Online Marketing Archives - OceanOne Design

The Power of B2B Marketing Automation – How it works…

by DG | Jan 11, 2023 | Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Technology, Web Design, Website Design

Technology is changing so fast in today’s world and marketing is one area that can be extremely complex, time-consuming and costly. It can be overwhelming for small and medium sized businesses so companies are looking for ways to streamline their processes but still grow their business.

If you’re looking for ways to improve and streamline your marketing efforts then marketing automation might just be the unicorn you’re looking for. It will take some planning and effort to get started but once it is performing you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner.

Marketing automation is the use of software and technology to automate marketing tasks and processes, such as email campaigns, social media management, and lead generation. It allows businesses to target, engage, and convert their audience more efficiently, freeing up time and resources that can be used for other tasks.

Here are some marketing automation statistics gathered by StartupBonsai:

A lack of clear instructions makes building an online presence challenging for B2B companies. To be successful online, your business must have clear goals and understand how online marketing works.

This post will give you some clarity and help you decide whether automation is what you need.

There are several benefits of marketing automation for businesses of all sizes:

Increased efficiency and productivity: It saves time and effort by automating repetitive tasks, such as sending emails and social media posts. This allows marketers to focus on high-value tasks, such as analyzing data and creating strategic campaigns.
Improved targeting and personalization: Marketing automation allows businesses to segment their audience and create targeted campaigns based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This level of personalization can help increase engagement and conversion rates.
Enhanced lead generation and nurturing: It can help businesses generate and nurture leads through targeted campaigns, such as email drip campaigns and lead-scoring programs.
Better analysis and measurement: Detailed analytics and reporting are a big benefit of automation software. This allows businesses to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

The ROI of a successful marketing automation campaign can be significant. According to a survey by the Data & Marketing Association, businesses that use marketing automation see an average ROI of around 300%. This is because the automation allows businesses to reach their audience more effectively, resulting in higher conversion rates and increased revenue.

To get the most out of it, it is important to have a clear strategy in place and to use the right tools and technology.

When it’s done wrong, a campaign can also fail miserably. Do testing on a small scale first and then scale it when you have it fine tuned. It is also important to continuously test and optimize campaigns to ensure that they are delivering the desired results. With a well-executed campaign, businesses can achieve significant growth and success.

What does marketing automation actually do?

By automating and streamline marketing tasks, companies can find more time to put into actually closing deals and building relationships. Automated tasks can include a wide range of activities, such as email marketing, social media management, lead generation, and customer segmentation.

Some specific tasks that automation can perform include:

Email marketing: It can send targeted and personalized emails to specific segments of a business’s audience. This can include newsletters, promotional emails, and automated drip campaigns.
Social media management: Marketing automation can help businesses schedule and publish social media posts, as well as track and analyze the performance of these posts.
Lead generation: Marketing automation can help businesses generate leads through targeted campaigns, such as lead-scoring programs and landing page optimization.
Customer segmentation: Automation can segment a business’s audience based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This allows businesses to create targeted campaigns that are more relevant and effective.

How does marketing automation work?

Marketing automation works by using software and technology to automate and streamline marketing tasks and processes. Here is a general overview of how automation works:

Set up: The first step is setting up the software and defining the goals and strategy for the campaign. This includes selecting the appropriate tools and technology, such as email marketing software or social media management platforms.
Audience segmentation: Marketing automation allows businesses to segment their audience based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This allows businesses to create targeted campaigns that are more relevant and effective.
Campaign creation: Set up email drip campaigns and social media posts. These campaigns can be triggered by specific actions, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
Delivery and tracking: Delivers the campaigns to the appropriate segments of the audience and tracks the performance of the campaigns. This includes measuring metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
Analysis and optimization: The detailed analytics and reporting, allows businesses to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. This includes identifying what is working well and what can be improved upon.

What does marketing automation mean for the customer journey?

Automation can have a significant impact on the customer journey, as it allows businesses to deliver personalized and relevant experiences to their customers throughout the entire customer journey.

