If you own a smaller business, you know you need as much exposure as possible. At the same time, you probably have a limited marketing budget. It’s challenging to let your customers know about your services and products while not spending very much money.
Some small business marketing techniques can work, though, if you’re tenacious. Let’s go over some of those right now.
Appear at Local Events
If you have a small business with a brick-and-mortar location, or more than one, you need to let the community know you’re there. You can’t just open your doors and hope your customers will show up.
You might want to appear at some local events. Those might be:
- Holiday markets
- Fun runs or half marathons
- Community outreach programs
We’re approaching the year’s colder months in much of the US, but some areas still have outdoor holiday events. Anywhere you know your community members will gather, set up a 12×12 canopy tent with your business’s name and logo on it.
You can have some employees there either giving away swag or selling items for a nominal fee. These are products that introduce you to your neighbors.
You should attend as many of these communal events as you can. If you become a fixture, locals will begin to recognize and trust you.
Use the Right Social Media Platforms
Your small business should also have a robust social media presence. You’ll need to do a little research to learn which platforms your most likely customers use. They might be on:
- YouTube
Your customer base will probably not use all social media platforms. You should only set up profiles that you know your customers will see. If you’re using social media channels where you won’t attract any buyers, you’re wasting your time.
Once you learn what platforms to use, make sure to post on them frequently. Try to maintain a consistent tone. You might hire a social media manager for content crafting if you’re unsure how to do this yourself.
Appear on Podcasts or Write Guest Blog Posts
You should also write guest blog posts or appear on podcasts to let your potential clients know you’ve arrived. You can look around and locate area or niche-specific podcasts. Then, you can contact the host or hosts and ask if you can come on.
For instance, if you’re a tee-shirt company, you might see if you can find a fashion or apparel podcast. You can give the host some free tee-shirts to let you come on and talk about your company and products.
You can also look for your niche’s websites and blogs. Whatever it is you make, there should be sites and blogs about it.
You can do the same thing as you would with podcast hosts. Ask the blog or website admin if they will let you write a guest blog post if you give them some swag in return. It’s an inexpensive way to attract some new potential customers.
Go Over Your Website for SEO Purposes
SEO stands for search engine optimization, and small businesses must know about it. Presumably, you have a business website. You need to either hire an SEO consultant or writer to go through your site and make it more SEO-friendly.
When someone looks for something online, they’ll type a phrase into Google like “best bakery Saint Louis.” If you’re a Saint Louis-located bakery, you want your site to be one of the top search results. Otherwise, people won’t go there, and they won’t buy your products.
An SEO specialist can insert these keywords and phrases into your website strategically. They can put them in your blog posts, product descriptions, etc., in such a way that your site will rank more highly when someone uses a search engine in this way.
Make Local Radio Spots or TV Commercials
Sometimes the old ways are best, and you might look into TV commercials and radio spots if you have the money for them.
While you need to use social media and other avenues, some people still watch local TV channels and listen to local radio stations. It might be worth it to price those options and think about investing in them if you have the marketing budget.
With social media’s advent, you can often buy TV commercial time and radio spots in local markets for less than you might think. That could be another way to let some local customers know about you.
