For local businesses especially, a Google Business Profile has become one of the most effective free marketing strategies available. This must-have piece of marketing collateral allows your business to show up on Google Maps, the local section of Google Search, and the right-side Knowledge Panel for branded searches.
Tagging your loyal customers, brand evangelists, or even neighboring companies and vendors on social media can broaden the organic reach of your business to a new potential audience, help you grow your following, and potentially even attain more clients. You should also encourage your followers to tag your social media handle or business location in their posts. More about user-generated content here.
By enabling other professionals to grow and educating your potential customers, you can build your brand and earn trust and respect in your industry. Also, encourage all your employees to get active on the platform too!
These strategies are still free, but they do require a bit more of an investment of time and/or effort. But the good news is that usually, the more effort required, the more effective the strategy and the more sustained the success.
Most industries have business awards you can win, providing you with an online badge you can place on your website. Badges like these can boost credibility, and as a result, increase sales. Here are some tips on how to market an award and make the most of it.
Guerilla marketing emphasizes creativity over budget, and strategies are often cheap and easy to implement, especially when localized. Broadcast your Twitter handle with sidewalk chalk, use an abandoned storefront as a canvas for street art, or plaster custom stickers on urban dcor that makes those who stroll by look twice.
Team up with a business related to your industry (but not a direct competitor) for a joint project. This can be done locally and offline through some kind of special event, or online (which could still be locally) with a webinar or promotional giveaway.
Industry partnerships are a great marketing tactic because they allow small business owners access to marketing know-how, technology, and customer bases that they could not have achieved on their own. You need to put careful thought and effort in if you want to form a profitable partnership. Clarify expectations, engage with and vet different businesses, assess how you can work together, and have several conversations before making things official.
Videos are especially great for demonstrating how to complete a task, like folding a fitted sheet or installing a garbage disposal. But video marketing works in pretty much every industry. To strike that vital connection with your audience, you can create:
Add a branding message or personal message, whichever is appropriate. Be transparent. Finish with a strong call to action (e.g. Call us to set up an appointment! or Place your birthday cake order today!), and then distribute the video on your website, YouTube and other video hosting sites, social media channels, and even in emails.
For many small businesses, word of mouth is one of the best marketing strategies to boost sales. Research shows that customers are more likely to buy a product or service if they get to know about it from strangers; so imagine the effect of friend or family referrals.
By treating your employees well and encouraging them to become brand ambassadors, you can tap into the incredible potential of their networks. Your employees have genuine interest in your business, so why not leverage their voices and social networks to reach out to a larger audience?
There are a number of different social media contest types out there, but the main idea is to require registrants to like, follow, or tag your business, or tag someone else on your post, to get your name out there and introduce potential clients to your services.
Put a fishbowl at your place of business with a sign inviting visitors to drop their business cards in for a chance to win something from you. For example, a restaurant might offer a free (socially distanced, if applicable) lunch for the whole office.
Offer existing customers a free product, free month of service, or some other reward for referring new customers. Remember, word-of-mouth is powerful stuff, and customers referred by other customers are so friends telling friends about your business is incredibly valuable. Here are some ideas for getting more referrals from your existing customers and clients.
Stick a magnetic sign on your company car and voila, you have a brand awareness campaign on wheels, spreading the world all over town (just be sure to obey traffic laws). Bumper stickers and window decals also work for this method, and they are generally not expensive to get made.
Kristen is the Head of Marketing at Hatch, a customer communication platform for service-based businesses. She was previously the Senior Managing Editor at WordStream. Her cat Arnold has double paws on every paw, and she finds life to be exponentially more delightful on a bicycle.
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