Here are a few ways in which marketing automation can enhance the customer journey:

Lead generation and nurturing: Marketing automation can help businesses generate and nurture leads through targeted campaigns, such as email drip campaigns and lead-scoring programs. This can help businesses guide potential customers through the sales funnel and convert them into paying customers.
Personalization: Marketing automation allows businesses to segment their audience and create targeted campaigns based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This level of personalization can help increase engagement and conversion rates.
Customer segmentation: Marketing automation can segment a business’s audience based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This allows businesses to create targeted campaigns that are more relevant and effective, improving the overall customer experience.
Customer service: Marketing automation can also be used to provide customer service, such as answering frequently asked questions or providing personalized recommendations. This can help businesses improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By following these best practices, businesses can ensure that their marketing automation campaigns are successful and deliver the desired results.

What are common problems that marketing automation can solve?

Automation can help businesses solve a variety of problems, including:

Lack of time and resources: Aave time and effort by automating repetitive tasks, such as sending emails and social media posts. This allows businesses to focus on high-value tasks, such as analyzing data and creating strategic campaigns.
Lack of personalization: Businesses can segment their audience and create targeted campaigns based on specific criteria, such as location, demographics, and behavior. This level of personalization can help increase engagement and conversion rates.
Inefficient lead generation and nurturing: It helps businesses generate and nurture leads through targeted campaigns, such as email drip campaigns and lead-scoring programs. This can help businesses convert more leads into paying customers.
Difficulty measuring and analyzing campaigns: Marketing automation provides detailed analytics and reporting, allowing businesses to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions. This can help businesses identify what is working well and what can be improved upon.

When asked why they think they’re not utilizing their tools properly, marketers identified the following barriers:

39% of respondents said they lacked the training to fully utilize marketing automation software.
32% said they did not have the resources to manage the automation process.
31% of respondents reported that maintaining their tools was beyond their budget.
25% of respondents cited a difficult setup process as the issue.

According to another study, respondents identified several challenges when implementing marketing automation:

33% of surveyed companies identified a lack of expertise as the biggest obstacle

33% of surveyed companies identified a lack of expertise as the biggest obstacle preventing them from implementing marketing automation.

Overall, marketing automation can help businesses solve a variety of problems by streamlining repetitive tasks and allowing marketers to focus on high-value activities, such as analyzing data and creating strategic campaigns. It also helps businesses reach their audience more effectively and increase conversion rates, leading to increased revenue and growth.

At OCEANONE Design our marketing platform of choice is VBOUT. It’s a comprehensive online marketing application that really has no limitations since it can easily integrate with all other modern applications that use an API. For instance, if our client likes to use the popular Hubspot CRM, we can easily connect to it so that leads from Facebook, email or any other campaigns will be sent directly to the their CRM. We can also alert them via text message if they prefer.

Many clients tell us that the high cost of software and complexity are the barriers that hold them back from going all-in with automation. If that’s the case for you, we can help. We can set you up using our software to run the campaigns and connect to your free CRM. That way there is no software cost to you. As you grow, you can invest in your own system and hire staff to run it.

Don’t get left behind, contact us anytime for a free consultation.

Effective Online Marketing Strategies for Manufacturers

by DG | Apr 26, 2022 | Lead Generation, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, SEO, Website Design

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Manufacturers and distributors have very different marketing strategy challenges than B2C companies. Ultimately, your goal is to convince other businesses to work with you and marketing efforts fail if you cannot accomplish this goal.

The time have changed and using the internet to contact more companies and grow your business has never been easier. If you’re looking for modern, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturer marketing strategies, look no further.

The following industrial marketing solutions have been compiled to help you reach more potential partners online. Even if you don’t have much experience with digital marketing, you can follow these steps written in plain English.

Let me explain to you why internet marketing is so successful for manufacturers and other B2B businesses.

The Internet made it easier for retailers to conduct research on potential distributors and their products. Within seconds, they were able to view detailed photos or specs, read reviews, and view customer feedback from a larger number of companies and products.

