How to Market Effectively
As this blog is written, we are actively starting a small business to have additional income for our family and to pass on something to our kids. Starting a small business is not easy. Most influencers make it seem easy, but the truth is that it’s a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of money even if the endeavor doesn’t require much cash upfront. As the business owner, you are providing the capital to get started, so it is a lot of money.
Once your business is up and running, it can be frustrating when the phone is slow to ring or customers haven't found your business. First, do not quit. Do not quit. Do not stop. Do not get disinterested when things get hard. Do not get distracted. Do not get discouraged. If you’re at this point, (hi, it’s me, I’m raising my hand), let this blog post cheer you on to say that you can do it! Now, on to the good stuff.
How do I market effectively? We are so glad you asked. Let’s dive in because time is more valuable than money. There is no time to waste.
Define marketing objectives.
Assess current strategies.
Set a budget.
Look for solutions.
Define marketing objectives.
As a business owner, you have to know your goals and objectives. If the objective is to get customers, you have to look at what you’re doing to get customers. Is it working? If you don’t have customers yet, it’s not working. Start with a quick strategy session to define your marketing objectives.
Example marketing objective: Focused marketing to generate leads and phone calls of people setting appointments.
Now that you have defined what you want to accomplish, (generate leads and phone calls of people setting appointments), it’s time to move to step 2.
Assess current strategies.
What are you currently doing to generate leads and phone calls of people setting appointments? List on paper all the strategies you are currently using. Social media posting to Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business Profile are the top 3 most important social channels to begin your marketing. Businesses are often found on Facebook because the profile options and information are so thorough - if you fill it out completely. Instagram is the best place to introduce yourself and your business. This is a great place to share your why and grow a following of people looking to connect. The Google Business Profile is essential to a good SEO strategy because it works with other SEO tools on your website. The GBP establishes credibility and provides a way to collect honest reviews of your business.
Questions to consider about social media content are helpful to assess what you’re currently doing. Are you posting on Instagram and Facebook daily? If not, how often are you posting? Are you engaging with comments on the post? Are you responding to comments, likes, and any messages?
At a minimum, Instagram and Facebook need 3 posts per week. This is a minimum, and the content will perform better if you post daily. It’s also important to share your content with stories and to post only to stories periodically.
Google Business Profile updates can be duplicates of Facebook and Instagram. These posts can be 1-2 per week.
Another consideration is SEO for websites. What are you currently doing to boost your SEO? If your business doesn’t show up on a search for the main keyword related to your business, it might be time to hire a professional to assist with your SEO strategy.
Set a budget.
Social media content is easily created for free. There is so much you can do for free to market your business. Paid ads on social channels can be beneficial, but if your SEO needs work, then spending your money there is a better option to show up on search results. SEO over social media spending is where to begin with your budget. Once your SEO is generating leads, distributing some of the budget to social media ads can be beneficial.
Look for solutions.
If all of this is overwhelming and you’re not sure where to start, look for solutions to take the load off of you. There are great businesses to assist with social media content, SEO, brand development, and more to get your business going. Tap into existing talent within your small business. There may be a staff member who can easily take on these tasks of posting to social channels and thoroughly crafting SEO into your website.
If someone like that doesn’t work for you, check out our services. Flywheel Marketing is a small business working with other small businesses offering social media marketing, SEO, brand development, and content creation. Our strategy is business-specific, and our approach is tailored to your needs.
We are easy to work with. Click the button to receive a free quote. We will assess your website and social media content and set up a quick call to share our specific strategy to meet your needs. We would love to work with you!
