quality content: Double the Donation’s guide to digital marketing recommends posting a wide variety of visuals to your social media to garner as much attention as possible, including photos, videos, and graphics. For instance, a dance studio might share photos of their contemporary students performing at a competition to entice prospective students to sign up. Your business can also create testimonial videos that feature your loyal customers or behind-the-scenes clips that show your staff working hard. Mixing up your content can help you keep audiences engaged and eager to check out your latest post.
- Use engaging hashtags: Hashtags can help you grow your business’s reach and boost visibility online. For example, let’s say you’re running a social media contest to complement your upcoming talent show fundraiser. You might use the hashtag #YourBusiness’sNameTalentShow or #YourBusiness’sCityTalentShow to tap local audiences and get them excited about this upcoming event. Encourage your community to share posts and use this same hashtag so people in their personal networks can learn about your business.
You can also use your social media in tangent with your website strategy by sharing links to important pages or resources on your website, such as your online store or event registration forms. Include links in your captions or your social media bio so followers can easily navigate to your digital resources.
As you share content on social media, track metrics like reposts and total impressions. This can help you assess how your content strategy is performing and direct you to improvements you can make to amplify your reach.
Mobile App
Along with using your website and social media, you can target your audience even more closely by leveraging a mobile app. A mobile app allows you to reach your community directly with alerts on their phones. This is a great option when you want to send your audience timely reminders and updates that they’ll see and act on.
Do your research to find an app that offers innovative marketing and communication features like:
- Group chats
- Push notifications
- Digital bulletin boards to share updates and reminders
The right app will also provide features to support your revenue-generation efforts, such as:
- Integrated point of sale system
- Payment processing
- Auto-pay
You can also look for apps with features that are specific to your respective professional sector. For example, if you’re a dance studio, DanceStudio-Pro’s guide to dance apps recommends investing in a platform that makes it easy for parents to register students for classes right from their phones.
A well-designed app will not only make it easier for your business to run its operations but will also make it simpler for your customers to engage with your business and buy your products and services. Explore apps that align with your business’s objectives and can help create a positive consumer experience.
Wrapping Up
A strong marketing strategy is just what you need to take your business to the next level. Leverage these platforms and share content with your customers regularly to keep your business top of mind. As you send out communications, make sure your branding is consistent across your different platforms so you can create a unified experience and establish trust with consumers.
