Small Business? Small Marketing Budget? No Problem!
Understanding the importance of the consumer's "location" as a marketer can help put you or the company you work for one step ahead of the competition, as seen in my previous blog. Through advanced modern technologies, businesses are investing heavily in geo-location and geo-targeting to pinpoint exactly who their consumers are, where they are coming from, and where they are going next!
What about small businesses?
These entrepreneurs and local shop owners do not always have the capital to invest in expensive marketing techniques or to hire consultants to assist with branding and advertising. These local company owners may also have little to no marketing knowledge and experience at all. Fortunately, digital marketing has allowed small business owners, like myself, to take advantage of cheaper methods to get the word out about your company. Here are a few tips for small business owners to learn how to take advantage of digital marketing for without breaking the bank.
The first step that any small business owner should take is to research and establish your target market. You do not need to purchase pricey analytic tools like Mintel or IBISWorld. In fact, there are several free platforms you can use to to get valuable insights for you online presence. Google Analytics allows anyone to sync their websites to retrieve real time geographic information about your audience. Additionally, one can take advantage of Facebook's Audience Insights tool without paying a dime. Sure, this Facebook tool was designed for users to purchase targeted ads, but a small business owner can use the tool before he or she decides to lay down their credit card. However, this platform is very cheap and relatively accurate. The information and unique targeting that Facebook provides is rather beneficial for the low price you pay. Especially for those brick and mortar stores with a single location, Facebook can provide hyper-local targeting down to a single city or zip code to attract the most relevant audience to your business.
To use the Facebook Insights tool, one must be able to provide a route for Facebook to seek information about the audience, through identification such as email addresses, phone numbers, etc. Some businesses however, do not even have this information. Creating a Facebook Business page can help a business owner get around this issue, where free analytics and paid targeting opportunities are included. These pages are complementary and easy to use, and provide a business owner free online presence, a personalized digital marketer, and easy access to paid advertising opportunities.
Other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram provide free accounts with location based features as well. However, social media is a tactic, not a strategy. Before a business owner decides to simply create a Twitter or Instagram account, they must think about WHY they would need this platform, and HOW they will go about providing relevant content to their followers. If Twitter does not push the business towards its goals, does not permit the business to efficiently promote their specific products on their page, or is not the proper outlet for their target market, then pick something else!
If Twitter or any other platform fits the business strategy, then using a creative and unique hashtag can help promote the business as well. This allows for spreading of knowledge about the business through word-of-mouth and online or social platform search, as well as providing a unique identity for the brand to attach itself to, especially for hyper-local businesses.
You may know where your target audience is, but do they know where you are? Having your business on Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze is the best way for online and mobile search. Your target market will never be able to find your business if the method of search they use does not know how to find your business.
Many personal assistant devices like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home use map-based applications to quickly locate products and services for their users. Investing in promoted pins on these map platforms will significantly increase brand presence and ultimately improve traffic. Promoted Pins on Google Maps are also linked to Google AdWords, and will charge on a pay-per-click basis, meaning you will only pay if people find you.
All of these tools simply allow small businesses with low marketing budgets to get the word out about their business. It takes a well-thought out marketing strategy to go the extra mile with a company. However, every business needs to start somewhere. There are many other free and available tools for small business to take advantage of. Sometimes, it just takes a little creativity to make something out of nothing.
Sources:
https://thrivehive.com/location-based-marketing-for-small-business/
https://thrivehive.com/hyperlocal-marketing-and-advertising/
https://thrivehive.com/benefits-of-location-based-marketing-for-small-business/
https://www.webpagefx.com/blog/marketing/use-google-maps-promoted-pins/
What about small businesses?
These entrepreneurs and local shop owners do not always have the capital to invest in expensive marketing techniques or to hire consultants to assist with branding and advertising. These local company owners may also have little to no marketing knowledge and experience at all. Fortunately, digital marketing has allowed small business owners, like myself, to take advantage of cheaper methods to get the word out about your company. Here are a few tips for small business owners to learn how to take advantage of digital marketing for without breaking the bank.
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| Small business owners can take advantage of free or low-cost digital marketing tools to promote their business. |
The first step that any small business owner should take is to research and establish your target market. You do not need to purchase pricey analytic tools like Mintel or IBISWorld. In fact, there are several free platforms you can use to to get valuable insights for you online presence. Google Analytics allows anyone to sync their websites to retrieve real time geographic information about your audience. Additionally, one can take advantage of Facebook's Audience Insights tool without paying a dime. Sure, this Facebook tool was designed for users to purchase targeted ads, but a small business owner can use the tool before he or she decides to lay down their credit card. However, this platform is very cheap and relatively accurate. The information and unique targeting that Facebook provides is rather beneficial for the low price you pay. Especially for those brick and mortar stores with a single location, Facebook can provide hyper-local targeting down to a single city or zip code to attract the most relevant audience to your business.
To use the Facebook Insights tool, one must be able to provide a route for Facebook to seek information about the audience, through identification such as email addresses, phone numbers, etc. Some businesses however, do not even have this information. Creating a Facebook Business page can help a business owner get around this issue, where free analytics and paid targeting opportunities are included. These pages are complementary and easy to use, and provide a business owner free online presence, a personalized digital marketer, and easy access to paid advertising opportunities.
Other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram provide free accounts with location based features as well. However, social media is a tactic, not a strategy. Before a business owner decides to simply create a Twitter or Instagram account, they must think about WHY they would need this platform, and HOW they will go about providing relevant content to their followers. If Twitter does not push the business towards its goals, does not permit the business to efficiently promote their specific products on their page, or is not the proper outlet for their target market, then pick something else!
If Twitter or any other platform fits the business strategy, then using a creative and unique hashtag can help promote the business as well. This allows for spreading of knowledge about the business through word-of-mouth and online or social platform search, as well as providing a unique identity for the brand to attach itself to, especially for hyper-local businesses.
You may know where your target audience is, but do they know where you are? Having your business on Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze is the best way for online and mobile search. Your target market will never be able to find your business if the method of search they use does not know how to find your business.
Many personal assistant devices like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home use map-based applications to quickly locate products and services for their users. Investing in promoted pins on these map platforms will significantly increase brand presence and ultimately improve traffic. Promoted Pins on Google Maps are also linked to Google AdWords, and will charge on a pay-per-click basis, meaning you will only pay if people find you.
All of these tools simply allow small businesses with low marketing budgets to get the word out about their business. It takes a well-thought out marketing strategy to go the extra mile with a company. However, every business needs to start somewhere. There are many other free and available tools for small business to take advantage of. Sometimes, it just takes a little creativity to make something out of nothing.
Sources:
https://thrivehive.com/location-based-marketing-for-small-business/
https://thrivehive.com/hyperlocal-marketing-and-advertising/
https://thrivehive.com/benefits-of-location-based-marketing-for-small-business/
https://www.webpagefx.com/blog/marketing/use-google-maps-promoted-pins/
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