For many small business owners 'marketing' can sometimes seem a daunting task. But never fear, we have put together a list of 5 key marketing tips to help spread the word about your business.

5 marketing strategies for small business

1. Create a connection through storytelling
2. Access media through influencers and partnerships
3. Find the right platform for your audience
4. Share valuable information with content
5. Focus on SEO

So you’ve got your dream business up-and-running, and now it’s time to let everyone know about it!

Marketing your small business is vital, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what that means. Below we’ve compiled 5 great ways to market your business, and give you the best chance to spread the word about your fabulous new idea. 

Storytelling 

Creating a connection with your audience – and your potential customers or clients, is one of the first marketing steps you should take as a small business. 

Having a level of engagement with your audience is a great way to set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry – both big and small. 

When telling the story of your business, sometimes you can get caught up in the ‘professionalism’ of it all, when really, our audiences want to be communicated with on an authentic level. 

When you get out of your own head, and into the message, this is easier than you’d think! 

If you were to sit with one member of your audience, or a potential customer, how would you explain your business? This is the simple, relaxed kind of engagement you should aim for when telling your story. 

Influencers and other partnerships

Sometimes getting out there to tell your story can be difficult. Maybe you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself, or you can’t seem to access the right media to get your point across. 

This is where influencers, or partnerships, come in. Sharing contacts and working with businesses who have similar audiences and target markets can help build brand awareness for you both. 

The key points to follow here are ensuring those you connect with have a similar worldview to you – this is how you create a partnership, and market effectively, without compromising on what you believe in. 

Going where your audience is 

Social media is currently seen as a marketing goldmine. You might feel like you need to put advertising everywhere you can possible find, but that isn’t always the case! 

Find where your audience is, and follow them. If your target market is people over 50, maybe Snapchat isn’t a necessary medium to focus on, but if you’re trying to reach young, socially connected people, it’s probably worth looking at. 

The internet offers unending opportunities for marketing, so be careful not to be overwhelmed by the options!

Content marketing 

Information is key in sales. Your competitors might be selling similar products or services to you, but you can stand out from the crowd by simply taking the time to explain why you’re different. 

Content marketing is centred around not only giving information on your product or service, but information in general. With the increasing use of ad blockers, directing traffic to your page is more important than ever. People want valuable, unique information, and if they can find that through your business page – you’re half way to finding a potential customer. 

Not only will interesting content draw people to your website, but giving your brand more substance enhances brand recall and engagement. Never doubt your customers interest in what you’re providing them!

Suggested Reading: Digital Marketing For Beginners

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, can seem like a scary and foreign form of marketing at first, but it’s pretty simple once you understand it! 

SEO is the process of enhancing the visibility of your business’ webpage in web search engine results – a cost free way to ensure your website is one of the first suggestions in an engine search, like Google. 

A cross between data science and content marketing, there are certain strategies that can help boost your website’s ranking, including ensuring each page is optimised for mobile use, it can be found using voice search (avoiding words with difficult pronunciation, for example), and it has a number of links, branching out to different websites. 

It’s true that marketing is changing, and keeping up with big business can be hard, but with a bit of knowledge and know-how, digital marketing isn’t as difficult to navigate as it first seems! Give these tips a go, and see just what happens – you’ve really got nothing to lose. 

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Want more digital marketing tips? Learn more with our Introduction to Marketing Foundations Masterclass hosted by Kartike Day from Hubspot.

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Running your own business requires a combination of passion, some practical tips and a supportive tribe to get you well on your way. Join Mums & Co today the network that helps mums in business thrive. With thousands of like-minded business mums, it’s Australia’s fastest growing community to launch and grow.