Due to this change in preference, your marketing must adapt as well. You’re likely missing most of your potential customers if you don’t use the Internet to reach them. Fortunately, you can use this to your advantage. The ROI is much, much easier to track with online marketing than with traditional marketing methods.

Moreover, because online marketing costs are relatively low, manufacturers or distributors are able to experiment more freely, with little or no risk to their business.

With a wide range of options, you can try things and fail without worrying about losing a great deal of money or damaging your reputation. Actually, testing is not only recommended, it’s an important part of the overall strategy as you will soon see.

Here are ways to you can use online marketing to reach more potential customers

Let’s talk about some of the tactics you should try now that you know why digital channels are so beneficial for manufacturer marketing strategies. Here are some of the best marketing strategies we’ve used to reach more potential customers at the lowest cost possible for manufacturers and distributors.

1. Make your website rank for the right keywords

Taking steps to ensure that your manufacturer or distributor website can be found easily by potential customers – and outranks your competitors – should be the first step in your marketing strategy. In search engine optimization – also known as SEO – this is accomplished.

Here’s a quick explanation for those unfamiliar with SEO. When someone types in a keyword related to your business into a search engine, SEO is one of several methods to make your website more likely to show up and rank highly. Choosing the right keywords to target is key.

The easiest way to get started with SEO is to brainstorm words or phrases potential customers would associate with your business. It can be as simple as a phrase or a single word. If you manufacture hardwood flooring, for instance, you might consider everything from “hardwood flooring” to “how to choose hardwood flooring”.

IMPORTANT – DON’T DO THIS…

This is where we see other marketing companies giving bad advice. Let’s stay with the “hardwood flooring” example. If you manufacture hardwood flooring, and try to rank # 1 in Google, you will be in direct competition with every large retailer like Home Depot and Lowes. It will cost a fortune and it won’t help with sales unless you sell directly to consumers.

It is extremely important to understand search intent. Google is all about providing the best results for the assumed intent of keyword search. If someone searches for “hardwood flooring”, Google assumes someone is looking to buy hardwood flooring and wants to see choices. Sure enough, if you do search “hardwood flooring”, all the top results will be from flooring retailers.

As a manufacturer, you should focus on optimizing your site to rank for site search terms that retailers and distributors would use to find your products. Target keywords like “hardwood flooring manufacturer” and “what is the best hardwood flooring”, “wholesale hardwood flooring”.

Take time to brainstorm terms for your industry, and then create content that is optimized to rank high for those terms. We won’t go into an SEO tutorial here but once you understand keyword intent, you can move forward with a successful SEO strategy.

2. Advertise using pay-per-click

Manufacturers also use advertising as one of their top marketing strategies, but not the kind of advertising you’d expect. A pay-per-click ad is one that appears on search engines results pages (SERPs) and other websites.

Manufacturers or distributors can achieve very high returns on investment with PPC ads, which are generally inexpensive. You only pay for them when they are clicked – not when they are viewed – and they contain just a sentence or two of copy with a link to your website. Even if people don’t click on your ad, you are still getting brand exposure for free.

The use of PPC ads, which allow you to control the amount of money you spend to appear in search engine results, can be a tremendous benefit to your brand if you are not ranking highly in search engines. The reports are a huge benefit because they will detail what people are actually searching for and you can do a lot of testing to find out what works best for your company.

Results from PPC are instantaneous, which is one of the major benefits. You can start sending targeted traffic to your website and attract qualified leads as soon as you click to go live with your ads. You will be able to generate leads quickly without exhausting your budget.

3. Find out what converts on your website

We mentioned earlier that online marketing gives you room to try out different methods and to fail if necessary. The conversion rate optimization method, also known as CRO, encourages testing and failure with the goal of increasing conversions and ultimately revenue for your company.

