4 Essential Small Business Marketing Tools

emily June 8, 2014small business

As a small business owner or entrepreneur you may not have a huge marketing department at your disposal like the big boys do, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make the most of the tools you do have to help boost your marketing power. You just need to be more selective, and think about who your target audience is, what your objectives are and how you’re going to measure your success.

Small Business Marketing Tools

4 of the Best Marketing Tools for Your Small Business

• Your Website

Just having a website is a start, but do you make the most of it? If you’ve got a fabulously designed website with fresh, relevant content, then that’s one of the best marketing tools around . . . as long as potential clients can find it. Using a web analytics tool, like Google Analytics, will help you to track the performance of your site and indicate any areas that need improvement. You don’t need to spend a fortune on your site to begin with, web-hosting companies are very good value and if you use WordPress, there are a number of great, free themes available (this site uses the free theme Elisium).

• Social Media

There’s such a vast range of social media platforms around, and they’re great small business marketing tools to help build your reputation and share your brand. Be careful how you use your social media platforms though, you need to really engage with your followers; if it walks like a sales page and quacks like a sales page . . . visitors are going to see that it’s purely a sales page and move on. Ask questions, share knowledge and let people see that there are human beings behind your brand.

• Your Blog

Wait, you don’t have a blog? Actually, let me tell you something – I didn’t have a blog either, until someone who’s a huge success in her field told me that having a blog on your website is one of the most important small business marketing tools for your website. Why? Because it’s the ideal way to give Google what it wants, which is regularly updated content, and that means a higher position in search rankings. Blogging is the perfect way to connect with your audience, but you need to make sure that your content is relevant and engaging for it to work for you. Don’t think you have the time to update your blog on a regular basis? Hey, why not hire a freelance writer? (Gotta love a shameless plug!)

• Networking

With a whole world of ways to connect online, it can be easy to forget the importance of personal networking. Meeting people face to face is still the best way to leave a lasting memory, as long as it’s in a good way!  Work on building relationships with people first and foremost, rather than sell, sell, sell, and you could well find that referrals and business start coming your way without even you having to try. Don’t panic if you don’t have hundreds of people in your network; a small network of relevant and influential people is much more valuable than a huge network of people that don’t really remember who you are.

What are the best small business marketing tools that you’ve found for your business?