How To Affordably Market Your Small Business
For better or worse, the Internet and social media have come to dominate how we communicate, find information, and connect with each other. If you’re trying to get a small business off the ground, a basic online presence is a must, and these platforms are more or less the overlord of the small business scene right now.
Start your My Business Account and get your business listed!
In order for anyone to even find you, having your business at least appear in local searches is a great first step. To make sure your business stands out on searches and on Google Maps, you need to start up a Business Profile on Google to get your business listed. The process is…not fun. It’s lengthy and confusing with little live customer support.
But it must be done—according to this study, the average business is found in 1,009 searches per month, with 84% of clicks coming from discovery searches.
So, here’s the tricky part if your business is online-only, or if you’re freelancing from home, or if you just don’t want to list your address! Google has certain guidelines on what types of businesses meet their criteria for listing. And usually the business needs to have a “face-to-face” element with customers (like a bar, restaurant, or gallery).
Experiment with Google’s Ads—but know what you’re getting into
Google Ads—are they worth the money? And the answer is, it depends. Here’s how Ads work—it’s a pay-per-click (PPC) model where you (the advertiser) pay a small fee per click or ad impression. Simply put, like Google’s My Business, Ads also uses algorithms, based on how the advertiser targets their audience by keywords. To display ads on Google's search engine results page, you essentially pay to get “ranked” at the top of the search results.
Still not sure if Ads would work for your business? Here’s a handy chart of pros and cons to help you figure it all out:
Pros:
1. Budget flexibility—Whether your budget is big or small, you can control how much you want to spend and set the maximum cost per click for your keywords.
2. Targeting—You can target specific audiences based on location, interests, habits and other demographic information, and get great insights into how your audiences respond to certain keywords and phrases.
3. Ad Versatility—You can make banner ads, YouTube videos, and design ads for in-app experiences as well, reaching those ever-more valuable mobile customers.
Cons:
1. Learning Curve—To successfully “game the system” with Google Ads, you have to really understand keywords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which can take a lot of time. If you can afford it, try hiring an SEO specialist to help. One good thing about Ads is it lets you experiment with keywords for free to see what works best.
2. Clicks don’t equal cash—Just because someone clicks through an ad to your website, does not mean they’ll buy anything, though you’re still paying for the click-through! If you just want the exposure, though, Ads can help.
3. Bid automation can be a bummer—Ads makes their money by auto-bidding popular keywords, and since Google is a big ol’ aggregator, their wide-ranging ways of gathering keyword data might not reach your target audience.
Facebook Pages
Arguably, a Facebook page is the most basic and important social media tool to help people find you. It’s also a great way to build a brand and relationships with your fans, customers and audience. When someone hits that like button, they are opting in to get your latest news, posts and products.
Be sure to add compelling photos and media to get (and keep) people’s attention. Post everyday, but don’t overpost—conventional wisdom is that once per day is ideal, with a maximum of two posts per day. On Facebook, video is king, getting at least 60% more engagement than other types of content. Images and photos come in a close second.
Facebook Groups
Maybe you’re looking for a more organic route to Facebook marketing, and want to actually engage people and tap into communities that would be interested in what you have to offer.
The good news is that Facebook Pages can join Facebook Groups! Which means you can join Facebook groups and start discussions about topics which relate to your business (once again, avoid the hard sell and focus on building relationships).
You can also start your own Facebook Group, which is a great way to connect with your audience. For example, if you started a small business making handmade journals, you could try to engage your community by having them post what they’re writing and drawing in them.
Facebook Ads
Through Meta ads, you can promote your Page, your posts, or even just your website! You can target your ads to users based on demographic information like location and interests. Buying a Facebook ad is easy—you can set a budget for the clicks or impressions your ad will receive. Facebook occasionally offers free ad credits through in-product promotions and partnerships if you want to start out small.
It’s a Matter of Trust
Facebook has been in some hot water throughout the years. They’ve been sued by some civil rights organizations that suggest Facebook Ads promote discrimination. Facebook has also been embroiled in a legal battle over whether or not Facebook Ads are misleading advertisers about how effective their ad platform is. The decision to use this resource is a personal one but know what’s in the news before you choose to engage or not.
Over the last few years, the news is out that Facebook has enormous power over people’s data. This has implications—ironically, Facebook’s data collecting capabilities make for powerful marketing tools in the form of Facebook Insights. But there’s a dark side to it as well, and when connecting with a potential audience, here’s something to consider:
When you place an ad on Facebook, for transparency’s sake, people can see that it’s a sponsored ad—which may be fine, or not, depending on your intentions.
Either way, audiences are savvier than ever and can smell the hard sell from a mile away—so it’s important to think about your brand’s reputation and how you want to build it before diving into any ad campaign. Whatever your goals are, you want your audience and customers to trust you—act accordingly!
Instagram Business
If you don’t already have an Instagram Business account, it’s an easy hack to get instant insights on your audience. On top of that, you get access to additional features that help define your business further, like industry labels and contact buttons.
Instagram Ads
Instagram ads are the same as Facebook (both fall under the same parent company, Meta). With as little commitment as $1 a day, you can set your preferred audience and duration to reach a considerable number of users, whether you’re looking to increase your profile visits, website clicks or connections with customers.
Reel your audience in with Instagram Reels
Part of what makes Instagram so addicting is the never-ending stream of things to read and watch, and that includes Instagram Reels. Reels are short-form pieces of content that combine visuals and audio, and more often than not, follow the latest social media trend.
In today’s world, you have mere seconds to catch someone’s attention before they scroll away. Think about strategies that both draw people in and showcase your business or product. Instagram themselves have even come out with dos and don’ts when posting Reels.
Did you know? As of 2024, photos and carousels with music can now be considered as Reels, building an additional avenue for engagement.
TIKTOK
TikTok Business
Noticing a trend here? Most business accounts are similar across the board, so nothing too new to go over here. You get access to TikTok Business Suite, where you get the rundown on analytics, brand presence and tools for creators, all aimed at helping you reach your target audience and engagement.
Before you create an account, think about the platforms your audience most frequents! If it’s not TikTok, then there may be other platforms that work better for your business.
TikTok Ads
Surprise! TikTok has ads too. Ads are only available to those with a Business account and can be used to reach the specific audiences of your choosing. Not convinced? Check out the plethora of case studies on TikTok’s website, showcasing businesses of every size.
Hop On The Trend Train
TikTok is the land of trends. The dances, the iconic catchphrases and so much more. You may see small businesses adapting trending sounds and ideas to feature their own products and services. An easy way to keep up to date on the latest trends is to:
Check relevant hashtags
Browse the discover page
Follow top creators in your industry
TikTok Creative Center is also a great resource, containing everything from detailed breakdowns of the most popular hashtags to the top products sold, educational courses and more.
But remember, don’t forgo your business voice and personality when making your videos. If a trend doesn’t feel like it fits, don’t force it!