CRO is based on a very simple premise where you test changes on your website and discover what changes provide more conversions. Whether your successful conversion is measured as a phone call or request for quote, a simple change of wording like “Contact Us” to “Get Started” or “Learn More” on a button can sometimes be the answer to significantly boosting your conversion rate. You can try different Headings, images, color schemes etc. The challenge is not to implement this permanently and risk losing all your leads if your gut feeling turns out to be incorrect. With CRO, you can test ideas without losing all your leads.

A/B testing is a method that is implemented to show version “A” of your landing page to one group of website visitors. Then a “B” version of the page is set up to show a different group of visitors. Once the winner is discovered you stick with that page. An experiment can be made safer this way since a drop in conversions in the “B” version immediately causes the test to be dropped. If you make a substantial leap, you can reap immediate benefits and more profit!

4. Develop engaging media and content that ranks well

When retailers search online for products to carry in their stores, they may be seeking photos, videos, or more detailed information than what they might get from a basic summary. Create engaging content and ensure that it ranks highly in search results to capitalize on this desire – and attract more potential B2B customers to your content.

Links to websites are no longer the only result in search engine results. In addition to receiving search results for any query, the searcher can also receive videos, images, locations, and shopping results. Good engaging content that you can get ranked is likely to attract visitors to your website where they can learn more about your products.

Here are some content suggestions and ideas for manufacturers:

Are there any products you would like a video of in action? Host the video on YouTube (with a link to your website in the description) with a keyword-rich title and description.
The images on your website should have relevant keywords in their filenames and alt text explaining what is in the image. This can increase the chances of them ranking high in Google Image search for those keywords and lead viewers to your website when they click on it.
Provide answers to customer questions in your content, like blog posts and videos. Having answers to these questions are likely to rank well on search engines, causing potential customers to read them, then peruse your website for more information. Answer questions on Quora.
Repurpose existing content. Content repurposing is very effective when you take good quality content and repurpose its structure and message to get more use from your valuable information. You might turn a video into blog posts or slide presentations. Create downloadable cheat sheets or ebooks and use them to build an email list.
Use surveys to find out what people think about your products and gain insights so you can make improvements to existing products or get ideas for new ones.

5. Establish a strong social media presence

Social media marketing can be slow to take off among B2B companies. For manufacturers, however, social media marketing is a very effective tool. Create a social media profile and your manufacturing company will be exposed to decision-makers and engage with potential clients.

Manufacturers can increase their brand recognition and make meaningful connections through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

As well as sharing product photos, setting up competitions, and creating brand ambassadors, social media can be used for many other things.

YouTube can be a great marketing tool for B2B companies. It’s an excellent opportunity to showcase products and distribute informative content using video.

Social media can also be utilized by manufacturers during product development to get feedback and ideas.

Your marketing strategy can be adjusted based on customer feedback using social media listening tools. Additionally, product forums can be used to discover what customers think about your product.

6. Make it easy to contact you

Last but not least, we suggest making it extremely easy for potential clients to get in touch with you. A simple way to achieve this is to have your phone number prominently displayed on your website, add a dedicated contact form, or utilize social media. Here are some examples of excellent industrial websites.

It may seem obvious but some sites make customers has make it a hassle just to find the contact email or phone number. Take a look at your website and make sure it is very easy to get in touch with your company.

If you want people to call, keep the phone number visible at all times while they are on your website.

You will get more leads. Also, being active on social media can increase your chances of getting in touch with them, as many will reach out to you with questions there so be prepared with answers.

Would you like help with your manufacturer marketing strategy?

Manufacturers often find it challenging to develop and implement marketing plans in-house. Every need is different, and every method must be just right. If you’re struggling to balance your marketing efforts with the demands of running your business, we can help!

We have been working with manufacturing businesses since 2000. Every business is unique and we have the experience to look at the big picture, figure out ways to reach your ideal customers and build a strategy to meet your goals.

