Opening your own business is exciting, thrilling, and daring alongside being completely terrifying at the same time. Questions come to mind such as “will I make it in the real world?” “will people want my product/service” and “how can I compete against already established businesses in my sector?”. Marketing is the way forward to answer all of these questions! Since your new to the business world, we recommend checking out these marketing tips so that you’re not left behind in the dust of your competitors.
Make use of social media
Social media is your best friend when it comes to marketing your business. Why? Because that’s where so many people are at all hours of the day! Think about when you go home after a long day at work – you check social media for news and those addictive funny cat videos, right? Well, so does everyone else! Finding that sweet spot on social media can aggressively expand your following and also help accelerate your business. Here are some tips for using social media to your advantage:
- Learn algorithms to each platform (and yes, they’re all different) to find out when is best to post, how to post, and who you’re reaching out to so that you can tailor your content to that audience.
- While it’d be great to please everyone, you’re simply not going to achieve this. Narrow down your target audience so you can further tailor your content to the people you’re trying to reach.
- Make use of hashtags. Seriously, they make a huge difference.
- Run competitions and giveaways on your social media platforms and link back to your website for higher traffic and hopefully sales. Competitions and giveaways also prompt shares, likes, and new followers.
- Be active on social media as much as you can. Reply to comments, queries, complaints, and also comment on other’s content.
- Use the 70/30 rule when sharing content. 70% should be other’s content that’s relevant to your brand and 30% should be your own.
Be organised with your marketing
Organisation is key to many things and marketing is no exception. Being organised about where your content is going, how you’re going to promote your brand, who you’re aiming to reach, and also recording how well your marketing strategies have performed is essential so that you can determine which strategies work better for you. Keeping track of all of these things can be difficult, especially when you’ve also got a business to run, so check out this crazy content marketing calendar to help organise yourself!
Find the angle that nobody else has
Standing out from the crowd requires you to find an angle that nobody else has picked up on yet and use it within your advertising and marketing. For example, if you’re selling smart home technology, rather than just showing off the capabilities of your products, tell people why they need your products in their home or business. Of course, every business is different, so this may take some time to figure out. When you do, you’ll notice the surge of attention and an increase in sales for your business.
Invest in marketing strategies
There are many marketing strategies that may either be completely free (such as social media) or simply take up your time (such as blogging and making tutorial videos), but there are also strategies that will cost you money. While it’s important to save as much money as possible as a business, investing in marketing strategies will benefit your business. Investing in things like proper SEO on your website, paying influencers to promote your products, and using online advertising can and will pay for themselves in time. Having a balance of free and paid marketing techniques will soon prove worth it for your new business and before you know it, people will be walking through your doors (literal or not).
Remember that it takes time
Finally, and possibly most importantly, you need to remember that these things take time. Yes, there’s a chance you could be an overnight viral success but normally, it will take time for your followers to build up and customers to come rolling in. All we do know is that with the right marketing, you can make this happen sooner rather than later! Good luck with your new business – we’re sure you’ll be amazing!
