Businesses have many options when it comes to advertising and marketing. But with many options comes many problems. Working at a small company, I found myself -- with my technical knowledge -- handling all of our marketing in this ever-increasing digital world. But sharing my time between my main responsibilities and ancillary ones didn’t come without issues. This post will help cover some of the different options, the problems associated with them, and how to overcome those problems.
Email Marketing
One of the easiest ways to market any business is email. Email marketing services like MailChimp and Constant Contact make the process easy. However, there are still some common roadblocks. One is building a good email list and another is choosing the frequency of your emails.
Let’s start with acquiring emails. Businesses should create a simple signup form on their website as a call-to-action (CTA). But remember, people are not going to provide you with their email without an incentive, so offer something "free." You can offer a one-time discount, eBook or software in exchange for their email.
As your email list grows, you will want to stay fresh in your subscribers' minds, while also not annoying them. You need to strike a balance, so send out marketing emails no more than once a week, but no less than once a quarter. Emails can be general, providing information about anything you think your subscribers will be interested in.
Also, end every email with a CTA. This goes for non-marketing emails, too. Marketing emails can end by encouraging people to make a purchase, while non-marketing emails can end by encouraging people to follow you on social media.
Social Media Marketing
Using social networks like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to get in front of customers is common. Google Plus is even relevant in certain circles. Any social network or social app, including LinkedIn, Snapchat and GooglePlus, can be used. But be selective so not to overwhelm yourself with networks that have little value.
Building a following is one of the main struggles with social media marketing. I would quickly build a following by taking advantage of paid advertisements. Start with a small budget and increase it once you start seeing results.
You can create also offers on Facebook to help gain sales. Use Instagram to showcase new products. Post on LinkedIn awards your company receives. Finally, host a contest. Encourage your followers to refer business rewarding the top three with a free product.
Want a quick way to manage all at once? There are both paid and free services that can help. Hootsuite is a common platform used by many companies to manage their social networks, and another service is If This Then That (ifttt.com). A personal favorite of mine is setting up "applets" on iftt.com and letting the platform make my social networks work together.
Video Marketing
Video marketing is particularly effective with younger generations, but a lot of businesses don't utilize it. This is because it's tough to know where to start. It’s been a struggle for me as well, but it shouldn’t be.
It doesn't matter what type of business you are, you can benefit from video marketing. Videos don't have to be extravagant. Share videos on sites like YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo. You can even do condensed versions on Instagram and Snapchat.
For content, videos can be anything related to your business or industry. Videos discussing your industry, showcasing products or services, or general videos talking about future plans. Even videos of equipment and jobs can be popular. Just think of TV shows "Dirty Jobs" and "How It’s Made." Keep videos around 3-4 minutes and always end them with a call-to-action.
Print Marketing
Print has withstood the test of time and I believe will continue into the future. Today, print can be combined with digital marketing to create a complete marketing campaign.
The main problem I see business owners have with print marketing is that they’ve had little success. But to achieve success, you'll need to try numerous methods. One thing that works well is to start with a small budget spread across different methods, increasing spending on those that generate the best results. If you think about it, you probably touch something printed every day, so companies can combine print with other marketing methods for stronger campaigns.
A few print methods to consider: coupons, flyers, banners, business cards, and postcards. I've found that postcards work very well for direct mail campaigns, as their ROI can be quite high. Just make sure to include your business's contact information, relevant information and a call-to-action.
A problem you might run into here is in managing print marketing. A relatively newer solution, digital print has solved the problem of warehousing large quantities of print and the cost of large print runs. Another lesser used solution is Marketing Asset Management Technology. We use MarcomCentral to help manage print for our customers, and it’s also available to individual businesses. These technologies also handle the digital aspects of your marketing campaign.
In short, be sure to include call-to-actions on your marketing campaign, regardless of your methods, and focus your energy on whichever marketing methods make the most sense for your particular business.
