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Take Your Small Business Marketing Strategy to the Next Level
Small business owners and employees need to wear many hats on a daily basis, making small business incredibly rewarding and yet, incredibly demanding and complex. To truly succeed in small business, you must focus on marketing in a very real way. Marketing isn't something that we all have experience with, and what works for you personally may not necessarily resonate with your customers. It’s important to always focus on learning and developing your marketing skills and strategy, to get the most out of your small business. Let’s explore a few ways you can take your small business marketing strategy to the next level, with very little effort.
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Advance and Refine Your Skill Set
Soft marketing skills like creativity and innovation should be paired with hard marketing skills like being able to use marketing to get a return on your investment. The more you refine these skills, the easier it will be to pull them together to create a successful marketing strategy. Take time each day to read about different marketing skills, and look to your competition to see what they are doing right, and how you could improve. There are many online courses focusing on writing, SEO, and even skills like leadership development available at little or no cost to you.
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Stay Updated With SEO
Search engine optimization is a great way to ensure you end up on the first Google search page. Keywords and popular search terms change daily, so it’s important to both stay up to date on the most recent SEO trends, and to also update your content regularly. Set a goal of producing new and high-quality, SEO content on a daily or weekly basis. The more you create, the more likely you are to see continued success for your small business.
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Explore the Market - Unless you have created an entirely new product or service that the world has never seen (very unlikely), you will want to do your market research to be successful. Your competition is a great place to start, by looking at what they are doing right, and what they are doing wrong. You will also want to look closely at your customers, to see what they are into! For example, if your customer base is focused on sustainability or eco-friendly packaging, you will have the knowledge and time to incorporate these elements into your business and marketing strategy, and thus capture a larger market share.
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Be Aware of the Latest Trends - No matter your product or service, digital marketing trends also change daily. It’s important to be trendy and go where your customers are going, which means being able to pivot on a moment's notice. Take time each week to research new advertising and digital trends that might affect your product. For example, if customers are raving about new shipping or payment options, it’s in your best interest to incorporate those in your business and marketing strategy.
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Understand Analytics - Collecting data and understanding what it means will give you the best idea of how successful you currently are, and how successful you could be with some changes. Without access to data on your customers, you have no idea what is resonating with them, or what is turning them off. If analytics isn’t your thing, and your small business doesn't have access to a data oriented staff member or website, consider taking online courses or certifications to get the basic idea of how to analyze your data and use it to your benefit. You might also get some great ideas on free or inexpensive options for collecting, parsing and analyzing the data that will eventually make your business successful.
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Get Good at Content Writing - Finally, as a small business operator or staff member, you will want to increase your writing skills to ensure future success. Your ability to write clear, simple and compelling information will make all the difference on all marketing platforms. The best way to teach yourself to write is to just start writing! Start by looking at the best blog articles, product descriptions or email marketing campaigns you can find, and incorporating the elements you feel show your business in the best light. Be careful at this stage, to avoid plagiarism, as you grow your writing skills. Use your own words, and don’t forget to include your brand-specific language, keeping it uniform across all your platforms.
Small business has a unique advantage when it comes to marketing, as it is often able to pivot as needed in an instant to meet market demand. It’s time to take advantage of this maneuverability, and make the most of your marketing opportunities in the upcoming year. Follow these tips to create a next-level marketing strategy, and to enhance your skills for a more successful and prosperous 2022.
Meet The Author:
Nick Andrew Rojas is a business consultant turned journalist who loves working with small and medium-sized companies. He has contributed to many publications such as Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Yahoo. In his spare time, he hangs out at the beach with his dog Presto.
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