Starting and growing a small business can be challenging, but having the right promotional tactics in place can make a big difference. Do you know what the best small business promotional tactics are?
Knowing which techniques are most effective can give you an edge over your competitors and help accelerate your growth. The five most effective small business promotional tactics include:
- Running paid advertising campaigns
- Leveraging influencer marketing
- Offering discounts
- Engaging on social media and optimizing your website for local search
- Creating a referral network
When used correctly, each of these tactics can bring more customers to your door, increasing profits and setting you up for success. Let’s dive into each one!
The 5 Most Effective Small Business Promotional Tactics
While this is just the tip of the iceberg, these five tactics are some of the most effective small business promotional techniques. No matter your industry or niche, these promotional tactics will give you a leg up.
1. Paid Advertising Campaigns
Paid advertising campaigns are an effective way for small businesses to boost their visibility and reach a larger audience more quickly. They’re an excellent tool for entrepreneurs looking to increase sales, build their customer base, and get more leads.
With the right strategy in place, paid advertising campaigns can effectively reach target audiences and get desired results. The key is knowing how to construct ads that will attract the attention of potential customers. This involves utilizing various elements such as attractive visuals, compelling copywriting, and strategic placement of display ads.
One popular form of paid advertising is pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. PPC campaigns allow businesses to only pay when someone clicks on their ad or visits their website. This type of campaign focuses on finding the most profitable keywords or phrases related to its product or service offerings for which people are searching online and then directing them to relevant landing pages within the business’s website.
Using data from search engines such as Google Ads, companies allocate a budget towards particular keywords with high search volumes and bid against competitors for higher positions in a search engine results page (SERPs).
Other forms of paid advertising
Display ads are another type of paid advertising that businesses use to reach target audiences across different websites. These ads usually consist of visuals with brief messages about the product or service being offered to catch potential customer’s attention while they’re browsing online.
Unlike PPC campaigns that focus on organic search results, display ads are placed on specific websites where they’ll be seen by users who have visited those sites before –– potentially leading them back to the business’s site if they’re interested in learning more about what it has to offer.
Display ads can range from static images or animated gifs to interactive HTML5 banners with multiple call-to-action options depending on how much budget a business has allocated towards this kind of campaign and what type of message it wants to convey about its product or service offering.
Social media marketing is another popular form of paid advertising that allows businesses to reach target audiences through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. These platforms offer various types of sponsored posts, such as image posts, video posts, and carousel posts, whereby different visuals rotate when users scroll through them on mobile devices ––allowing each post enough time in front of its intended viewers.
Businesses can also run a retargeting campaign which involves targeting individuals who have previously visited a company’s website but left without making any purchases ––reminding these visitors what products/services they were looking at and encouraging them to come back once again so they could potentially make a purchase this time around instead.
The success rate for any given paid advertising campaign will depend mainly on how well it’s been planned out concerning its objectives and target audience(s). It’s important for small businesses owners looking into this option to do their research ahead of time so that they understand all the ins and outs associated with launching successful PPC, display, and social media marketing campaigns for them to obtain optimal returns from any money invested into these initiatives over an extended period of time.
2: Leveraging Influencer Marketing
Leveraging influencer marketing is a great way to increase the visibility and reach of a small business. Influencers have a large social media following and can effectively spread their message to a broad audience. By partnering with an influencer, smaller companies can tap into their vast network of followers and drive customers to their products or services.
For example, if a business has created a new product or service, it may partner with an influencer who has established themselves as an expert in that field. This influencer could then use their platform to share information about the new product or service and help get the word out. Small businesses may also offer influencers special discounts or promotions in exchange for promoting their product or service on social networks.
Another advantage of leveraging influencer marketing is that it gives businesses access to targeted audiences that may otherwise be unaware of the brand’s offerings. Through a carefully selected partnership with an influential figure, companies can ensure that only those most interested in their products will be exposed to them. This allows for more efficient use of resources than traditional forms of advertising, such as direct mail, radio, or television ads, which are typically far less targeted.
Finally, partnering with an influencer also helps build trust between prospective customers and businesses by providing an authentic endorsement from someone they already know and trust. Customers are far more likely to purchase from brands they feel confident in due to positive affirmations from trusted sources within their network — making it essential for any small business looking to grow quickly and efficiently!
3: Offering Discounts
Offering discounts can be an effective promotional tactic for a new business. Discounts can not only increase sales, but they can also incentivize potential customers to make a purchase. Discounts can be offered in many different ways, such as a percentage off the original price, a dollar amount off the actual price, and free shipping or gifts with purchase. Also, discounts don’t have to be just one-time offers; they can come in packages of multiple discounts over time as well.
Offering discounts is one of the best ways for small business owners to raise brand awareness or attract new customers. It encourages customers to try out their products, who otherwise may have been unsure about purchasing them due to how expensive some products can be. Additionally, special discount offers that are only available for a short period encourage customers to act quickly to receive the discount and build anticipation around future promotions.