Interested in having us build a customized marketing strategy for your company?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][modal_popup_box toppadding=”15″ btnsize=”20″ btnradius=”20″ titlealign=”center” titletext=”Book a Strategy Call” titlesize=”27″ titleline=”4″ contentpad=”30″ contentpad2=”30″ btn_icon=”far fa-arrow-alt-circle-right” btntext=”Book a Strategy Call” btnclr=”#ffffff” hoverclr=”#ffffff” btnbg=”#36b1de” hoverbg=”#1e73be” titleclr=”#ffffff” titlebg=”#36b1de” bgclr=”#ffffff”]

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Also check out our post on “The Power of B2B Marketing Automation – How does it work?“

How To Develop A Digital Marketing Strategy That Gets Results

by DG | Oct 18, 2018 | Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Branding, Business, Online Marketing

Today’s advertising mediums include more digital channels than ever before. Factors such as faster reach capabilities, lower advertising costs, and global branding opportunities make digital marketing a viable avenue for building awareness. When creating a digital marketing strategy, it’s imperative to plan out each messaging deliverable, communication channel, and content strategy so that you don’t lose yourself in a whirlwind of social media accounts and content deadlines.

Approaching your strategy means taking initial steps to determine what your end goals are and then devising a practical plan to bring them to fruition. Here’s a 4-step process for creating a solid digital marketing strategy.

Create A Finish Line

Know what your goals are before you embark on your strategy. Create a list of measurable short and long-term goals. For example, are you looking to increase sales? If so, by how much exactly? Are you looking to increase your social media followers? If so, by how many exactly? And on what platforms? Don’t rely on vague goals that can’t be measured.

Put numbers to your goals. For instance, we want to generate 800 leads in one month, Increase sales by $5,000 this month or gain 1000 Twitter Followers in one week. Whatever it is you want to achieve, make it a number and then you can figure out a way to get there. Then you can track and measure your results to see whether you were successful or not in achieving the goal.

If you achieve your goal successfully, great. If not, look at what worked and what didn’t make some adjustments and try again. Try different messaging or images or maybe it was just not enough budget. If you’re tracking everything you should be able to figure out how to improve your results. Expect that there will be some trial and error.

Setting realistic goals gives you accountability and allows you to forecast things such as cost, time, and resource allocation. You don’t want to have to guess what your marketing budget is, and you certainly don’t want to assume which team members can complete certain tasks. Create realistic goals and milestones.

List Your Mediums

What digital marketing channels do you plan on using to get your message to your audience? Are you planning to focus on one main channel or a combination of three or more? Consider making a list of 10-15 potential marketing channels and then narrow it down to your top five. Next, find out which platforms work best for your target audience based on their demographic and online behaviour and then decide which ones work best for your plans. Laser focus in on your main channel to help you get the initial traction that you need when you first begin your campaigns.

Plan Out Your Content

Knowing what type of content you’ll create and how often it’ll be delivered is crucial to your digital strategy. Whether it’s article writing, social media posting, or video production, there should always be content that’s being created behind the scenes. Find out which types of content work best for your products and your audience and then create a calendar to keep a steady messaging stream flowing your audience’s way. Content calendars are essential to digital marketing, as they help you avoid the headaches and confusion that can come with last-minute content development.

Implement, Monitor, and Measure

Once you’ve outlined your digital strategy it’s go-time. Make sure that you have all of the resources you need. Make sure that all of your team members know their deliverables and when they’re due. And most importantly, make sure that you’re monitoring and tracking your progress throughout the entire time. Know what metrics will be used to track each goal, and if you fall short of meeting a goal, use it as a lesson for your next project and campaign. The more you monitor and track your activities, the better insight you’ll have on what types of content your audience responds to best.

Setting up Google Analytics is the most important step to track all your results. There are many online tools out there to help you track all of you digital marketing activities and choosing the right one depends on the depth of your campaign. If you are only using Google ads, then tracking through your Google Analytics and Google Ads control panel are probably sufficient. However if you ad Facebook Ads or any other advertising channel to the mix, there is a lot more to track and you’ll want those reports to be side by side for easy evaluation and comparison. As I mentioned, there are a ton of tools out there price according to their level of capabilities. We have a free tool that is great for tracking your Facebook and Google Ad campaigns. It’s called Advertising Intelligence and you can read more about it on our pricing page.

