As a small business owner, your marketing journey started the day you decided to open a business. Your products and how you present them, your customer experience, your logo, and your competition all affect the way you market your business. While marketing has a lot of moving parts, the good news is, there are a ton of small moves to kick start your marketing strategy and help you think bigger. 

In honor of Small Business Week, we’ve outlined a few simple and easy marketing tips to get you started:

Make it Google-official 

The first step in establishing your online presence as a small business is making sure you exist online! Setting up a Google My Business listing is a great place to start.

When consumers are searching products or services online, they are usually engaging with the first page of Google search results. The Google robots (as we like to call them) will then suggest your business as a possible fit if the search was triggered nearby and your Google My Business listing is set up to give those robots the information they need. 

Your listing should  include your most important business information such as your website, address, phone number, and store hours. The listing adds credibility to your business and functions as great touch-point for first time customers. As your business grows, it also has the ability to host consumer reviews—showcasing the buzz around your business. 

Setting up your Google My Business listing is easy and free, and is a great first step in establishing your small business in your local community and your brand’s presence online.

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Elevate your social media presence

For many consumers, the discovery stage begins in their social feeds. In fact, 83% of users say Instagram helps them discover new products or services. Creating a good first impression on social media is essential to your small business as it helps build brand awareness and develop lasting customer relationships. Your social profile should be tailored to meet the needs of your ideal customer—asking yourself questions like “what do my followers want to see?” or “what unique perspective or service does my business offer?” allow you to place yourself in your customer’s shoes.

When building your feed, Hubspot’s 80-20 rule is a great guideline to keep in mind. Using this model, “80% of your content is used to inform, educate, or entertain your audience”, while the other “20% is used to promote your brand or sell your products.” This keeps your content engaging for your audience, rather than focusing on a hard sell (is there anything more annoying than a non-stop “BUY NOW!” in your feed?)

When it comes to creating posts, keep in mind that your feed is a direct representation of your brand. Make sure that your graphics, photography, and captions are all consistent to your brand voice and your target audience’s needs. You can start elevating your social media design skills by using free online resources such as unsplash.com for high-quality stock photography, or canva.com for unique social media graphic templates, to ultimately elevate how your brand is perceived online. 

Ultimately, you’ll likely need to invest more time and resources into creating a brand look that’s unique to your business and creating high-quality social media content that’s designed with your brand strategy in mind—which is where an expert agency partner can help you really shine! 

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Build your network

The push towards shopping and supporting local businesses has rapidly increased in recent years. Rather than supporting large corporations or mass-produced products, consumers are gravitating towards the extra value and personalization a small business can offer. 

Establishing yourself in the local community through a small business association or network, is a great way to target local consumers and increase your awareness around the area. Organizations like the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce work to uplift local entrepreneurs and are a great jumping board for referrals, expanding your network, and forming partnerships with other small businesses. 

If you’re a B2C brand, local markets and events, such as the Indie Flea or Saturday Morning Market, are a great way to build awareness of your brand and study your target audience, the same way an industry-specific trade show helps a B2B brand. That face-to-face interaction and direct feedback from your target audience can help you tailor your products and services to help you stand out and create a niche in your area. 

Start with strategy

As an agency, we see a lot of small businesses trying to “build the plane while flying it” when it comes to marketing strategy. Implementing small marketing moves towards your business goals is a great way to start, but it’s important to treat your marketing plan with the same strategic mindset and care as other aspects of your business. 

Marketing your business is also a full-time job—which, when you’re running a small business, you simply might not have time to do. Working with an agency partner that has proven success helping small businesses serves as an important step to long-term success: you’ll get the insight and expertise to articulate your brand’s unique identity, connect with your target audience, and make the most of your business’s marketing channels on a day-to-day basis. 

If you’re ready to take the next step in building a brand that helps your small business thrive, we're here to help. 

As a small business owner, your marketing journey started the day you decided to open a business. Your products and how you present them, your customer experience, your logo, and your competition all affect the way you market your business. While marketing has a lot of moving parts, the good news is, there are a ton of small moves to kick start your marketing strategy and help you think bigger.