Starting a business is no easy feat – especially when facing an over-saturated market. A rigorous, well-thought-out marketing plan will help your business establish a unique position in the market, leading to growth and success.
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan is a thorough road map outlining your overall marketing strategies and highlighting the steps that will be taken to achieve marketing objectives.
No matter how good your product or service is, without a solid marketing plan, people may never know your business exists. In this post, we’re going to discuss 5 online marketing tips that will not only help your business grow in size but in reputation as well.
Let’s dive in!
1. Define Your Growth Goals
Many business owners want their business to grow but don’t know what that growth looks like. This lack of direction makes it difficult to focus marketing efforts appropriately. Defining your growth goals before you get to work on marketing allows you to be more intentional with your marketing plan.
A marketing plan filled with focused strategies will help you achieve your growth goals.
Whether you’re looking to open a new location, expand into a new product line, or gain followers – once you give your goal a name, you can determine how and when you’d like to achieve it. Simply put, when you know the why, you can find the best how.
Remember, you don’t have to set your goals in stone – be open to the idea of changing them along the way. As long as your goals inspire and direct your marketing strategies, you’ll see your efforts pay off.
Define your goals. Target your audience. Develop a plan. Watch your business grow.
2. Target Your Audience
Once you have an idea of what you want, you’ll be able to target the right people much easier. For example, if you’re expanding into a new product line, you need to figure out who is buying that product. Here are some questions to ask yourself when figuring out your target audience:
- Where do they live?
- Where do they work?
- How much do they earn?
- How do they get their information?
- What are their hobbies?
- How old are they?
- How do they think?
- Who currently has them as customers?
Once you’ve identified who you’re marketing to, you can fine-tune your strategies in order to reach your audience.
3. Revamp Your Website
Your website is often the first impression potential customers get of your small business. Even with a brick and mortar location and a huge sign out front – people will still gravitate towards the internet. They want to see what you’re all about by visiting your website before stopping in. Needless to say, your website has to look good, represent you well, and work well too.
There are many things that make for a good website, but some of the key features to a website that works well include:
- Make it SEO friendly.
- Make it mobile friendly.
- Make it user friendly.
- Highlight your contact information.
- Clearly display your products and services.
If you don’t know where to begin when it comes to marketing, your website is a good place to start. A modern, SEO friendly website is a surefire tool to help your business grow.
Another great way to enhance your website is making it more interactive. For example, blogs are an excellent way to create a sense of informality with your brand, product or service. Use an easy-to-read format, responsive design, and interesting content to gain attraction. Who doesn’t love free information or free entertainment? That’s what most people are looking for on the internet, why not give it to them?
4. Leverage Social Media
If you’re looking for a lot of bang for your buck, social media marketing is a no brainer. It’s an effective tool that you can invest time and effort into with little expenditure. Here are some tips to help you get started with social media marketing:
- Select the right platforms.
- Look to where your target customers are most active.
- Find your brand story and stick to it.
- Be consistent.
- Use high-quality visuals to attract your audience.
- Use tactics that drive traffic to your website.
- Use relevant hashtags to reach more people.
- Start campaigns.
What works for another small company may not work for you – you have to find the right strategy for your business. Once you’ve mastered the tools that work in your favor, you’ll have a winning social media marketing strategy in no time.
5. Be Open to Change
Separating yourself from your competitors is an endless endeavor, and in order to maintain success, your marketing plan should always be a step ahead. As we stated before, your goals and marketing plan don’t have to be set in stone – things change all the time. Embrace it. As soon as your team gets a little too comfortable and isn’t challenged anymore, it’s time for a change – that’s when growth happens.
Be sure to revisit your marketing plan often to ensure it reflects what you’re actively trying to achieve.
Well, that’s it for today’s tips. Remember, when it comes to marketing, you get out what you put in. Targeted online marketing efforts will work to grow your small business – especially with a reliable marketing team working behind the scenes. If you’re just getting started on your marketing plan, keep these tips in mind and don’t hesitate to reach out for more information.