Marketing Strategies for Small Business 2021

It’s fair to mention that 2020 was a one-of-a-kind year and that 2021 is most likely no different. So, as marketers consider establishing brands this year and beyond, what lessons should we learn from the pandemic? What should be the best marketing strategies for small businesses this year?

The Covid-19 outbreak threw a marketer’s playbook into disarray, upending long-held beliefs about customer relationships and brand building.

The majority of small businesses, particularly new ones, have a restricted marketing budget. And they must make the most of their marketing budget while competing for the attention of their target audience with more prominent companies. So, how can you stay competitive in the marketing world while sticking to a budget? 

Unfortunately, for small businesses, there is no one-size-fits-all marketing plan. There are, however, a few small business marketing methods that have been shown to get the greatest bang for their money. 

Regardless of the industry, these online marketing tactics would allow your business to achieve a lot more with a smaller budget and deliver a high return on investment.

So let’s jump to those methods and tips on how to put them to work for you!

Online Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Let us have a look at some of the top offline marketing strategies for small businesses.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

With over 4.66 billion internet users, according to Statista’s 2020 forecast, there is no question a massive opportunity for businesses to profit from online marketing. As most of the world’s internet traffic is generated through search engines, SEO offers a way to cash in on this opportunity. Ergo, if you wish to target a particular audience, SEO is the key! 

According to a recent report by Safari Digital, the top results on Google’s SERP (search engine result page) have a CTR (click-through-rate) of 34.36 percent. Furthermore, 61% of marketers believe that SEO is the most crucial factor in achieving online success.

Furthermore, 82 percent of consumers who used SEO-based techniques regarded them as effective, and firms spend an average of 41 percent of their marketing budget on SEO.

Long-tail keywords are helpful for various reasons, according to Neil Patel, who claims that they account for more than 70% of all web searches. He increased search engine traffic by 173,336 (+91%) each month using long-tail keywords.

SEO can utilize AI effectively. There are some fantastic AI-assisted keyword research tools available, such as Keyword Tool and Twin Word. Furthermore, Wordsmith, Articoolo, and WordAI are among the leading artificial intelligence content creation technologies available.

Hiring decent SEO consultants and investigating how consumers engage with your website and social media platforms by doing an SEO audit will help you grow your small business.

Also Read: How URL Canonicalization can improve your SEO game.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a marketing strategy that revolves around developing and distributing relevant content to a target audience to elicit the desired action. It focuses on establishing a relationship with its readers and gaining their loyalty by giving value.

You have to invest in a solid content marketing strategy to keep your audience engaged. Create unique and original content that will have a significant impact on your target market.

In marketing, always remember the 80-20 rule: 

“80% of your content should be about your product, and 20% should be about your online sales, giveaways, and other promotions.”

FYI, Video content is gaining extensive popularity each day. Now is the time to utilize this and build your audience.

Read more insights on social media trends 2021

Just remember that great content may boost your organic traffic as well as your search engine results.

PPC Ad Campaigns

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an online marketing format that allows small businesses to display their ads to customers searching for related items and services online.

It works just as it sounds: you pay each time a customer clicks on your ad. Quality, relevance, and validity are used by the search engine (Google and others) to determine which ads appear on the Search engine results page (SERP).

Keyword research is crucial in PPC ad campaigns, just as it is in SEO because you must bid on keywords that are most likely to be utilized by relevant leads.

The most common PPC advertising platform is Google Ads (Google AdWords). 

Want to generate a PPC campaign for your business? Let us know here.  

Google is an excellent location to start with your PPC advertising because most consumers use Google to research products and services. Google determines your quality score based on keyword relevancy, landing page quality, and other variables, which influences when and where your ads appear in the SERP for related search queries.

Facebook (and Instagram) Ads

The precise targeting features of Facebook advertising are one of their most appealing aspects. While other ad platforms may leave you wondering who is seeing your ads, Facebook allows you to target your audience so that only relevant people see your ads.

You may target your audience based on various variables such as geography, age, gender, online behavior, and other things using the platform.

The process involves choosing an objective, defining an audience followed by setting a budget. Once these initial steps are over, the ad is created by selecting an ad format, and then the ad can be placed on various areas of Facebook and even on Instagram.

Check out the Advertising services we offer to small businesses like yours.

Social Media Marketing

A survey says, 73% of marketers have found social media beneficial to their business. It’s no longer an option to contact and engage your target audience through social media channels — it’s a must! 

You’ve known for a long time that social media is crucial for small businesses, but 2020 has made it mandatory. Small business owners are concerned about financial troubles due to the COVID-19 crisis, with 70% expressing concern. Social networking can be a lifeline in a time when money is tighter than ever.

The leading platforms that we have for highly inexpensive and creative content-dependent marketing are: 

• Facebook marketing
• Instagram marketing
• Twitter marketing
• YouTube marketing
• Pinterest marketing
• LinkedIn marketing

Just be active, regular, and creative with your content on these platforms. Keep in touch with your audience, so they stay with you for long. That should be the only goal!

Moment Marketing

Moment marketing enables taking advantage of an opportunity to have suitable, seemingly spontaneous, and sometimes brief, real-time conversations with customers.

With this, you may use a moment, such as a trend or an event, to bring your brand closer to your target audience, making it more relatable and in line with current events.

