The best ways to affordably market your business
When you’re not living and breathing marketing it can be hard to stay on top of the latest trends.
If you’re throwing resources at outdated strategies it could tank your return on investment. By keeping up with the ebb and flow of marketing tactics you can save yourself time and money.
For instance, Facebook is a tried-and-true marketing tool for organic and paid traffic. On the other hand, Twitter is seen as a lost cause for most marketers.
Business owners who aren’t aware of what works for other companies might end up going through rounds of trial and error on their own. Give your company a leg up by trying some of the most popular marketing tactics of the year.
Five marketing strategies you won’t want to miss in 2023
1. Short-form videos and TikTok
What started out as an app only used for dance trends and meme videos has grown into a life-changing marketing tool.
A viral TikTok video has launched the careers of small business owners time and time again. Creators post everything from products to restaurant openings or calls for help during hardships.
As more and more companies turn to TikTok marketing, it has changed the way other social media platforms operate as well.
Instagram and Facebook now encourage the posting of Reels, a similar kind of short-form video. YouTube has introduced Shorts to give users another option for watching quick and consumable content.
It can seem intimidating to dive into these new platforms but you don’t need a video to go viral in order for your work to pay off. Filming quick cellphone videos is a low-cost and low-time way to market your company. If you begin paying attention to popular hashtags, songs, dances and stories you can hop on those trends to help increase the chances of your videos being seen.
The best part is you can reuse your videos from platform to platform, which can immediately increase your audience without worrying about making new content. You can even create short-form videos to use on your website pages and blogs.
Larger companies have begun relying on influencers to bring in new customers. These influencers create short-form videos that do things such as:
- Testing or endorsing products
- Highlighting or reviewing businesses
- Testifying or recommending companies
For small businesses, this route doesn’t make quite as much sense. Instead of spending money on hiring an influencer try these three tactics:
- Increasing Lifetime Value (LTV): Without a big budget you should prioritize staying at the top of your current client’s mind. By checking in regularly, creating content that benefits them and cultivating a positive customer service experience, you can be a business they recommend to friends and family.
- Be your own influencer: You know your business is great, don’t be afraid to tell others. Using your personal or business accounts you can post to forums like Facebook Groups, Nextdoor and Reddit to increase awareness and attract new leads.
- Create content with your clients: You can work with your clients to film video testimonials or share photos of a successful service that you provided. Think about how hairdressers tag their clients in before and after photos so they can share them on Instagram and Facebook.
2. Optimizing your website and content for search engines
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t trending because it’s new, it’s trending because it’s effective.
If your page shows up on the first page of someone’s search results, you greatly increase your chances of getting a click. Then with quality content and a great site navigation, you can turn that click into a customer.
Making your website, YouTube videos, TikToks and blogs easier to find in search can be an ROI gamechanger.
Optimizing your digital marketing materials for search requires two very important factors:
- Writing how people search: Many SEO specialists focus on using keywords, which are popular search queries made by real users. If your website’s headings and content features words people are typing into the search bar, you’re more likely to appear in their results.
- Ensuring your website is high-functioning: Google will knock you down in the search results if your website is outdated, slow or unsecure. Improving site speed, security, functionality and mobile-responsiveness all plays a role in improving your rankings online.
Don’t rely on guesswork, trust the data.
A major part of SEO is reviewing what’s working for your website, what are potential customers searching for and how you can optimize each individual page on your site.
Many small businesses turn to SEO for two reasons:
- It’s more affordable than paid advertising methods
- It works great for targeting specific localities
3. Returning to in-person events
During much of 2020 and 2021, it was impossible to hold in-person events due to the pandemic. With so much uncertainty during those years, face-to-face marketing definitely took a plunge even during 2022.
As in-person events continue to be on the rise, there are tons of ways for your small business to benefit.
You can send employees to conferences and seminars for training, attend trade shows to promote your services, find new hires at career fairs and lend a hand at local events for better brand awareness.
If you are looking to create lasting relationships with clients you can invite them to appreciation events to keep your business at the top of their mind.
4. Saving time with an AI Chatbot
Have you ever opened a website and in one of the corners there’s been a messaging option. Maybe a small icon pops up with a note like “Hi there! How can I help you?”
Many small businesses use a software that sets up a place for your website users to talk with an AI program that has been set to answer questions, provide scheduling tools and offer links to other pages.
These nifty little chatbots handle that initial interaction with a potential client so you can save your time for other tasks. The bot also helps point your user towards the best next step whether it be providing contact info, making a phone call, filling out a form or sending an email.
Your chatbot works even when you aren’t. This allows you to keep the sales and customer service process going after hours without any additional work.
You can use a chatbot to:
- Greet website visitors
- Recommend purchases
- Qualify leads
- Schedule meetings
- Make sales
The best part is that your chatbot software will make sure you are made aware of when a customer reaches out. Once the messages come in, you can assign an employee to follow up if needed.
You’ll likely see more and more chatbots this year as the software used becomes more accessible and users become more comfortable using them.
5. Fractionalized Marketing
Small business owners are incredibly busy. You don’t have the time for the ever-changing marketing landscape.
A full-time marketing hire can be extremely expensive and unattainable for most small businesses. A lot of part-time hires just don’t have the experience and skills you need to meet all of your marketing goals.
That’s why in 2023 you’ll see even more small businesses turn to affordable marketing agencies for their websites, logos and digital marketing needs.
Marketing agencies offer you the chance to request one-time projects such as:
- Website design
- Website development
- Logo design
- Printing services
- Newsletter campaigns
Many agencies also make it possible to work with them on a monthly basis. You can find a marketing team capable of providing:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services
- Content writing
- Social media management
- Email campaign creation
- Website maintenance
Emerge is an affordable digital marketing agency that helps you grow your audience to generate new leads. With SEO, social media, email marketing and more, you can use digital marketing to get ahead of the competition.
Schedule a consultation today to stay relevant in the marketing world.