A well-planned digital marketing strategy will ease the confusion that can come with setting up marketing campaigns. Once you have your content and channels figured out, it’s just a matter of setting up the right goals and metrics.

This sounds simple but it can be overwhelming without some guidance. We would be glad to help you with a Free Marketing Strategy Consultation where we will discuss your goals and we can provide you with solid advise to start building your successful Marketing Strategy!

This is a high level view of what is involved in building a digital marketing strategy. For a more detailed deep-dive, check out this post: Execute a Powerful Marketing Strategy to Grow Your Business

Effective Local SEO In A Nutshell

by DG | Oct 19, 2018 | SEO, Digital Marketing, Online Marketing

You should always think local when starting a Search Engine Optimization strategy. It’s much easier to rank for longtail keywords that have less competition. The name of your city or neighbourhood added to those keywords can be an easy win so you can rank quickly. That’s the best strategy to get started so let’s dig into Local SEO.

Key factors

First things first. Be sure to sign up on Google My Business (GMB). This will be the centre of your local strategy for getting rankings on Google. There may be a listing for your business there already so you’ll need to claim it. Do a Google search for your company name and you may see a listing for your business on the right side hand side in the search results. If you have not claimed it already you will see a “Claim this listing” button that will allow you to do so. Once you have access to your listing you will be able to add all kinds of information about your business and this will get him placed on Google maps as well. Be sure to upload lots of pleasing, relevant images for your business. You can great insights about your business listing in there like how many people viewed you listing and took action etc.

Writing Posts on Google My Business

We highly recommend that you create a post on your GMB listing everyday for at least 2 months. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it’s worth it and they only allow 300 words and you can back it off after your see your listing get into the top 3 local results for your keywords. Don’t stop completely though or competitors will eventually catch up. Try to keep posting at least once a week. This of course depends on how competitive your category is so you may need to adjust accordingly.

Add local content to your website

Blogging is the most effective way to help your rankings in search engine results. Write some blog posts that are unique to your local area and align with your local business. Doing some good keyword research prior to writing is articles will go along way. By doing so you can find out what people actually search for when they’re looking for your type of business in your area. For instance if you are a roofing company people might search for “toronto roofing company” (720 searches per month) but there are more searches for “toronto roofers” (1900 searches per month) so you should definitely have the data beforehand so that you can get the most out of your efforts. You can use Google Keyword Planner to get this data. Another new favourite free tool for keyword research is Ubersuggest from SEO expert Neil Patel.

Get listed on directories

Leveraging online directories is an excellent way to improve your online visibility. Claim any listings you can on sites like Yelp and Yellow Pages and other similar ones. Make sure all your profiles have the exact same contact information about your business. This is very important. You’ll also have to monitor these listings as many of them except reviews about your business. You need to stay on top of this and respond to reviews good or bad. Your online reputation is really important so I need to take this seriously.

We have a great tool to help you monitor this – checkout the OCEANONE Reputation Manager. And, if you don’t have the time we also provide a fully managed Reputation Management Service.

Here’s an excellent video on how to respond to reviews…

SEO Best Practices

Finally, be sure that you are using SEO best practices throughout your website. Things like properly formatted URLs and keyword rich descriptive title tags as well as descriptive metadata are important to make sure that Google’s algorithms pick up the best possible information about your page. Of course, make sure that your contact information on the website matches exactly what you added to all those directories you just listed on.

These are just a few things you can do to improve your visibility for local searches but they are the most important. Make sure these on-page improvements are done before taking any other steps. Depending on how competitive your category is, this might be all that you need to do to get the results you want. Start there and see how goes. If it’s not enough to get you in the top three local results there are other strategies. It’s not that complicated but it can be very time consuming.

If you don’t have the time, we can help. We have a Free listing builder app to get you started with getting your listing synced up on Google My Business, Facebook and Twitter. Once you have that set up you can easily add one of our paid packages that make it very easy to get listed on the sites we have discussed here. Learn more about it it out here.

