Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Business

1. Build Relationships and Get to Know Your Customers

Getting to know your customers should be one of your missions in life. Why? It’s simple really. Not only will they purchase from you again, but they already believe in your product. Spend time with them. Invite them out for a coffee or to be a part of your latest launch – reminding them that they are important to you and making them feel special. Do this often and you’ll reap the rewards.

2. Build Your Email List

Ever since GDPR was enacted, many companies have run for the hills when it comes to email marketing, however there’s still a huge potential to do it well. Contact lists help you engage with a relevant audience when the time is right, costing very little to implement. Remember to segment your data as much as you possibly can. There’s no rule out there that says you can only send one newsletter. If you sell pet accessories and know which of your customers own cats, send them a targeted email with news and products relevant to them. Niche is key and will help improve your open rates and thus your overall conversions.

3. Really use Social Media

“I’ve got a Facebook page, but I don’t really use it” – ever heard that line before? With literally millions of people online per minute, the social media highways can’t be ignored. Marketers will always talk about tribes (people who love your brand and follow you); it’s important you find out where your tribe resides and hang out there. Contribute meaningful advice to groups, and build a brand based on expertise – it’ll help you go a long way on social media.

4. Expand on that with a Podcast or ‘Live’

We live in a time where now is everything, and your followers soak up information at an incredible speed. Why not go ‘live’ on a few of the social media networks, and let people get a real ‘behind the scenes’ look at your business? Going live and opening the doors to your business really makes people feel special and involved in what you do.

5. Host a Giveaway

Hosting a giveaway via your business can drive significant new interaction whilst adding an element of fun for your existing customers. You could give away a supplementary product or service for free when you deliver an item or maybe a downloadable guide on your website to help your customers. A little extra always makes people feel valued.

6. Sponsor an event with another local business

Remember that events don’t have to be huge to make an impact, and co-sponsoring an event with a local business is a great way to promote in your immediate area. Let’s expand on this for a moment. Imagine you are a café in your local town sitting opposite a flower shop. You could host your towns annual ‘best garden competition’, or you could do something a little more grass roots like a tea, cake and flowers afternoon at a local care home. Sometimes, bigger is not always better.

7. Engage with bloggers

The methodology of blogger outreach is very similar to a guest posting, however, it involves the blogger writing about a service or product you’ve sent them. Relevant and active bloggers collaborate on a content piece, which includes editorial link mentions back to your business, helping your search rankings.

8. Guest Blog on other relevant sites

Similar to above, this involves a piece of content that you provide to another site. It might talk about your area of expertise, provide answers to a question or even be an interview. Guest blogging is a fantastic way of building quality links back to your business, giving you material to share on social media and your own blog. Likewise, invite them to guest blog on your site at the same time.

9. Ask your loyal customers to help spread the word – with reviews

Reviews are key to an expanding business, and everyone’s looking at them. Asking your customers to leave reviews will benefit your business a million times over. Consider all of the networks you’d like to tackle (Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, etc.) and come up with a strategy as you consistently ask for reviews. Customers will be more than happy to talk about their interaction with your business, and Google will love you for it.

10. Use branded clothing (hats, bags, pens, shirts) for passive marketing

Sometimes it's all about the SWAG. Reminding people about your brand, by wearing it, not only reminds them who you are but screams how proud you are of your business. It’s like wearing a modern-day coat of armour.

11. Hit up the local networking groups

It’s fair to say that networking groups scare business owners at first. The thought of talking about your business to people, who you assume won’t be interested, gives a sense of dread. The benefits, however, far outweigh the perceived negatives. If you do one thing this week, book a networking event, then book another and then one more. You’ll thank us for it!

So, there you have it. 11 ways you can bootstrap your marketing efforts and make a real impact.

Go make it happen!