Dan the Man answers some more questions about your small business branding in this week’s FAQ.
When does your business need to be marketing? It might sound like a silly question, but it’s actually one that most of our clients have. The truth is, your business needs to be marketing all the time. Marketing is not a one-off effort; it’s a continuous process that helps maintain and grow your business.
Starting Small: Budget-Friendly Marketing Strategies
Obviously, there are different levels of marketing, different opportunities, and different budgets for marketing. If you’re just getting started, the best way to market your business is by sharing your day-to-day activities. This approach is budget-friendly and highly effective.
Share Your Day-to-Day
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on this. Take pictures or selfies of you setting up your shop or working on fulfilling orders if you’re in retail. These small, behind-the-scenes activities are great opportunities to build a relationship with your customers. It gives them an inside look and makes them feel like they’re part of your business. This is a great way to start content marketing right away.
Advanced Strategies for Bigger Budgets
If you’ve got a larger company and a bit of a budget, there are many avenues to explore.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing options include social media, email marketing, and even direct mail postcard marketing. We do a lot of Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) postcards for our clients. Believe it or not, print’s not dead and is making a comeback.
Content Strategy and Networking
Content strategy is another key area. Sharing valuable content consistently can drive engagement and build your brand. Networking is also powerful. Join a networking group to build connections and gain referrals.
Digital Advertising
Digital advertising options like Google AdWords and Google Guarantee can drive targeted traffic to your business. We have even run geofence ad campaigns for our clients, which can be highly effective for local marketing.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
One of the most impactful strategies, if you have the time and budget, is search engine optimization (SEO). Optimizing the words and the flow of your website helps ensure that when people search for specific keywords related to your business in your region, your website ranks higher in search results.
Consistency is Key: Avoid the Common Pitfall
The number one mistake businesses make in marketing is stopping when they’re busy and panicking when they’re slow. If it’s slow and you’re scrambling, yes, you can do some pay-per-click ads or Google Ads. However, this is often costly and may only provide a temporary boost.
Plan Ahead
The saying, “eat when you’re full,” holds true in marketing. When you have a surplus of income and are busy, that’s the time to invest more in your marketing efforts. Understanding the peaks and valleys of your business is crucial. If your slow season is June and July, start ramping up your marketing efforts in March and April. This way, your efforts have time to gain momentum before your slow season hits.
Conclusion: Proactive Marketing Wins
If you market your business when you’re slow, you’ve waited too long. To build a resilient business, maintain a continuous marketing effort. If you have any questions about how to market your company, how we can help with content strategy, or building a better brand, visit us at metronovacreative.com.
