So you have your business up and running, but are you getting the visibility that you need to grow? Marketing your business can be a tricky proposition. You don’t want to appear desperate or creepy by advertising in strange places.
But at the same time, you need your potential customers to know about your business and the services that you offer. Whether you have been operating for a while or just recently started up your company, it is important to find creative ways to market your brand so that new people hear about it and become interested in what you have to offer.
Whether you own a coffee shop or sell pet accessories online, creativity is the key element of effective marketing. You won’t attract many customers by putting an advertisement in the local newspaper or handing out flyers on street corners.
However, by thinking outside of the box and coming up with unique ideas—and perhaps tapping into some of your personal interests—you can get people excited about what you do and where they can find more information.
It takes a lot of time and effort to build a business from the ground up. Small businesses require constant attention to details in order to thrive. Instead of leaving your marketing plans for another day, it’s important to stay on top of them as early as possible. The sooner you get started, the better.
These small business marketing tips will help you kickstart your company successfully: Keeping your business front-of-mind is challenging when you’re working on so many other tasks at the same time.
Nevertheless, these small business marketing ideas will give you a head start and save you time in the long run.
After all, it’s much easier to keep things simple from day one than try and introduce new strategies later on. Here are 19 creative marketing ideas that will boost your business:
1. Build a reliable email marketing strategy
Email marketing is a tried and tested strategy that will never go out of fashion. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways of reaching customers and potential clients. It’s also an excellent way to nurture leads and guide them towards making a purchase. It’s important to start building your email list as early as possible.
You can do this by including a sign-up form on your website and in your blog posts. You can also offer something of value in exchange for an email address. This could be something like a free report, tips on how to use your product, or even just a discount on your services. The key is to make it worth their while.
2. Host a contest to grow your email list
Contests are a great way to get people engaged with your brand and to build your email list. It’s important to pick a topic that is relevant to your business so that people will actually want to join.
The key to a successful contest is to make it easy for people to join. You want to reduce the friction as much as possible.
Some examples of great contest topics include:
- What your company is doing to help the environment
- What your customers wish they knew when they first started a business
- How to break the 9-5 workday You can easily set up a contest with a website like Wishpond.
Once you’ve chosen a topic, you’ll just need to set up some rules and put a call to action that encourages people to sign up for your email list. You can also use a tool like Shortstack to create an interactive contest that people will love to take part in.
3. Utilize social media and sponsored ads
Social media is a great place to start engaging your audience and getting them interested in your brand. It’s also an excellent tool for discovering more about your target market. You can start with setting up an account on Facebook and Instagram. Next, you can explore ways to boost your posts through Facebook ads.
There are many different types of ads to choose from. You can pick from brand awareness, product sales, or lead generation. You can also try sponsored posts, which are another way to promote your content. You can also try posting to niche-based groups on Facebook to find a broader audience.
Another great way to boost your social media engagement is by hosting a giveaway. People love giveaways, especially when they can win something that’s related to your brand or product.
4. Run a paid ad for your blog post
Paid ads can be a great way to get your blog posts in front of a new audience. It’s important to find a relevant audience to target so that you can get the best results. You can run a paid ad on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google. You can also consider placing an ad on relevant sites like Medium and HuffPo.
When choosing a title for your blog post, it’s important to include a call to action. This will help you to direct the traffic from your ad to your desired action. For example, if you have a blog post about setting up a website, you might want to include a call to action like this: “Get your website designed today.”
5. Develop a content marketing strategy
If you want to attract new customers, it’s important to create engaging and useful content that solves a problem for them. You can start by picking a topic that’s relevant to your business.
Then, make sure that your content is top-notch by following these steps: Start with a keyword research to find out what your audience is searching for.
- What are they hoping to find when they come to your website?
- What’s their biggest challenge or pain point?
- What questions do they have that they’d like answered?
After you’ve identified a keyword, write a blog post around it. Make sure your content is original and free of grammatical errors. After you’ve published your post, don’t forget to promote it. This is where most businesses drop the ball.
6. Offer free meetings with a twist
If you’re in the B2B industry, chances are you’ve met a ton of prospects who just aren’t ready to buy. Offering premium content, like e-books and webinars, is a great way to engage your audience and find leads. You can also use these tactics to get them ready to buy from you.
One way to do this is by offering free meetings with a twist. All you need to do is find a way to get your prospects to contribute to the conversation. You can do this by offering free webinars, or even free coaching sessions.
7. Use ad words to find out what drives the most engagement
It’s important to know what drives engagement on your website. This way, you can continuously improve your content and stay one step ahead of your competitors. To do this, you can use ad words to track your most popular blog posts. You can also use tools like Google Analytics to get a broader overview of your website traffic.
The more you know about what’s driving engagement, the better you’ll be able to optimize your website and future content. Another way to find out what your audience is interested in is by checking out your social media accounts.
You can do this by taking a look at your most popular posts and comments. You can use this information to drive more engagement on your website.
8. Host a free event for your community
Engaging your community can go a long way towards building your brand. One way to do this is by hosting a free event, like a webinar or meetup. You can also host free webinars as a lead generation strategy, which is especially helpful for B2B companies.
Also read: 18 Best Practices for Selling on Facebook Marketplace
To set up a free event, find a date and time that works for your target audience and share the details on social media. You can also send emails to your subscriber list to get the word out.