Discounts do not always have to involve money off the product. Free shipping or gift-with-purchase offers can also provide tremendous value while still staying within budget and increasing sales volume simultaneously. Furthermore, loyalty programs that reward returning customers are also an effective way of giving discounts while simultaneously building relationships with repeat buyers and encouraging them to become ambassadors for your brand through positive reviews and word-of-mouth marketing.
Overall, offering discounts as a promotional tactic is an effective way for small business owners to increase sales volume and gain exposure for their products amongst potential buyers who might otherwise have been reluctant to make a purchase.
4: Engaging on Social Media and Optimizing Your Website for Local Search
Engaging on social media platforms and optimizing your website for local search are two of small businesses’ most effective promotional tactics. Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to reach customers personally by creating meaningful interactions with them and ultimately converting them into loyal customers.
Digital marketing is also an excellent way to increase brand awareness and build relationships with people who may have yet to discover your business. By posting relevant, high-quality content regularly, businesses can keep their followers engaged and create a sense of community around their brand.
Optimizing your website for local search is vital for promoting your small business online. Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on enhancing visibility for your local business in SERPs based on local searches. This means that when potential customers near your area conduct searches related to the type of products or services you offer, they will find your business more easily than if you had not optimized your site for local search.
To optimize for local SEO, you should make sure to perform keyword research, so you can include targeted keywords related to location (city, state, or region), optimize website titles, descriptions, and other elements with appropriate geographical terms.
It’s also advisable to create separate landing pages for each location, track visitor engagement through analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, and ensure all contact information (e-mail address, telephone number, etc.) is up-to-date and listed prominently on the website. (Overwhelmed? Don’t worry, there are professionals who can help with this kind of SEO).
Additionally, getting listed on local directories and getting customer reviews on third-party sites such as Yelp are both crucial steps that should be taken to maximize visibility in local markets.
Overall, engaging on social media and optimizing your website for local search are two very effective strategies that small businesses can utilize to successfully promote their products/services online and reach new customers.
With the right approach and dedication, these tactics can lead to increased visibility and increased traffic (which leads to increased revenue) – something every small business strives for!
5: Creating Referral Networks
Creating a referral network is one of the most effective small business promotional tactics, as it is a highly cost-effective way to reach potential customers. Referred customers are more likely to be loyal, meaning that businesses can expect longer-term relationships with them, which contributes to higher profits.
The process for setting up a referral network begins by identifying advocates and influencers who will share your message with their own networks. These could include anyone from existing customers and industry partners to public figures or social media influencers. Once identified, businesses need to establish an incentive program that encourages referrals, which often takes the form of discounts or rewards.
Once the network has been established, businesses can start promoting their products or services using their advocates’ networks by crafting powerful messages that emphasize the benefits they offer while leveraging the trust their advocates have already built with their audiences. Messages should be tailored based on each advocate’s individual audience. They should also include clear calls to action, so potential customers know precisely how to take advantage of your offering.
Businesses should also track how successful their referral network has been at driving sales and conversions so that they can adjust their approach in the future if necessary. This includes measuring key metrics such as clickthrough rates, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value (LTV) from referred customers.
By understanding and optimizing these metrics, businesses can ensure that their referral networks remain effective over time and that any resources invested are used efficiently for maximum ROI.
There you have it; five of the most effective ways small, and even larger companies, can kick-start their marketing techniques. Online marketing is not for the faint of heart, but with these five small business promotional tactics, you should be able to see results in no time!
How Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services Can Help…
Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services can help small businesses market themselves through various means. With SEO, we can optimize your site to help it rank higher in search engine results. We do this through keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and more to ensure that your content is indexed correctly and made visible to potential customers.
Content marketing is also something that Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services offers. We create quality content tailored specifically to meet the needs of each business’s goals and objectives. Not only do we create engaging copy, but we also help companies with their overall content strategy by creating an editorial calendar and suggesting topics for blog posts that can drive traffic to their website.
When it comes to paid advertising, Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services has the tools and knowledge necessary to get the most out of any budget. Depending on the client’s needs, we utilize online (Google Adwords) and offline methods, such as radio or print ads. From target audience identification to creative ad copywriting and monitoring performance, our team puts its expertise into action every step of the way.
Finally, our Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services team can manage social media accounts for businesses, so they don’t have to worry about staying up-to-date with their online presence across various platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram – we work with you to determine the best course of action for you in terms of content creation, engagement with users, and growth hacking techniques designed specifically for your business goals. Our team is trained in analytics, so we can measure each tactic’s success and adjust accordingly if needed. By managing social media accounts, businesses will have more time available to focus on other aspects of their operations while still having a steady presence online where potential customers may see them first when looking for services like theirs.
Ready to take your marketing efforts to a new level? Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and learn how Sunrise Virtual Assistant Services can help your business reach its marketing goals!
