Starting your business up from scratch can be a challenging road to walk. Not only do you have to identify a gap in the market and reel customers in, but you have to ensure your marketing strategy harmonises with your business and brand.
After all, without a watertight marketing strategy, you run the risk of losing your customer base.
Plus, marketing can be incredibly exciting: you can learn what makes your target audience tick by using motion graphic design videos and setting up email campaigns, to name just a few.
The importance of marketing your small business
A marketing strategy ensures:
- Your company stands out from the crowd
- Your target audience is engaging with your brand
- Customers are informed and educated about your services
- Communication between customers and the brand to build loyalty
- Managers are informed about the specific demographics of your customer base
- Your small business stays relevant and current in a saturated market
- Boosts revenue
However, small businesses need to be mindful – and realistic – that good marketing requires a good chunk of your budget to be successful.
Read on to learn about the industry’s top 7 tips when it comes to marketing your small business – with a budget in mind.
1) Motion graphic design promo videos
Motion graphic design is a relatively inexpensive but effective way to market your small business.
The concept is simple: graphic designs are brought to life through movement, and can sell your story, product or service in a visually aesthetic and exciting way. A good motion graphic video is one which uses bold colours, straight-to-the-point messaging and eye-catching graphics which pull viewers in and keep them watching throughout the duration of the broadcast.
The best part about motion graphic design content is that it can be utilised across many different digital platforms, too. The simplest way to create such content is to get in touch with a motion design studio.
It’s perfect for explainer videos, tutorials, advertisements (whether print or digital) and for social media.
2) Learn Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
These days, you cannot realistically introduce a new business to the market without employing some SEO strategies.
SEO essentially makes sure your website competes with other websites in search engines, such as Google, in your chosen niche. Ideally, you want to be making it onto the first page in any search engine result, but this can take a lot of time and dedication to achieve.
The objective of SEO is to rank for your chosen keywords – I.e., your services, products and brand name – to drive traffic to your website and allow you to climb through the pages in Google.
3) Video for brand storytelling
It’s without a doubt that video is one of the most preferred forms of content on the internet. It’s accessible for all, with closed captions and sound included, it’s digested much faster than a blog post, and it typically reaches more people.
That’s why so many small businesses have turned to video to tell their brand story – and have been successful in doing so. Take, for example, Ben & Jerry’s ‘social mission’ video, or Tesla’s ‘customer stories’. GoPro has also cleverly utilised video by asking their own customers to shoot footage with their cameras and using a collection of these clips in a video format.
Whichever way you design your video, this type of content can bring the personality of your small business to the foreground.
4) Cartoons and animation
Cartoon ads and animation remain a hit with audiences, and don’t show any signs of dying out anytime soon.
The joy of this type of marketing is found in the simplicity of the creation. A punchy, vibrant, humorous or even heart-touching cartoon can promote your small business in a short space of time. It can add a touch of authenticity to your brand, too.
5) Get social media savvy
All small businesses need to brush up on their digital skills as you will need to get creative as to how you use and promote your marketing content.
Your website should have clear landing pages (I.e., your selling pages) and also a blog section to rank for your keywords, produce press releases and announce major things in your business such as new products.
The good news here is that you don’t need to pay a penny for social media to be effective in the beginning stages, though you might prefer to pay to promote some content to increase your followers and engagement.
6) Outreach emails
When it comes to promoting your small business, outreach and email marketing campaigns must not be scratched off your list.
You’ll need to appeal to your customers directly – and even reach out to like minded businesses – in order to establish brand loyalty, awareness and trustworthiness.
7) Customer review video
Finally, when it comes to utilising video, don’t forget to rely on your customers to help you to tell the story.
A customer testimonial video can be enormously successful – again, just look at GoPro as an example of an innovative way to get customers to sell the product.
The key here is to get your existing customers to highlight their favourite things about your product, business or brand in a video that relates with your target audience.