9. Partner with local businesses
Partnering with local businesses is a great way to boost your brand and get your foot in the door. To do this, find out what your target market is interested in. Try to find businesses that are in the same industry as you and focus on finding areas where you can add value.
You can also host a meetup at a café or restaurant near your office. This is a great way to get the attention of nearby businesses and build relationships with them.
10. Create a blog and present interesting content
With the rise of social media, people seem to be getting more distracted and have less time to read. This is a shame because it’s the written word that helped many businesses flourish in the first place.
A blog is a great way to attract interested readers and keep them coming back for more. The best blogs attract an audience by sharing useful and creative content. You can choose to write about your business, your industry, or any other topic that interests you.
The important thing is to be authentic and consistent. Posts don’t necessarily have to be long. In fact, shorter blog posts tend to do better, especially if they’re to-the-point and include information people can use in their day-to-day lives. On top of that, blog posts can be cross-posted on social media, which will help you reach a wider audience.
11. Host an event or giveaway
Social gatherings are a great way to bring people together and strengthen relationships. Likewise, they’re also an excellent way to promote your business. If you’re hosting an event, invite your customers to attend. You can also hand out flyers at the event with your logo and website address for people to visit later.
If you’re hosting a giveaway, make sure you keep track of the rules and requirements. You’ll want to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible for the customers and yourself.
Hosting an event or running a giveaway is a great strategy for the following reasons: You can host the event at your office or in a public space. This will help you avoid additional costs and provide you with a captive audience. Since you’re the host, you can also make your business relevant to the conversation.
12. Establish authenticity with social ads and video
You want to be sure that your customers can trust you and your brand. This will help you build a loyal fan base and increase your sales. To be authentic, make sure you’re transparent and honest in everything you do.
Start with your social media ads: On top of that, video ads are proven to be more successful than standard ads. They’re also inexpensive and easy to create. Make sure to keep your video short and sweet. You can upload your video to YouTube and add it to your website for more visibility. Be sure to keep your product or service at the forefront of the conversation.
13. Send out a monthly newsletter
No matter what kind of business you have, sending a newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with your customers and boost your sales. It’s important to find the right tone and style for your newsletter. You don’t want to come off as salesy and aggressive, but rather helpful and informative.
The best newsletters are those that provide value to people. Find a topic or theme for your newsletter and make sure it ties in with your business. There are tons of services, such as MailChimp, that make it easy to send a professional newsletter. You can even set up a template so you don’t have to start from scratch every time.
14. Use ad platforms to find your niche market
There are various ad platforms out there that can help you discover your target market. There are also tools that make it easy to create ads for your specific niche. Facebook, for example, allows you to create ads based on demographics and interests. You can also choose the people who you want to see your ads
This saves you time and effort and is a great way to boost your business. Similarly, Google AdWords allows you to create ads that are catered to your specific audience. You can also set the amount you’re willing to spend on ads. The great thing about Google AdWords is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
15. Create an ad-free environment for your customers
This is opposed to traditional advertising, which many people find irritating. Instead, offer something that customers will be happy to receive. For example, instead of running ads, you could offer one free coffee per week to your customers or promise a free gift with every purchase.
This will let your customers know that your business is ad-free, making them feel more comfortable doing business with you. Furthermore, you can ask customers to share their experience with your company online. This will help you reach a wider audience and boost your reputation.
16. Run Incorporation Ads
This is a great way to get your business in front of people who have never heard of you before. A well-known company will likely have a lower rate than a new company. This is because they’re looking for advertisers and will charge according to the amount of impressions you want.You can also run ads on billboards, on the radio, or through public transportation. This will get your brand out there and help generate more sales.
17. Engage on Social Media: Ad and Article Sponsorships
Another great way to engage with your customers is by sponsoring articles and ads on social media. This will help you stay top-of-mind and generate more sales. You can offer to pay an influencer to write about your product or service.
This will help you reach a wider audience and will be more authentic than an advertisement. In the same way, you can partner with websites and magazines and offer to sponsor an article. This will help you get your name out there and drive more sales.
18. Facebook ad campaign
Creating a Facebook ad campaign is a great strategy for business growth. You can target specific demographics through their interests and behaviours. For example, if you’re selling coffee products, you can target coffee lovers. The best way to create a campaign is to test different variations.
This will help you identify what works best for your customers. There are many tools and strategies for creating Facebook ads. What’s important is to experiment with different types of ads until you find something that works.
19. Google adwords
Google AdWords is a great way to reach potential customers when they’re actively searching for products and services. Similar to Facebook ads, you can choose which keywords to target.
This will help you reach people who are actively looking for your products and services. Choosing the right keywords is important, but there are many different tips and strategies that can help you succeed with Google AdWords.
Conclusion
Marketing your business successfully can be challenging, but with the right strategies and ideas, you can reach a wider audience and boost your sales. These 10 creative marketing ideas will help you stay on top of your marketing strategies and keep your customers coming back for more.
From creating a blog to hosting an event, these strategies will engage your customers and help them learn more about your company and products.
Now that you’ve read through these creative marketing ideas, it’s time to put them into action. You may find that some of these are easier than others, or that they fit your business better than others.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure that it has a purpose. Make sure that you track your results over time, so that you can get an idea of what’s working and what isn’t. If you stay focused on these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to building your business.