You never know which tweet, meme, or video message from you goes viral and outreaches the mass.

FYI, Story format has swept the social media industry, with research indicating that over one billion accounts currently use stories on Facebook-owned platforms globally.

As the number of people using social media story platforms has grown, so has the number of companies using the format to interact with their social media audiences. As a result, use Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, and Snapchat Stories to engage your audience.

You may also utilize webinars and live events to promote new items, provide instructions, and answer questions in real-time. This provides a physical experience for your audience, allowing them to engage more closely with your brand and product.

Email Marketing and Personalized DMs

Well, personalization is a necessity nowadays for every existing firm and specifically startups. The open rates of emails with personalized subject lines are 26% higher.

As a result, a small business should invest in an email service provider that allows for automated emails. Startups should use newsletters or automatically tailored emails to engage their subscribers based on their interests. Emails can also be a valuable tool for providing excellent customer service.

Direct Messaging is also causing a stir in the sector. Neil Patel discussed how a Facebook Messenger marketing strategy could help with digital marketing. Few of your audience may be more inclined to click on a link sent through Facebook/ Instagram Messenger than on a link sent through email marketing.

Lastly, the content you create and the platform you choose will significantly impact your company’s growth. So be careful and decisive about that!

Tracking results (Metrics and Analytics)

Of course, the objectives of your company will determine the results. It doesn’t matter if it’s brand exposure, lead creation, product marketing, customer acquisition, sales, or anything else. But, regardless of your goals, how do you measure success or failure in digital marketing?

It’s critical to track your progress to improve your digital marketing techniques. 

How to figure out what works and what doesn’t?

Yes, sales figures aren’t the only helpful indicator. One can also track the amount of traffic your website receives from social media and interaction rates for particular articles and even certain sorts of engagement, such as retweets vs. likes.

Every metric can provide you with information, and the value of that information is determined by whether or not it aids you in making business decisions.

Don’t waste time and money on activities you won’t be able to track, such as social media, email, search engines, and your website. Instead, use platforms like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, etc to ensure you can track outcomes from marketing channels like social media, email, search engines, and your website.

Check out our more digital marketing services and get your free consultation Here. 

Undoubtedly, any marketing strategy must include digital marketing as a component. Most of the digital strategies are low-cost, high-impact strategies to boost your marketing efforts. Therefore, staying competitive necessitates the use of online and digital marketing.

However, the best marketing tactics link and blend offline and online campaigns. These multi-channel campaigns increase brand awareness, connect your messaging across all points of contact, and can potentially result in a higher return on investment (ROI). Furthermore, It enables you to run a single campaign across numerous channels. It also gives you more opportunities to use copy, graphics, and promotional materials.

Best Offline Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Let’s have a look at major offline marketing strategies for small businesses:

Pamphlets or Flyers

Giving free printed marketing materials is one of the great marketing strategies to get your brand message out to your target market. Flyer printing may appear to be an outdated strategy. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, especially if you’re attending a trade fair or looking to garner some local exposure.

Go above and beyond the typical template by bringing something new to the table.

Discount Coupons

By providing coupons, loyalty programs, special discounts, etc you can make customers feel unique while increasing leads and sales. If you advertise the benefits, you may even attract new clients who have never heard of you before.

Business Cards

One secure way to get your business noticed is to invest in well-designed business cards. Choose a distinctive design that shows your brand’s beliefs and creativity to set your company apart.

Remember, your business card represents your brand to an extent. Therefore, being consistent is beneficial. Use the same logo, fonts, and colors on your website as you use on the rest of your marketing materials.

Seasonal Cards and Gifts

Who doesn’t love Holidays? Send cards and little gifts to customers, and take advantage of major holidays and milestones to draw attention to yourself. The brand should spend enough money to have a pleasant time with your customers. A well-designed, well-thought-out, personalized little token can demonstrate that you care about your customers and that they matter to your brand.

Community Engagement

Getting engaged in the community is a terrific way to get your name out there. While our first reaction would be to donate to a charity, you can also encourage your employees to volunteer.

Own Events

Creating your community events (or virtually streaming) can be a terrific method to sell your brand when stepping out into the community, cross-promoting with different companies, or even launching a new book.

You can distribute new business cards, run event-specific advertising, and even create new pamphlets or book volumes that are only available at that event. 

Sending Out Press Releases

There’s no need to hire an in-house public relations team. All you need to do is build contacts with relevant media to gain favorable coverage from local journalists in your area. Don’t forget to make an effort to get to know them and demonstrate what your business is all about.

Free Workshops

Offer consumer advice about your business and sector as a guest on a local radio show, podcast channel, or morning TV show. Look into getting a regular column in your local newspaper or another comparable publication. Be sincere and provide some helpful information.

Refined Elevator Pitch

Refining your elevator pitch is a great approach to help you advertise your business offline. You must be able to represent your company’s ideas and be both plain and captivating, whether you’re at a sponsored event, providing community work, or reaching out to potential partners.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while there are many different parts to offline marketing, they all revolve around outreach, participation, and being a strong advocate for oneself. Investing in social and search marketing, as well as these crucial offline marketing strategies, will give your company the boost it requires to reach the top.

We hope that these top marketing strategies will help you take your business to the next level.