Part of the goal of a marketing campaign is to convince people to buy from you, and that’s no easy feat. It can be incredibly hard to figure out all the ins and outs of marketing when you’re a small business, as you may not have all the resources or know-how of a larger company.

You may already have the basics of a solid marketing campaign, from search engine optimization (SEO) to web design to email marketing. But if you’re still facing uncertainty about how to improve your marketing from there, no sweat — I’ve got you covered.

You can use all kinds of tactics to improve your marketing, and listing them all would be nearly impossible. But I’ve picked out eight fresh marketing ideas that can be particularly effective at generating brand awareness and leads for your business, which I’ll cover below.

Then, if you’re looking for even more marketing ideas, subscribe to Revenue Weekly to get exclusive tips from the digital marketing agency with over 20 years of experience!

8 killer marketing ideas for small businesses

Ready to rocket your marketing campaign skyward? Perfect!

Read on to learn eight great ways to boost marketing for your small business:

1. Create instructional videos

One of the best things you can do for your marketing is to make sure it’s engaging. You could create the most well-thought-out, persuasive, accurate, informative content in the world, and it still wouldn’t matter one iota if it didn’t hold anyone’s attention.

That’s what makes videos so awesome.

Something about the moving shapes draws people’s eyes in a way that makes them almost impossible to ignore. Creating and posting some videos of your own — whether on YouTube, social media, your website, or all the above — is a great idea.

Of course, you still want people to find your videos useful, so consider creating some instructional videos. These videos should show users how to do something that relates to your products or services.

With any luck, they’ll be educated and entertained.

2. Design compelling infographics

Even if you don’t have the time or resources to create a high-quality video, there are still other ways you can engage users. One such option is to create original infographics.

Like instructional videos, infographics combine useful information with appealing visuals. On the one hand, those visuals don’t move like they do in a video. On the other hand, people can skim infographics faster than most instructional videos.

Infographics are great for attracting users that might not get drawn to written content. Some people might find paragraphs and bulleted lists daunting, but they take an interest when they see that same information as a colorful picture.

3. Hold fun social media contests

Everyone loves winning prizes, which makes social media contests another great marketing strategy for your small business. When you offer people the chance to win something, they’ll start turning up in droves.

One of the best things about social media contests is that they can take many different forms. A contest could be a raffle that has people fill out a contact form to enter their name, or it could be a drawing contest that asks kids to come up with a creative version of your logo.

Whatever route you choose, you’ll be sure to increase public interest in your company.

4. Contribute to Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

Next on our list of fresh marketing ideas is a platform called Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Journalists use this platform to get information on topics they’re assigned to write about, which often requires asking people with industry knowledge.

When you join HARO, you’ll have the opportunity to answer reporters’ questions about topics related to your industry. If a reporter uses your answer in their news article, they’ll credit you for it.

This strategy gives your business free press and lets you show off your knowledge!

5. Retarget leads with ads and emails

If you haven’t already used retargeting tactics, you absolutely should — they’re a fantastic marketing strategy for any small business. Retargeting, also called remarketing, involves targeting ads toward people who have already visited your website.

Typically, the way this works is that a user will visit your website but leave without buying anything. If you can track them using cookies or get them to submit their email before leaving, you can follow up with them, encouraging them to come back and make a purchase.

6. Display glowing testimonials

When people say good things about your business, you don’t want to keep it quiet. Users will nearly always trust their fellow customers’ opinions over those of a company, so if you have the chance to advertise your business using testimonials, you should take it.

To get testimonials, you can reach out to current and former customers for feedback. You can also apply the remarketing tactics from the last tip to encourage customers to leave a review. Then you can post your testimonials on your website and your social media pages.

7. Update old content

Content marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies out there, but for content to work, it has to be at least relatively fresh. When users come across articles that are five, ten, or even fifteen years old, they probably won’t trust that it’s still up-to-date.

That doesn’t mean that you have to scrap all your old content, though. Instead, go through older articles and blog posts on your website and find ways to freshen them up. Often, you’ll be able to preserve most of it if you just update one or two parts.

8. Respond to positive and negative reviews

A moment ago, I talked about the benefits of testimonials, but not all customer feedback will necessarily be so positive that you want to advertise it. Plenty of websites, like Amazon, offer customers the chance to leave reviews on product pages, and they aren’t always pleasant.

Anywhere that you know customers can leave reviews of your business, set a close watch on what’s getting posted. When you see positive reviews, be sure to thank the reviewer. Equally important, though, are negative reviews.

Do what you can to ease negative reviewers’ frustration and make it up to them. When you thoughtfully address their complaints, not only might you turn them into a loyal customer, but you’ll also show other users how good your customer service is.

Mid-Size Businesses Trust WebFX

Their focus on ROI and their innate ability to communicate this information in a way that I understand has been the missing link with other digital marketing firms that I have used in the past.

Leah Pickard. ABWE

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Propel marketing for your small business with WebFX

Each of the above tips has the potential to do a world of good for the marketing strategy of any small business. But they’re no substitute for a solid marketing foundation built on things like web design and paid advertising.

If you want help boosting the foundation of your marketing plan, look no further than WebFX. With over 500 client testimonials, we’re the top agency in the digital marketing world, and we’d love to help you drive your company’s return on investment (ROI) to new heights.

To partner with us, just call us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!