Generating buzz for a small business can be challenging especially with a limited budget. Learn about the most effective advertising ideas for small businesses.
New customers are one of the hardest things for businesses to get. You have a lot of competition out there, and you need to find a way to stand out.
The good news is there are plenty of advertising options available to you. Instead of blasting advertisements to as many people as possible, you can focus on specific audiences. This targeting will allow you to get better returns from your ads.
If you’re wondering what your options are for advertising your business, this post will help. Below are seven of the most effective advertising strategies you can try today to bring in more business.
1. Sign Up for Google MyBusiness
Search engines are one of the best ways to get in front of customers in your area. Unfortunately, not everyone makes the best use of them. You aren’t going to get the results your competitors get if you don’t show up on your local maps.
If you want your store to show up in local results, you need to have a Google MyBusiness account. Once you get this, you can take advantage of your MyBusiness page to display information about your business to potential customers.
The problem is, Google won’t display your store if you aren’t signed up. Google will send you a postcard with a PIN code on it. Once you enter this information in your account, you’ll be able to set up your business information.
2. Use Retargeting Ads
Does your business have a website? If so, you can make use of retargeting to make more sales.
Retargeting advertisements are ads that are shown to the people who have been to your website before. Advertising platforms provide you a tracking code to place on your website. When someone visits, they get put on a list.
Retargeting ads are cheaper and convert better than regular advertisements. It often takes someone seeing your products more than once to buy from you, and retargeting allows you to do that.
3. Start a Blog
Local search results aren’t the only way to get shown on Google. You can also create a blog targeting search terms that people look for.
Sign up for a service like the Google Keyword Planner and search for terms related to your industry. You’ll get a list of keywords and the number of searches they get every month.
Use these keywords to create content for your blog. The more keywords you target, the more pages you can rank in Google. Use these pages to push visitors to your paid products.
4. Create Social Profiles
People spend more time than ever on social media. It’s smart to try and take advantage of their time there.
Figure out which social media sites your ideal customer is likely to spend time on. These sites are where you want to focus your efforts. Advertise your social media page on your website and your local store.
Once you build a following online, you can use your social media page to send news and deals to your followers. Your goal should be to provide content that is easy to share.
When you do this, your fans are going to share your content with their friends. This will get your business in front of people who may have never heard of you otherwise.
5. Promote Online Reviews
Showing up in local search results isn’t the only benefit you’ll see for signing up with Google. You can also use reviews to promote your business.
Unfortunately, not everyone leaves reviews. It’s something that slips consumer’s minds unless something bad happens. Because of this, you’re more likely to see people leave negative reviews instead of positive ones.
But you can change this. Whenever a customer buys from you, encourage them to leave a review online. Doing this will help you stand up from your competition.
The one thing you can’t do is offer service in exchange for reviews. If you’re caught doing this, you run the risk of having your reviews purged. When this happens, you can have your account limited and have to start over.
6. Network with Local Businesses
The good news is that print media isn’t expensive to use anymore. You can print out business cards, company banners, flyers, and everything else you can think of for relatively cheap. The question is, how do you distribute it?
You can start by building relationships with other businesses in your area. See if they have programs that allow you to display your promotional items in their stores. If you find a great set of business partners, you can work together to grow each other’s businesses.
You can check with your local chamber of commerce to start. The businesses there are interested in meeting and working with people in their area.
7. Create a Referral Program
If you do your job right, you should have customers who are willing to spread positive information about your products. You need to use this to your advantage.
You can use a referral program to encourage past customers to become advocates for your business. This can be done by offering rewards for people who send you new business.
You can be as creative as you want with your rewards. It can be anything from free products to discounts, exclusive merchandise, or all of the above. Whatever it is, it should be something that gets people excited to talk about your business.
Don’t Ignore the Most Effective Advertising Methods
You don’t want to reinvent the wheel when advertising your business. Stick with the most effective advertising methods that have already been established so you aren’t wasting money on unproven techniques. When you do, you’ll increase the chances of creating winning ad campaigns.
Once you start your advertising campaigns, you need to fine-tune them to optimize the results. Head back to our blog to learn how.