A small business’s success depends on long-term growth, brand loyalty, and a steady stream of new customers. But you can’t expect it to happen magically and without effort overnight. Running a small business necessitates determination, consistent hard work, and keeping your finger on the pulse in order to determine the most effective advertising methods.
It’s easy to get lost in the vast, confusing world of digital marketing while trying to figure out the best way to promote your business. And, to be honest, there are a plethora of options. We’ve gone over all the options and selected our top five ways to advertise your small business online in 2021 to assist you on your path to business growth and success.
1. Google Search
Have you ever heard the phrase “Just Google it!”? If you answered yes, it’s no surprise that Google Search is one of your small business’s most effective advertising tools. Businesses can use Google Ads to bid to be seen on the search engine; the higher the bid, the better their chances of ranking first.
The best part of PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising is in the name. You only get charged an amount once a user has physically clicked on your ad, making it easier for you to budget and to be able to advertise on the platform at a small price. With 63,000 searches per second on Google according to a study by Review42, PPC advertising allows you to tap into an entirely new customer base, target identified markets and run specific campaigns to a variety of users.
However, with all these searches means your competition is vying for the same audience. Although PPC is a relatively low-cost way to advertise your business, it’s hard to make it to the top of the ranking because of this said competition.
- Facebook (and other social media) Ads
Social media advertising has quickly become one of the most effective ways to promote your business, build a following, raise brand awareness, and reach a targeted audience. Paid content is much more popular on social media platforms than organic content, which opens up a lot of opportunities for your company.
Because of the rapid growth in social media users over the past couple of years, people have become used to seeing ads on their feed without even realising they are being exposed to a brands message. Gone are the days of those annoying pop-ups when you land on a website, leaving the user feeling annoyed and frustrated. Social media allows for a business to market easily on their platforms, at a small fee, creating brand familiarity and increased website click-through rates.
- Influencer Marketing
No, you haven’t misread anything. Influencer marketing is quickly gaining traction as the most popular and widely used content marketing strategy in the United Kingdom. Twitter users now trust influencers nearly as much as their friends, according to the social media platform. According to an Adweek article, 49 percent of people say they rely on recommendations from influencers before making a purchase decision.
Crazy right? What’s even crazier is that if you have not considered using this as a way to advertise your business in 2021, you’re way behind the times. Influencer marketing not only creates trust from the audience but it’s a great way for your product or service to be relatable, allowing your brand to connect with customers on a more personal level.
- Sponsored Email Content
You’re probably thinking, “Spam alert!” But you’re completely wrong. In fact, according to an article by Oberlo, email marketing is the most common method of customer acquisition for small to medium-sized businesses, with 80 percent of them still using it for customer retention.
Although you may think this method is outdated, people are constantly checking their emails, whether it be on their phone or computer. If you have a strong email marketing campaign you’ll land in the right place, at the right time, in front of the optimal consumer. Using platforms like Mailchimp allow you to gain insights and analytics to tweak and edit your campaigns for when you plan to remarket.
Our top tip is to make your email marketing campaign personalised in the subject and body, and interactive by making use of video content. These emails have been proven to have a higher open rate and believe it or not, customers actually want to hear from their favourite brands. If someone has signed up to a newsletter, you are already one step closer to converting that sale. Make the customer journey a positive and exciting one.
- Video
We’ve mentioned it before, and we’ll mention it again, simply because that’s how effective this kind of advertising can be. If you’ve been toying with the idea of putting some of your resources into video marketing, now is the time to hit that record button.
The popularity of video content has been on the rise for the last couple of years and there seems to be no stopping it! So much so that social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are now implementing their own video creation tools and including them in their algorithms.
The demand for video content is not purely for entertainment purposes. Studies have shown that consumers find videos more engaging, informative and allow them to feel more connected to their favourite brands. They also play a vital role in getting the customer into the sales funnel! It’s been predicted that by 2022, 82% of global Internet traffic will come from video streaming and downloads. With statistics like these, it’s no wonder this is one of the best ways to advertise your business in 2021. Time to make your small business part of that percentage!
Although there are countless ways to advertise your small business through digital marketing in 2021, implementing just one or two of these will get you off to a winning start.
Get in contact with FBS Digital today to find out more about social media services: 0204 526 5195 or e-mail us on hello@finchleybusiness.co.uk
