Small businesses have some distinct advantages over their larger competitors. They're nimble, have fewer operational costs, and can respond to market changes faster than a company with thousands of employees and departments. With so many large corporations and brands focusing on the digital space, it can be challenging for small businesses to compete online.
Most businesses fail because they don't have the resources or infrastructure to reach customers effectively in this new digital landscape. However, there are plenty of ways that small businesses can leverage their size as an advantage.
Smaller companies can react faster to customer needs and shift more quickly from one business strategy to another. They also have smaller advertising budgets, so they need other methods for getting their message out there.
Here are some great marketing solutions for small business owners.
SEM
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the practice of ranking well on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) to drive organic traffic. SEO is the long-term strategy, but SEM is the immediate strategy for small business owners who don't have the resources for long-term SEO campaigns.
SEM solutions like Google AdWords or Bing Ads target specific keywords, which means you'll show up when someone searches for your product or service. Small business owners can easily start and stop SEM campaigns anytime, making it an excellent option for businesses looking to drive immediate sales. The downside to SEM is that you can't control where your ads show up — so they're not always the best way to direct customers back to your site.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can be a great way to get your brand in front of new customers. Paid ads focus on driving clicks to your website and starting a conversion. Many small business owners use platforms like Google AdWords to drive targeted traffic to their websites.
If you have a product or service that can be delivered immediately, paid advertising can be a great way to drive sales. Small business owners can set up ads targeting customer profiles most likely to convert. Many paid ad platforms are available, and you can scale your ad spend as needed. However, paid advertising is expensive, and it can be challenging for small businesses to scale up to match larger competitors.
Organic Marketing
Marketing is a significant term that includes everything from branding to sales. When marketing a product, you're trying to drive traffic to your website, create brand awareness, and move people through the sales funnel.
One of the best ways to do this organically is through content marketing. Content marketing refers to creating and distributing valuable, educational content that will drive traffic to your website. For example, you could create a series of blog posts on how to pick paint colors for your home. You could also create a podcast or video series on the same topic.
Content marketing is perfect for small businesses with limited budgets. You can create evergreen content that stays relevant for a long time, so you don't have to spend a lot of money to keep it fresh on social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.
Video Marketing
Videos are increasingly becoming a crucial part of people's online experience. If you're in an industry like education, real estate, or insurance, you can use videos to help inform your customers. You can also use video to create compelling advertisements.
You'll need a videographer or video editor to create an excellent video for your brand or product. Video editors can help you create a video tailored to your brand and customers. You can use videos on your website, social media marketing campaigns, and print ads.
Video is a great way to connect with customers, and it's especially effective when you're trying to sell a product that can't be sold online. For example, if you're in the insurance industry and your product is entirely based on a customer's driving record, video is a great way to connect with your potential customers.
Website Advertising
Website advertising is similar to search engine marketing, except it's a one-time ad that appears on a website and doesn't have a link to a specific search term or keyword. This advertising is a great way to increase brand awareness, but it's not the best option if you're trying to drive immediate sales.
Website ads are usually placed next to related content and entice readers to click on your ad. For example, if you're running a website ad for the paint color blog post mentioned above, your ad will appear next to other paint color-related content. If a reader clicks on your ad, they'll be taken to your website and can either sign up for an email list or purchase your products or services directly. Website ads are a great way to build your brand and click-through rates without much upfront work or cost.
Cooperative Advertising Strategies
Sometimes it can be difficult to get advertisers to work with small businesses, but a few strategies can help. You can partner with an existing brand that has the same audience and advertising goals as you do. For example, if you sell organic beauty products for women, you could partner with a beauty company that focuses on natural products.
By partnering, you'll be able to piggyback off their ad spend and create a more effective ad campaign. You can also work with other small businesses in your industry and create a group ad campaign. Similar to the previous example, you can partner with other brands similar to yours and create a more extensive ad campaign that is more significant than a single website ad.
Bottom line
Nowadays, small businesses can compete with more prominent brands using digital marketing strategies like SEM and video. These strategies can help you reach a new audience and increase brand awareness. You'll need to partner with a marketing agency or hire a digital marketing team to use these methods.
Nevertheless, you don't have to fall behind if you're a small business owner. Digital marketing solutions like SEM, search engine optimization, and video can help you reach more customers and drive more sales.
At Cápita Works, we have just the solution if you're a small business owner interested in increasing your marketing activities, even if you're on a limited budget.
Our Shared Services Center offers a team of marketing specialists -including the above services- that can help carry out your marketing needs without breaking the bank.
We offer a fixed number of monthly hours in flexible plans with no strings attached. Learn more about our Shared Services Center, or contact us at info@capitaworks.com for any further information.
