marketing strategy

The 50 Best Marketing Strategies For Small Business

September 22, 2013

 

By Niraj Adhiya

Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses – every small business is constantly looking for ways in which they can advertise their website and get it in front of more viewers. Although for most this is easier said than done, taking advantage of all of the little things that you can do to advertise your business will give you a much better chance of success in your promotional efforts. Take the following marketing strategies into consideration as you look at growing and expanding your business;

Social

Establish Yourself As An Expert – It is easiest to gain a social following when you establish yourself as an expert within your industry by providing insight socially.

Maintain a Twitter Account – Twitter is a popular resource, it is of the utmost importance that you utilize it to the best of your ability.

Explore Facebook – As the most popular social network in the world, Facebook has to be an important social aspect of any business.

Instagram – Instagram is an excellent resource for sharing high quality photos such as info graphics that can be used to promote your business.

Make Connections – Make sure that you are able to make connections with others within your industry socially whenever possible.

Maintain Client Relationships – Many of your clients will utilize social networks, you can connect with them through those channels to keep in contact.

Contests and Giveaways – Providing contests and giveaways through social networks can be a great way for you to be able to gain attention from clients you do not yet know.

Facebook Status Updates – Post regular Facebook status updates so that you can be certain that you are able to connect with interested individuals on the network often.

Twitter Tweets – Make sure to keep your Twitter account updated, or else no one will be interested in following it.

Linked-In – Linked-In is the world’s largest professional social network and can provide an excellent opportunity to meet new potential clients.

Website Options

Offer a Newsletter – Make sure to offer a newsletter so that you have a way to get into contact with individuals that are interested in the services that you provide. A newsletter is invaluable for business growth.

Make Social Connections Easy – Make sure that you have all of your social networks proudly displayed on your website so that you can make it as easy as possible for customers to follow you and stay regularly updated.

Offer a Blog – A blog can be a great way for you to ensure that you establish yourself as an expert within your industry. Provide high level information on it, and people will regard you as an expert source.

Offer a Contact Form – You want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact you. A contact form is an excellent addition to any website, making it easy as possible for people to get into contact with you.

Coupon Codes – Coupon codes give people additional incentive to purchase your products – saving money. Try implementing coupon codes whenever available.

Live Chat – Adding a live chat to your website allows customers to contact you and receive immediate answers to your questions. There are numerous free live chat scripts that can provide you with an easily manageable back end.

Easy Access – Easy access to all of the different pages of your website so that they can gain a full understanding of your company and exactly what you bring to the table.

Different Plans – Perhaps the plan you offer is too small, or too large for a specific client? You may want to consider offering additional plans at a cut rate price, or larger plans, or at least offering a custom quote option.

Recurring Income – Consider offering monthly plans. These allow you to stay in touch with individuals that are interested in your services and create a manageable recurring income.

Easy Navigation – You want to make sure your website is easily navigable and provides you with a wide range of excellent information that makes people more likely to utilize your website.

SEO

High Quality Content – In order to be successful in search engine optimization, you require high quality content that is relevant to your niche in order to rank highly in the search engines across multiple keywords.

Guest Blogs – Guest blogging is a popular method of search engine promotion. These allow you to post an article on a related website and link back to your website, which provides you with search engine optimization benefits.

Promotional Articles For Backlinks – Promotional articles are articles that can be posted to article directories, press release websites, and web 2.0 properties that will allow you to ensure that you get backlinks from many available sources.

EBooks – The creation of eBooks with links in them not only inflate your brand awareness but can help you to general backlinks when they are posted on document sharing websites.

Reviews – Having customers leave reviews about your business will also generate backlinks and positive citations and press for your business and increase your search engine optimization awareness.

Citations – Citations are links from local business directories and national business directories that list your business. This can help you to rank for local, city related keywords.

Endorsements – Endorsements from respected individuals and businesses within your industry will make it much easier for you to gain acceptance among interested parties. Try to secure endorsements whenever possible.

Local Groups – Local groups are a great place for you to make connections with interested parties and line up referrals for the future as well.

On-Page Optimization – On page optimization includes high level content, proper interlinking, and a sitemap that helps Google to find all of the pages of your website properly.

Link Bait – Also make sure to write linkbait every so often. Linkbait is the process of writing content with eye catching titles that others will link to without having to ask for one.

Branding

Keywords – Make sure that you are targeting keywords such as your brand name, or other brands that are directly associated with your brand in the long term.

Trade Associations – Trade associations are a great thing to join because they allow you to ensure that you are able to get a lot of local connection and also that you will be able to show others what type of services that you provide.

Adwords – Use Adwords for keywords related to your brand that you do not rank #1 for so that you can have the top spot and make certain people do not overlook your brand as a whole.

Mentions For Other Publications – Being mentioned by high profile sources within your industry will provide you with some excellent benefits. It will make you appear to be a heavy hitter within your industry and allow you to rapidly grow as a company over that time.

Newsletters – By launching newsletters from your website, you offer yourself a chance to present yourself as an expert on the subject and ensure that you get the best possible results from your efforts in the long run.

Youtube and Videos – YouTube is an invaluable resource. Create a high quality YouTube video series to gain attention from individuals that may have never heard about your company otherwise.

Local Citations – Local citations are the inclusion of your business in local business directories. These local citations allow you to ensure that you are able to be found by parties that are interested in the services that you provide.

Host Webinars – Webinars allow you to establish yourself as an expert, collect emails from potential clients, and deliver high quality information to interested parties in the long term.

Advertising – By taking on advertising whenever you can, you will find that you gain a lot more brand awareness in the long term and ensure that you will be able to be recognized by individuals that frequent the largest website in your industry.

Infographics – Infographics are a unique and innovative way to provide high quality information in your niche. Make sure to include a URL on the bottom of the infographic to drive traffic to your website.

Reputation Management

Online Reviews – Make sure you have plenty of positive reviews about your business so that people understand that you provide quality services on websites such as Yelp.

Participate Locally – By participating in your industry locally, you will be able to make connections you otherwise would not, and will be able to be recognized as a local service provider.

Sponsor a Sports team – By sponsoring a local sports team you are reaching out to the community and making a positive impression on families.

Charity – By donating to charity, you show that you care about the community and are willing to make contributions to it.

Publish News – By publishing industry news, you present yourself as an expert and ensure that you will be able to stay abreast to necessary information.

Network With Industry Media – Network with media sources in your local area to get your company name out and increase your brand visibility.

Be Interesting – Boring companies don’t receive much press. Be innovative in the way that you present information so that you can be certain that people will be interested in what you have to say.

Survey Customers – Take customer surveys to show that you care about their opinion and are constantly looking to improve.

Testimonials – Testimonials allow for customers to see what other customers have thought of your services and get an idea of the overall satisfaction.

Search Results – Make sure that your company dominates all search results related to your business or business name

Niraj Adhiya

Niraj Adhiya is the founder & Managing Director of Business Ninja Inc a full marketing agency with 5 core channels, one of his focus at the moment is building up the Modern digital marketing side of the agency that specializes in SEO, Social, Pay Per Click, Web Lead Generation, Marketing Automation,  Inbound Marketing, and consulting. Equally adept at creative strategy, design, and technology, he had no other choice but to open his own agency so that great ideas would be matched with great execution. If all that wasn’t fun enough, Niraj spends his out of office time reading voraciously, spending as much as he can with his two boy ninja’s in the making, creating new ventures and partnerships, and hacking and making stuff. Follow him on twitter @nirajidea or LinkedIn

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