DIY: 15 Best Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

When starting a new business, one of the things you’ll need to think about is how to market your product or service. Whether you open a brunch café or an online translation tool, you’ll need to figure out how to get your message out to the people you want to reach. Of course, if you run a small business, you probably will have a small marketing budget. However, you are not obligated to limit yourself as a result. In fact, there are several low-cost and high-return strategies for marketing a small business.

1. Go to local radio

Even though radio isn’t the most popular media outlet these days, it hasn’t been forgotten. In point of fact, the number of people who continue to listen to local radio would surprise you.

Get on the radio and take advantage of that market. You could, for example, appear on a local radio talk show as a regular call-in guest.

2. Create multi-use content

When creating content, making sure it can be used multiple times is a great way to save time. Think about all the channels you might want to share it on before you write it.

Think about how you would shorten a blog post for a tweet or give it the newspaper treatment for a press release when you write one.

3. Join forums

Joining forums that are related to your business is a great way to promote your company and meet new people. Make it a point to keep up with pertinent discussions and to share useful data.

Your forum signature should also be formatted in a way that draws attention to your company. After all, branding is everything.

4. Spruce up your website

If your website hasn’t been updated in a while, it might be time to do so. Keep in mind that styles for websites change over time.

It’s essential to keep your website current and relevant because it often serves as a customer’s first impression of your business.

5. Join groups on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is yet another fantastic tool that can be used. Make it a point to join both the local and customer-oriented groups.

Networking events are often held by local groups. Why not go to the upcoming event that your group is promoting?

6. Establish connections with other businesses

Sharing links with businesses that are related but not competitors is an additional method of customer growth that is less obvious.

Create a list of other businesses on your website that you think might be of interest to your clients and encourage those businesses to do the same.

7. Use only two social media platforms

If you don’t have a lot of resources, stick to two channels for your social media strategy.

Streamlining your social media marketing will allow you to ensure that everything is always up-to-date and informative, making it a priority.

8. Listen to a marketing podcast

Keep in mind that marketing is constantly evolving and that there is always new information to be learned. Podcasting is a great way to keep up with the latest news.

Try listening to a marketing podcast or a few that you enjoy during your commute or while you exercise, for instance.

9. Make a survey

Offering surveys is a great way to spread your brand and increase engagement. Customers value the feeling of having their voices heard.

If you decide to host the survey on your website, you should make sure to promote it on all of your social media platforms.

10. Host a contest

A freebie is another thing that customers love. Why not hold a contest or giveaway to get people talking about and interested in your brand?

A contest is a great way to engage your past and present fans and followers, whether you conduct it in-store or online.

11. Offer a free e-book

You could also offer your customers and/or leads a free e-book or white paper in exchange for their email addresses.

Offer a few interesting and related blog posts as a free download in exchange for contact information.

12. Make a promotion plan

Try to plan your year-round seasonal promotions if you really want to stay on top of things. You don’t have to rush through these tasks if you keep good records.

You’ll also have an easier time assigning tasks to your employees if everything is on the calendar and easy to find.

13. Use the special days

Check out the entire list if you like to market on “special days” throughout the year so you can choose some to have fun with. Assuming it makes sense for your business to participate, think Crazy Hat Day or something similar.

Try using the weirder and wackier “special days” in your marketing campaigns in a creative way to really stand out.

14. Speak as a volunteer

A great way to promote your company is by volunteering to speak at events hosted by local businesses, universities, or communities.

Volunteering to speak will not only raise your visibility, but it will also raise your authority among current and potential clients.

15. Engage influential people

Finally, but certainly not least, try to connect with the most influential bloggers in your industry.

Reach out to the people who have the most influence over your industry. Be friendly and generous; enlist the support of thought leaders.