Frequently asked questions about small business marketing

What is a small business?

The most commonly used definitions are provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA). As a general rule if you have under 500 employees and less than $40 million you are a small business.  You can see the exact breakdown here.

Small businesses comprise:

• 99.9% of all firms
• 99.7% of firms with paid employees
• 97.7% of exporting firms (297,000 small exporters)
• 33.6% of known export value ($471 billion out of $930 billion)
• 48.0% of private sector employees (57 million out of 118 million employees)
• 41.2% of private-sector payroll
  
  
  Source: SB-FAQ-2016_WEB

It does not matter if your business has 10 employees or $10 million in revenue you will find this information useful.

What is small business marketing?

Small business marketing refers to the strategies and tactics used by small businesses to promote their products or services to their target audience.

SMB marketing includes your website,  social media, and email.

Identify your ideal customer .

Understand the problems your ideal client is trying to solve.

Explain how you solve those problems.

Marketing for small business needs to focus on how you solve problems, what makes your approach unique and why you do what you do.

This why having a marketing strategy for your small business is more important now than ever!

Why is marketing important for your small businesses?

Marketing is important for small businesses because it helps you reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales.

Without marketing, it can be difficult for your small businesses to compete with larger companies.

Small business marketing should reflect your business values, mission, and personality.

If you're a business owner, you know how important it is to show up in local search results.

What are some effective small business marketing strategies?

Some effective small business marketing strategies include:

1. Search engine optimization (SEO).
2. Social media marketing.
3. Email marketing.
4. Content marketing.
5. Paid advertising.

Before you spend any money on marketing you need to have clearly defined objectives and goals that align with your business plan.

Focus on X to Y by when with your strategies. This is commonly referred to as SMART goals.

Here are some useful articles to guide you.

Simple Steps to Help Your Website Show Up in Internet Searches

10 Ways To Use Facebook For Small Business Marketing

5 Reasons Your Business Should Avoid Google Ads

How do I create a marketing plan for my small business?

To create a marketing plan for your small business, you should start by identifying your target audience, setting marketing goals, and determining your budget. From there, you can develop a strategy and tactics to achieve your goals.

What is SEO and how can it help my small business?

SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can help your small business reach more potential customers and increase website traffic.

What is social media marketing and how can it help my small business?

Social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms to promote your business and engage with your target audience. This can help your small business build brand awareness, increase website traffic, and generate leads.

Here are some useful articles to get you started.

10 Ways To Use Facebook For Small Business Marketing

What is email marketing and how can it help my small business?

Email marketing is the process of sending targeted emails to your subscribers to promote your business and build relationships with your audience. This can help your small business increase sales and customer loyalty.

Collect email addresses from interested customers and create a mailing list.

Send regular newsletters, promotions, and updates to stay connected with your audience.

Personalize your emails and provide exclusive offers to encourage engagement and loyalty.

Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and testimonials on platforms such as Google, Yelp, or industry-specific directories. Positive reviews can build trust and credibility for your business and attract new customers.

Create limited-time offers, discounts, or loyalty programs to incentivize new customers to try your products or services. Special promotions can also encourage repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Avoid These Mistakes If You Don't Want Your Email Labelled as Spam

What is content marketing and how can it help my small business?

Content marketing is the process of creating and sharing valuable content to attract and engage your target audience. This can help your small business build brand awareness, establish authority, and generate leads.

Plan the types of content you will create, the platforms you will use, and the frequency of publication. Consider using a mix of blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, and social media posts.

Produce high-quality, informative, and engaging content that provides value to your target audience.

Answer their questions, address their challenges, and provide solutions.

Focus on:

• Educating.
• Inspiring.
• Entertaining your audience.

Make the most of your content by repurposing it in different formats.

For example, turn a blog post into a video or create an infographic summarizing a podcast episode.

This allows you to reach different audience segments and extend the lifespan of your content.

Content marketing is a long-term strategy, and results may not be immediate.

Stay consistent with your content creation and distribution efforts, and be patient.

Over time, you'll build credibility, attract a loyal audience, and achieve your goals.

How do you create content for small business marketing?

What is paid advertising and how can it help my small business?

Paid advertising is the process of paying for ads to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs), business journals or on social media platforms. This can help your small business reach a larger audience and generate leads or sales.

There are numerous platforms that offer paid ads. Paid ad platforms for small business marketing would include Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter Ads, YouTube Ads and Pinterest Ads.

These platforms may not align with your ideal client and their buying journey so don't forget about local advertising options such as local newspapers, radio stations, or community magazines and directories.

Small Business listing directories can help you target a specific geographical area and reach local customers.

How do I measure the success of my small business marketing efforts?

To measure the success of your small business marketing efforts, you should go beyond metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, email open and click-through rates, and conversion rates. Focus on metrics that lead to revenue.

Metrics that impact revenue would include phone calls, quote requests and appointments scheduled.

Focusing on metrics that matter to your small business help you determine what is working and what needs improvement.

Use analytics tools to track the performance of your marketing campaigns. Identify what strategies are working well and which ones need adjustment. Continuously refine your marketing efforts based on the data to maximize your return on investment.

We really like the simplicity offered by Databox for reporting on metrics that matter for small business.

Analytics That Profit works with  businesses that invest money in online marketing, but aren't sure if that marketing is generating revenue.