Download our list of “Top 100 Sites To Be Listed On“. Our Listing Distribution add-on lets you build accurate business listings on the four major data aggregators—Factual, Acxiom, Infogroup, and Neustar Localeze. These aggregators are referenced by over 300 websites.

When multiple sources have consistent business data, two outcomes occur:

Google’s WebCrawler finds the same information in multiple places and adds more confidence to their business data
Good backlinks are created with more referring sources to the business’ website creating better SEO.

Here’s an excellent video on the importance of have accurate listings online…

Also check out our recent post “Online Reputation Management Tips for Boosting your Local SEO” .

If you already have listing and you have experienced Fake Reviews you’ll want to check out “How to remove “Google reviews when you know they are fake“.

It’s also important to get as many backlinks as you can in order to generate organic traffic. If you need help with that or any other SEO tasks, checkout our SEO services page.

11 Innovative Ideas for Small Business Marketing

by DG | Mar 22, 2020 | Online Marketing

Take your marketing efforts to the next level with these innovative ideas! We’re sharing the 11 best ideas for small business marketing in this post.

Updated March 22, 2020

Marketing is the bread and butter of every small business.

Unfortunately, many companies often overlook its importance, believing they don’t have the budget for it.

This is a massive mistake. There are many affordable ways to promote your business online and offline. Don’t just take our word for it. Check out 11 innovative ideas for a small business.

1. Become More Social

One of the most powerful marketing tools is also one of the most affordable marketing tools.

What are we talking about? Social media marketing, of course.

If you want to stand out in the market, you must aim to create small business accounts on social media. Don’t follow the norm. Focus on developing an online presence that’s full of personality. What could help you stand out from the crowd? Could it be unique competitions? Breathtaking photographs? Funny memes? Your tone of voice?

There are many different social media networks that can provide free marketing. For instance, create and maintain pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Google+ is also ideal for small business, as it provides special local features in Google, such as improved address listings and contact details.

Think about a USP, services, and the customer to create unique ideas for small businesses. Offer discounts, VIP offers, and competitions that will encourage engagement. Don’t forget to use your tone of voice to reinforce your brand.

2. An Active Blog

The one thing letting your marketing efforts down could be your website.

Your website should offer so much more than your contact details and a business summary. When used well, your website can become your company’s most valuable asset. Offer superb content to the customer with an active blog, which can provide many benefits to your brand. Aim to become a thought leader who provides reliable industry resources.

Some of the blog ideas for a small business you can write include:

Industry news stories
Company news
How-tos
Listicles
Opinion pieces

Don’t forget to incorporate high-quality, professional images within each article, too. What’s more, you should develop a unique tone of voice that complements your brand.

Blog content can also help turn a lead into a conversion. Integrate calls to actions to direct them to a product page, which can boost your profit margin. The more content you create, the more people will discover your website – which will improve sales. You can even promote your articles across social media to drive traffic to your site.

3. Paid Social Media

If you have next to no budget, organic social media leads can be an ideal solution. Yet, if you do have a little money to play with for a marketing budget, you should consider paid social media.

If you have some great ideas for a small business, it can be a great way to showcase them to a wider audience. The likes of Facebook Advertising, Instagram, and Twitter will allow you to pay for sponsored posts. You can set the budget (it could be as little as $10) and you can also target the post to your demographic. For instance, if your target market is 18-25-year-old females, you can target the age range and gender. This way, you don’t have to worry about the marketing message becoming lost in the crowd.

4. Online Reviews

Unfortunately, many businesses overlook the many benefits of online reviews.

One of the biggest reasons they may not use reviews is because they’re scared about what they may read. Yet, if you offer a great product and a great service, online reviews should be a no brainer. Forrester stated trust is the most critical aspect of brand development and maintenance.

Online reviews can encourage trust in a brand and products. Potential customers can gain an insight into your services by reading impartial reviews. If you have glowing reviews, they’re more likely to choose you over a competitor.

