7 Marketing Tips & Tricks for Small Businesses

Have you recently started a business or perhaps you are already running one? Getting the word ‘out there’ is crucial, whether you are product or service based; people need to know what you’re about!

Put simply, Marketing is crucial for businesses of all shapes and sizes, no matter your budget size.

Digital marketing is an amazing tool and highly accessible to businesses of all shapes and sizes; that’s the great news.

The flip side is it’s a really big sea of options and it can be easy to get a little lost, and without guidance, you can waste your efforts and have little results to show for it.

Don’t worry though! Blue Cheese Digital is here and we’re going to give you 7 Marketing tips to help you increase your growth throughout the rest of 2022!

Define your audience

Ok, ask yourself this: how do you market to an audience you don’t know? Almost impossible.

For any small business or start-up, it’s imperative that you understand who your audience are and to whom you are marketing to.

This is why mapping out your ‘customer personas’ is an essential first step in digital marketing.

Create yourself a list and ask yourself these questions:

• Who are your target market?
• What are the demographics of your customer base (age group/location/income/interests)?
• Where are they? Are they online or offline (which social media channels will they be on the most)?
• What solutions do they need from your business?

Defining your audience is arguably the first and most important step you should take. When you have these details, you’re able to focus on marketing channels that are likely to yield results for your business.

It will enable you to create your message whether that is online or offline. Having customer personas will also aid with your website, as you will be able to tailor the design and journey accordingly.

Utilise social media

Social media, love it or hate it, is somewhere you NEED to be it if you’re a business owner or a start-up; and it’s FREE to use (organically).

You simply cannot ignore social media.

As we mentioned in our first step (define your audience), knowing where to start is crucial. Try to avoid the urge to shotgun approach social media, and spread yourself thinly across all the available channels. Social media is NOT one size fits all. Instead, focus on where your customers are likely to be, and focus all your efforts there; and then grow your presence across other channels (if applicable).

At first you might feel it’s a struggle to grow a following, but once you build some momentum, you’ll notice it gets easier and with great content you’ll start to gain engagement.

Social media can be time consuming, and often we are contacted by small business owners who burn out quickly and don’t have the time; so be aware. Manage your own expectations as well as your audience; if you can only manage a post a week, commit to that for 1–3 months.

Try to avoid that common error of posting everything at first (when you have time and interest), only to have a dormant social media channel a few months down the line. Even one post a week, consistently is better than a potential customer checking you out on social, only to find you haven’t posted for three months; leaving them wondering “are they still in business?”

What is your businesses superpower? Use your social media to make potential customers aware of your product or service, and how it will solve their problems or improve their lives!

Launch a referral programme

When setting up a business, many of your loyal customers are going to be your friends and family to start with. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and that’s often where all successful businesses begin.

Word of mouth is incredibly powerful and can literally make or break small businesses. This is why we also suggest 360 referral programs, where everyone benefits.

Referral incentives are common, and you can probably think of a fair few where “new customers” get a discount or free gift. But what about something for the person who took the time to promote your business?

Consider setting up a referral programme, so if your friends and family promote your business to their wider circle, they earn something in return. This could be as simple as a new customer making a purchase and using the friend or family members name as a discount code word; where they receive a % off their first purchase. The referee can get a discount too; or could even earn a voucher or free gift with every 3 referral purchases, for example.

Referral schemes are very popular and it’s also a potential way to gain new email leads and grow your email database if you are utilising email marketing.

Get featured in a local publication

As a small business, driving more traffic to your website will not only help you gain more brand awareness and (hopefully) generate more sales, but it will also give you valuable data to improve your website and marketing efforts; especially if you’re using platforms such as Google Analytics.

This is where you could reach out to local publications, be it a local radio station, newspaper or magazine (these will more than likely also have their own social channels and following)! “Shopping Local” is a strong narrative at the present time, so use it.

Don’t just say: “can we run an advert?” Why not consider contacting them with some information about your amazing service or product, and why they (and their audience) need to know about you!

Leveraging other channels audiences is a great way of getting people to find out more about your business.

Run a competition

Running a competition or a giveaway is a super simple step to help grow awareness of your business.

Yes, it might seem frustrating that you’re giving your items or. Services away for free, but try to keep your eyes on the long-game and what these users will do for your business.

A competition or giveaway on social media will create a buzz around your business, help with sharing your posts and create more engagement and reach for you.

A great way to generate more leads through your competition is to run it through your website. This could be through a landing page. You can put an email submission form, which will allow you to capture more email addresses for future marketing efforts, too. Just remember to be forthright and tell users that you’re going to be sending them super-useful emails and special offers from your business (you will need permission).

Networking

This is a term that sounds a bit old-fashioned and usually evokes a wave of panic across professionals as they think of breakfast meet-ups. Don’t panic, living in an increasingly digital age means a lot of information people once “networked” to obtain, can now be achieved through your website; you can get a number or email in a few clicks.

That said, networking is still a great way to promote your business and try to identify events in your local area and your industry where you can introduce yourself to people.

We look after various clients across an array of industries, and all have utilised networking to grow their business. For example, a legal team we market for run regular free workshops in a local hall. Residents are able to ask questions and gain free advice for a period of time and it has yielded incredible results and built long-lasting relationships.

Enter Business Awards

Do you have a great product or amazing service? Or, maybe you feel you have done something great within your industry? Give yourself (or someone else) a shout-out and enter your business into some award schemes; there are plenty out there across the United Kingdom. Some are free and there are others you have to pay for.

The whole process and just being a nominee can raise your profile, but if you win, it can be a great marketing tool to leverage. The terms ‘Award-Winning’ makes you stand out from the local competition.

You can publicise the fact you won through all of your marketing such as your website, social media, all your offline materials, and also your email signatures!

Build and keep the momentum

It goes without saying that the past few years have been tough. The pandemic threw us all a major curve ball, and many of us reviewed how we ‘do things’ and live our lives.

Many amazing new businesses have birthed in the wake of this uncertainty and others have ridden the wave. It is important to keep that momentum and be consistent with your marketing, because whilst it is not tangible (there’s nothing like holding something shiny for your money) it is essential.

We hope some of these tips will help you gain further growth in 2022 and wish you the best of luck!

If you need any further assistance or advice about digital marketing strategy, or outsourcing, give us a shout!