The 8 Best Advertising Strategies for Small Business

One of the reasons why small businesses struggle to survive is they lack marketing strategies and financial backing. Online marketing requires a professional team that can handle the process, but also charges high. Whether you are running a small consulting business, or running an online delivery service, there is a constant need for marketing strategies to stay on the game and attract target audience. However, the most important part is to hire a professional company. Reputed Ad agency in Chennai with years of experience will do the job with perfection. Once you hand over the job to them, you need to relax back and concentrate on other aspects of your business.

Unlike large businesses, small companies need to consider many things before working on the marketing strategies, more importantly the budget for the same.

We now list down top marketing strategies small business can work upon:

Setting up the Goal and Budget

The very first step of marketing strategy is to set a goal and strategizing your budget. The very first question reputed advertising agencies in Chennai ask is 'What you don’t want"? Then comes the list like- your target audience, the timeline of the ad and platforms for promoting or marketing your brand. It is best to strategize your goals for short or long goals. Once you set your goals and budget, you can accordingly work on the marketing.

Using Facebook Advertising Medium:

There are more than two million small and large businesses active on Facebook, and is the most inexpensive way to market. Facebook has been innovating when it comes to advertising businesses and helping to connect with the target audience. Creating Facebook ads is quite easy. You need a solid headline, proper description and other important things. The Facebook Ads Manager also makes it quite simple to test and run multiple ad sets which can be profitable enough without investing much on the advanced technical expertise. If you are running a business that requires a strong visual component, then check out the Instagram Ads offering better advertising opportunities.

Using Google My Business

One of the powerful and effective marketing strategies is to use the Google My Business. If you are running a local small business, then Google My Business is the best to go with. For instance, if someone searches for "photographer in Chennai", then your service should be on the list. However, you need to ensure you list down your service on the Google. There must be many more local photographers in Chennai, and if you have received good ratings and views, then there is a high chance of getting into the list.

Google My Business combines different Google platforms and brings the result into one. This includes Google+, Google Maps, Google Reviews and other areas.

Capitalizing on Google's Local Offerings

 Google has a surplus of offerings helping your small business. One of the initiatives started by Google in 2015 is “Let's Put Our Cities on the Map” to get listings from local business online.  According to one report by the Connected World, it was mentioned that businesses having online presence grew 40% faster compared to those who haven't. To get your business listed, you need to create an account on Google My Business and have full control over the business information.

Concentrate on one Social Channel

It is quite obvious that handling different social media channels can be difficult and time consuming. There is Facebook, then Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram, each has a different marketing process and requires strategies. It is best to channel through a single social channel and master in the same. For example, if your customers constantly tag your location on Instagram, but doesn't Tweet regularly then spend more time on Instagram. It is best to analyze your current social media presence and see which medium gives highest engagement. If you are handling it solo, then you need to work on these strategies. However, if you handed over the job to an agency, then it works on different mediums. Advertising agencies in Chennai have a strong team to handle different channels of social media.

Email Marketing

One of the best marketing strategies for small businesses, email marketing is the most effective one. If your customers are handling over email addresses, it will open the door for sending out the notifications. You can even email bi-weekly newsletter. Email marketing, if done rightly, will certainly bring out the best result. The email marketing team would do the job effectively by sending out email to potential clients and customers from the data available.

Small businesses can use different tools including the MailChimp having free email marketing. Optimizing the email also matters the same.

Publishing Blogs

Blogs are the best medium to connect with the target audience and promote your service. For small businesses that cannot invest much on social media marketing, blogs are the best way. Writing and posting 3-4 blogs in a week targeting your service or random topic connected to your business will help in getting better return. Blogging also comes under the content marketing. 18% of online marketers feel that content marketing can have a good commercial impact on the business. Unlike limited paid advertising, content marketing can focus more on the long-term results. Initially, the returns would be love, but in long-term it can work best.

Content isn't limited to blog post, but podcasts, videos and other mediums of content marketing.

Using Coupon Deal Sites

Whether you are selling product or service, using coupon deal sites like the Groupon can really help in promoting your business. Coupon deal sites can attract good number of audiences including local and regional. Some of the major benefits include targeted local advertising, brand awareness increase and influxing new customers. The cost in this involves low revenue per sale. In Groupon, you will be required to discount product by at least 50%. The primary aim of using coupon deal site is to get people to your door and make your product sale.

Involve SEO

Search Engine Optimization is an essential part of marketing and useful for small businesses. Google, Bing and Yahoo are three important platforms to reach which you need to invest time and money on SEO. Applying SEO strategies and seeing results may take time, but pays of good. SEO involves keyword research and using different tools. You can do this identifying list of keywords by using tools like- WordStream's Free Keyword Tool, KWFinder and Keyword Planner. You can even use different platforms like Quora and Reddit to reach out audience and use SEO tactics naturally.

Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is major platform for both large and small businesses. You can use LinkedIn to connect with other potential clients. Keep posting regularly and share your knowledge, so potential clients and customers may connect with you for the business.

Conduct Webinars

Webinars are a great way to connect and get leads for email marketing. You can conduct webinars in different topics. Webinars can be recorded or used standalone products. These are great medium for both live and recorded training. Moreover, webinars are quite engaging compared to simple videos if used rightly. Hold a live Q&A session with the audience can connect regularly.

Survey and Learn

Best companies, be it small or large keep learning and improving. This makes them stay connected with the target audience. Conduct surveys on different topics that are directly or indirectly connected with your brand or product. Offer discounts to your email subscribers who will complete the survey effectively. This will bring more clients into your business. The feedback can help your business to improve in many ways and also understand what customers are looking for in the product or service.

Keep refreshing your web content

If your website content was created 5 years back, then you need to refresh it as per the current audience and competition. The online business environment keeps changing regularly, and you need to stay active and updated as per the current online market status. One way to do is to update your web content. Refresh it if you are offering something new that will help in connecting with your audience. Connect with advertising agencies in Chennai to know more about how to update web content and changes needed. This will certainly help your business to connect well.

Being Different

Customers and potential clients connect with the business that markets itself in a unique way and presents its product differently. Use all the major platforms and connect with the audience to get some business. Don't just parrot "best practices" do something new and engage with customers.

Conclusion

These above-mentioned marketing strategies for small businesses can really work best. Reputed ad agency in Chennai works on these and other marketing strategies that can give the best result for long-term. The ultimate aim of using these strategies is to stay connected with customers and stay ahead in the market. Connect with the right advertising agency in Chennai and make your small business worth in the market.