5. Respond to Reviews

Don’t set up an online review profile and think your job is done. You must aim to respond to every positive and negative review.

It will prove to potential customers that you’re responsive. It will also make previous customers feel valued. It will display your dedication to exceptional customer service. There will be a time when you receive a bad review. Every large or small business will receive one at some point. It’s how you handle the bad review that can encourage trust in your brand. Reviews will impact a buyer’s decision. If you apologize for a bad experience and aim to rectify the mistake, people will trust in your brand a little more.

6. Ask Your Happy Customers to Write a Review

Want to receive positive reviews from happy customers?

During the checkout process, ask them if they have had a positive experience at a hotel or store. If they offer a positive response, ask them politely to write an online review.

You can guarantee a happy customer will want to help you if they can. If you don’t want to ask the customer, consider making the request with a follow-up email.

7. Free Publicity

The best publicity is free publicity, right?

Does that sound easier said than done? Well, it doesn’t have to be. For instance, you can host a charity event that garners the attention from the press.

You could also invite the media to grand openings or event days, who may feature the event in print or online. What’s more, if you’re a thought leader, you should connect with editors or journalists. When an industry news story arises, you could become the voice on the subject of a feature or news article. It’s a great way to showcase your brand and it won’t cost you a penny to do so.

8. Create a Brochure

Are you looking for offline ideas for a small business?

Create a brochure that showcases your brand, product, and services. For instance, if you offer renovation services, you can create a stunning brochure to feature both in the hotel rooms and the lobby. You can also ask other local businesses to promote the brochures to their customers, too.

9. Get Involved in the Local Community

Looking for local ideas for small businesses? You need to get involved in the community. Think about the many ways you can connect with your neighbors whilst promoting a brand.

It’s a great method to generate a buzz around your business whilst helping a local area. For instance, you could sponsor a local sports team or event. What’s more, you could collaborate with other local brands to cross-promote your services. It’s a superb way to come up with new and exciting ideas for a small business. For instance, you could showcase each other’s products on social media channels. This will allow you to reach a whole new audience and customer base.

If working with other companies isn’t an option, consider taking part in craft or food fairs. You could also host a local fundraiser or get the whole team to volunteer on a community project.

10. Ask for Referrals

Sometimes the best way to receive referrals is by asking for them. If you have a satisfied customer, why not ask them to refer other businesses and entrepreneurs to you?

It’s important to remember that people often enjoy helping other people. For instance, if a happy client no longer needs your services, ask for them to join you for a final meeting. Here you can cross the t’s and dot the eyes, and it’s also an excellent opportunity to ask for a referral. The worst they can say is “no” – so what do you have to lose? It could turn out to be one of the most profitable ideas for a small business on this list.

11. Call-to-Action Ideas for a Small Business

It’s believed more than half of website visitors abandon a web page in less than 15 seconds.

If you have a low conversion rate, this could be the reason why – so take a look at your bounce rate. One of the best ways to boost conversions and capture attention is with a call-to-action. It’s a brilliant way to encourage a potential customer to take action on your site. It instantly tells a customer what the page is about and how they can order a product or service.

The best call-to-actions are clear and simple and should encourage instant action.

For instance, the following words work well in a call-to-action:

Start
Learn
Discover
Free
Build
Stop
Save
Try

It might be the difference between them buying with you or losing them to a competitor. For this reason, it could be one of the best conversion ideas for a small business.

Conclusion

Some or all the ideas for a small business can help propel your company to a new range of customers.

You don’t have to be a big company with a large marketing team to become the competition. It’s important to look for ideas and marketing tools to help you affordably boost your reach. As a result, you could receive improved engagement and conversions.

The goal is to be as creative as possible. A little hard work will also help you stand out from both your large and small rivals.

Do you want to learn more about how we can help your business grow? Click here to contact us to get started with some marketing ideas for your small business. We were selected as one of the Top Small Business Web Design Companies. See the designrush agency listings.

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