This week we are going to talk about Marketing Plans for Small Businesses.
What’s up Fish Fans! My name is Marcus. You’re watching Marketing Madness, the Blue Fish vlog!
When first starting a new business money can be tight, and spending money on the wrong things can kill a business. So we wanted to talk to you about a simple marketing plan for small businesses.
The first step to the marketing efforts of a new business is to define their target demographic. We’ve done a few videos on user personas so if you need some help you will want to find those and watch them. Knowing who your target demographic is will help guide everything you do. It will shape the logo and the colors you use, it will shape the words and images you have on your website. It will even shape the ads and who you target on Facebook.
The next step would be to create a logo, style guide, business cards and any other collateral that you will need to get started.
A website is going to be the foundation of all your marketing efforts. Without a website, do you even exist? You might like the idea of using Facebook as your website but this is a really bad idea as you have no control over the visitor’s experience. Also, Facebook has made some changes to their algorithm since the last election. Those changes have really impacted the visibility of the posts for business pages. You don’t want to be reliant on Facebook and then have them pull something similar. Your website is where customers are going to come to get information like your phone number, address, and business offerings.
Once you’ve got your website rocking and rolling, it is time to start establishing your digital entities. This will mean setting up a Facebook Page, Instagram account, and any other applicable social platforms. You’ll also want to set up a Google My Business Page. This will be important when working on your SEO campaigns later down the road. There is a great blog about properly setting up your Google My Business on the Blue Fish Blog, so if you are unfamiliar with this go check it out after this video.
Next, you’ll want to populate these online platforms with valuable content. Showing you, your company, and employees in action will let people start to become familiar with you and how you operate. Don’t be scared to show a little personality. You want to develop your brand into something where people relate and understand who you are. Make sure to optimize all your profiles with pertinent information to your business. This will let people quickly understand what you are about, and help you turn up in search results. Be sure to create a process that helps you stay consistent with the creation of content. This is one of the most important yet least executed parts!
Now that you have started your online presence, you’ll want to get active in growing a following or creating engaging content that will engage your followers and potential clients. Making an effort to understand Facebook Marketing, boosting posts, defining audiences, and using the Ad Manager, will all help in promoting valuable content online.
Alright, you are all set up online, you are systematically creating good content and getting it out there to leverage you as an expert in your field. The next thing that I’d recommend is getting plugged into the community. Be involved and get out there as your own brand ambassador. I can tell you this, there will be nobody as passionate about your company as you. This makes you the greatest candidate to get out there and start selling your goods or services to the community.
And finally, you want to focus on the heartbeat of your business, Sales. Sales is the single most important factor in whether your business lives or dies. If there is no cash coming in, then you’ll surely not last very long. So be sure to make prospecting and business development your main priority. Sales isn't going to come naturally for most, but it is the most important activity someone can take on in your company, and you shouldn't take it lightly.
So, to recap…
- Define your target demo
- Create a logo and your necessary collateral
- Build a website
- Create online platforms to connect and publish content
- Understand how to leverage the advertising power of these platforms
- Get plugged into the community
- Get serious about sales
Well, that’s a wrap for this week! I want to thank you for checking in. Make sure to hit that like button. And if you have any questions or comments leave them down below. If you want to talk about how Blue Fish can help you grow your business just send us a message and we’ll get the conversation started!