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Expert Answers to Biz Questions
Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.
6 Marketing Ideas to Help Your Small Business Stand Out
You’re starting a small business, or perhaps you’ve started one already, and you’re looking to make it stand out. After all, standing out is crucial if you want to achieve the kind of growth you’re looking for.
How, then, should you stand out? Fortunately, there are a number of ways, and you might be surprised by how much fun you can have along the way.
With this in mind, here are a few marketing ideas you’ll definitely to look into in order to stand out.
Marketing Idea 1): Research for Knowledge
Here’s a great tip: start with macroeconomic research. Who are you trying to reach? What are their demographics, income levels, interests, and desires? What problems are they having, and how can you solve them?
The more you can narrow down who your ideal customer is, the better. This is why research is so invaluable: it provides you with the means to find out who you want to market to, what they really want, and how you can give it to them.
Marketing Idea 2): Blog for Quality
Blogging is one of the most powerful tools out there to help your business climb the search engine rankings, and practically every company out there is making at least some effort to succeed in this area.
With this in mind, what’s your blogging strategy? How will you stand out from the competition – from every other blog out there in your chosen field?
Here’s the thing that a lot of companies forget, or never learn in the first place: with blogging it’s not about quantity, but rather about quality. Blog to establish yourself as an authority, and you’ll do more than capture the search rankings (although that’s important too): you’ll capture the hearts and minds of your readers.
Marketing Idea 3): Mobile Marketing is the Future
Now that 95% of Americans own a mobile device and 98% of all text messages are opened, what’s your mobile marketing strategy? The mobile landscape, speaking in terms of browsing and social media, is more and more exclusive to mobile devices, meaning you’ll want to think about marketing in these mobile-only spaces.
If you’re wondering where to start, there are actually a number of different SMS marketing services available. Their software provides the ability to create lists and messages and send them to your customers.
Marketing Idea 4): Video Marketing is Easier Than You Think
The idea of doing a professional video may sound dauntingly expensive and time-consuming if you’re a small business without much of a budget, but don’t worry, it’s actually much easier than you might think.
In fact, DIY video marketing is absolutely a thing on sites like Instagram and Facebook. You’d be surprised how accessible, simple, and fun it can be to create videos that will help you connect with your audience.
Marketing Idea 5): Email Newsletters They Have to Open
Email newsletters are still one of the best ways to reach people and get a good return on that investment. After all, you can run them on a shoestring budget, and they have the potential to keep people interested and engaged.
For many of us, email is something that tends to get clogged or cluttered very quickly. That’s why you’ll need to make sure your email newsletter stands out. Think about catchy headlines that will appeal to your audience and encourage them to do more than simply delete your message.
If you’re wondering what kind of posts to write for your newsletter, why not incorporate it with your blog? Every time you publish a new blog, send out either a preview or the full thing – depending on length – to your audience. You can also send out other things, including fun infographics and promotional offers.
Marketing Idea 6): Find the Story in the Data
You might think of data as something that only you, the businessperson, cares about. Your customers don’t care about data, right?
Consider this: what if you were to try finding a story in your data? Perhaps you’ve done business with a large number of people who have rated you highly on social media and review sites. If that number is impressive, consider using it in your marketing, as something like “Over 1,000 Rave Reviews” can sound fairly compelling.
Finding the story in the data can go much deeper than that. This is pretty much the entire point of the Priceonomics Blog, and online dating site OkCupid is famous for publishing blog posts summarizing user preferences.
You might be surprised at the human interest value of some of your data. Think about ways to bring it to life with infographics and blogs, and try to get people talking!
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