Patricia
Did you know that over 50% of businesses shut down in less than half a decade?
It’s a competitive world and your small business won’t survive without effective marketing techniques. You need to outshine your competitors in almost every step. You need to stay ahead of the game, taking advantage of every tool and online feature available.
Not sure where to start? Don’t panic, we’ve got a list of techniques right here for you to discover and try. Continue reading our in-depth list of marketing options below:
1. Launch a Website
You can’t grow your business without a professional website. This should be the first step you take. All of the other search marketing strategies go to waste if you don’t have a site people can visit and check out.
A website strengthens your brand’s credibility. Businesses without an official website always seem like a scam. Your website should be the first place people visit to check out your products, services, background, and contact details.
This is why you shouldn’t cut down your budget for a website. Hire a professional, get the right plugins, and spend for website maintenance management. Keeping your website running, well-designed, and always in tip-top condition will influence the rest of the marketing strategies on this list.
2. Invest in Paid Ads
Got a website? Good, but now you need people to visit it. SEO is going to be the backbone of all your professional marketing techniques. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the value of paid ads.
PPC campaigns allow you to narrow down what you’ll advertise, to who, and where those ads appear. You can customize paid ads so much, guaranteeing only your target demographics will see them. You can also keep your PPC ads open so that the general public finds them too.
Don’t fear the costs. You can start small with PPC ads and increase your budget as you go along.
Keep in mind that Google Adwords isn’t the only paid ads system you can invest in. There are also paid ads available on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
3. Going Viral
Sometimes, all it takes for a brand to explode in popularity is a single, viral ad campaign. Consider some of the most viral marketing ideas in recent years to come up with your own.
Take the Ice Bucket Challenge as a good example. This challenge focused a lot on short and fun user-generated content. This viral marketing move raised well over $115 million for the ALS Association.
A fun but simple idea can explode into a popular trend. Use the right hashtag and the right social media platform to rally people to give it a try. Social media challenges are all the rage these days, especially on TikTok, so it’s always a good idea to start there.
4. Work With Influencers
Don’t cringe at the thought of social media influencers. These people have thousands or millions of social media followers for a reason. If one influencer posts on Instagram and says they support a brand, you can expect a vast majority of their followers to follow suit.
It only takes one post from an influencer to expose your brand to a bunch of people. Those people could then create a chain of word-of-mouth marketing.
However, you shouldn’t approach any random influencer simply because they have a lot of followers. Prioritize local influencers who target the same audience you do. This will help build your core consumer base and convince people around you to check out your products or services.
5. A Blog Matters
One of the oldest sayings when it comes to online marketing techniques is that content is king. This still rings true decades later. At the end of the day, search engines and people need good content for information and entertainment.
There are many forms of content you can focus on, from videos to photos. However, a blog is going to be your main ammunition because of its versatility and function. Having a blog section also ensures your site always has new content, even if you don’t have new product pages uploaded.
A blog takes full advantage of the keywords you need. People can share and link to your blog posts, further building your website’s credibility and authority. You can add photos and videos to your blog, mixing multiple types of content in one post.
6. Encourage Customer Reviews
People trust reviews and for a lot of good reasons. After all, companies put their best foot forward with their ads and other marketing materials. Customer reviews, on the other hand, reveal all the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You can’t pay people to leave reviews. You can’t buy positive reviews either. Google and other systems fight back against this and you’ll suffer a penalty for trying to fool people this way.
Fortunately, there are ways to encourage customers to leave reviews. The first step is to let people know they can leave reviews. Limit reviews to people who purchased your product, preventing spamming and false reviews.
You can also work with a professional marketing team to come up with campaigns that encourage reviews. Earning a discount voucher for reviewing five products is a simple but effective idea. You can view these reviews for even more ideas.
7. Google My Business
Google My Business should be one of your first marketing steps. Claiming and filling up the information will ensure people can find your business on Google Maps. It also guarantees your business will pop up when people search for local businesses.
As mentioned, you need to encourage people to read and leave reviews. Google My Business consolidates a lot of the reviews people write. Even without visiting your site, people can learn more about the quality service and products you offer.
Your Google My Business profile will also provide people with a means of contacting you. That profile should have your business address and phone number. Links to your social media pages and website should be there too.
8. Power of an Email List
Do you ever wonder why eCommerce sites always encourage people to register an account? It’s partly for consumer convenience. They can save their shipping address and number so that they don’t need to fill up the data every time they shop.
However, it also benefits your business.
You now have the email information for all these people. Use that email list to your advantage. Send newsletters, announcements about new products, discount vouchers, and other promotional materials.
Got a lot of people who shopped around but then abandoned their cart before completing the transaction? You can now send emails to remind them about their shopping carts. With an email, you can convince them to push through with the purchase.
9. High-Quality Video Production
Did you know over 82% of all Internet traffic is for video content? People spend more time watching videos than they do on blog posts or photos. It’s simply easier and faster to ingest a message through video content than any other option.
This is why your business should invest in high-quality video production as part of your marketing campaign. A single video can go viral, include an influencer, attract reviews, or generate user-generated content. You can knock out a lot of birds with a single stone.
To produce the best videos, even short ones for Instagram Reels or TikTok, it’s best to hire a video production team. They have the experience, equipment, and skills to make amazing marketing videos.
10. User-Generated Content
Hoping to widen the reach of your brand? One of the best marketing strategies to achieve this is to let the people advertise your business for you.
Say for example you’re marketing a brand new camera. You can focus on a narrative that emphasizes how good pictures keep families and friends together. Launch an ad with an accompanying hashtag, such as #memoriesforever.
That’s only the first step. To get people to market the camera for you, encourage them to upload and share their family photos, using the hashtag you put out.
You can even turn it into a contest. To qualify, encourage people to share their family photos and get three other people to do the same. The winner will get a free camera.
11. Check the Competition
Business growth doesn’t always come from within. You also need to check the competition. Sometimes, looking at what other businesses are up to will help you stay relevant and competitive.
The good news is there are a lot of ways to achieve this.
Start by using tools like SpyFu. These tools let you check which keywords your competitors prioritize and rank with. Now you can determine whether you should follow their content strategy or focus on something else.
Are your competitors getting into NFTs and VR technology? Is your business going to benefit by going the same route or is it better to invest in something they don’t?
Take Advantage of These Marketing Techniques
Now you know the different marketing techniques that can shoot your business to the top. It’s not about picking one over the other. Try to invest in as many of these techniques as you can.
Of course, these techniques are only the beginning. If you want to learn even more marketing tips and tricks, feel free to dig through our library of guides. Discover all the business lists today.
