With limited resources and budgets, small business marketing should be targeted at tactics that generate the highest ROI. In this article, we'll discuss Content marketing, Inbound marketing, and Paid media as options. We'll also cover the latest trends in mobile apps. And don't forget to keep an eye on your competition! Here are some tips to help you stand out in your local market. To grow your business, start with these marketing strategies: Inbound marketing If you want to attract more customers for your small business, you need to implement inbound marketing. The idea is to drive people to your website from within the content you create. Inbound marketing is more effective than traditional methods because it builds trust. People dislike commercials that interrupt their viewing experience and sales pitches that come from people they have never met. However, traditional methods are ineffective for small businesses because most entrepreneurs don't have the time or money to devote to them. Traditional marketing output involves mailing out envelopes and flyers to people you don't know. It takes up a lot of staff time and results in lots of paper cuts. Inbound marketing works by attracting the right visitors to your website through blogs, social media, and keywords. While it requires some planning and strategy, the results can be worth it. You'll be surprised at how much time you'll save. By investing in inbound marketing, you'll be surprised at how many more visitors you get! Inbound marketing has many benefits, and it isn't limited to small businesses. It can help online retailers, health care practitioners, real estate agents, stylists, and bookkeepers. It is a great way to build your customer base and increase traffic. Using inbound marketing can also boost your SEO strategy. Inbound marketing is an affordable way to get more customers and boost your website traffic. If you're wondering how it works, read on. As mentioned earlier, inbound marketing is about attracting prospects and engaging existing customers. As long as your business provides valuable content, consumers will keep coming back. Hence, your content should give value to the consumer. Examples of valuable content include articles or guides that help people use your product or service. This can even include information about how the solution can help them overcome their problems. By doing so, you'll increase your business without having to spend money on customer acquisition. Paid media The right combination of organic search engine optimization (SEO) and paid media can lead to a successful small business marketing strategy. While SEO generates more clicks for free, paid media provides traffic only during a campaign or while budget is available. The best approach is to balance paid and organic channels, as the free traffic will never end. Paid media platforms such as Google Ads allow small businesses to retarget their audience after they leave the website. Paid media can include display ads, social media advertisements, and search engine advertising. When done well, this type of marketing can expand the reach of a small business. Paid media is often a great complement to owned content, which can include blogs, social media, and special promotions. Paid and earned media should be balanced in order to reach the broadest audience. But how can you decide what works best for your business? Organic and paid social media strategies are not the same. While paid social is targeted and can increase sales, organic social increases credibility and brand awareness. If you're a small business, it's best to try both marketing strategies for maximum effectiveness. While organic media has lower barriers to entry, it requires skill and expertise to make effective use of it. If you're unsure, try a combination of both strategies. You can always refine your strategy as your business grows and changes, or switch to paid media as you see fit. Social media is also an important way to connect with customers. Social media users often share links to their latest blog posts and images. When you participate in these forums, you'll gain followers and upvotes. Plus, social media is increasingly used by younger generations as a social proof, so a social media presence is essential. A small business can benefit from a strong following on social media, as well as valuable insights about customer pain points. Content marketing If you're looking to attract new customers and boost conversion rates, consider content marketing for your small business. This strategy combines diverse content with a clear tone and message. You should monitor your posts and analyse competitors' strategies to get the most out of your content marketing strategy. If your content is not SEO friendly, you can outsource it and still get great results. Content marketing for small businesses can help you beat your competition and establish a presence online. In order to create engaging content, you can create a blog that includes videos and images. You can also use pre-recorded or live videos, infographics, photos, tweets, and white papers. Bullas explains that these content types aren't one-size-fits-all methods. For example, a fashion retailer may post photos of items on Instagram, while a B2B company may create instructional whitepapers. Either way, your business needs content that appeals to your audience. Content marketing for small businesses requires a systematic approach. Start by defining your target audience. This will help you define your content marketing strategy, budget, and desired resources. Use multiple formats of content to reach a variety of people. By using content in several formats, you will build a diverse audience and create advocates for your brand. These advocates will help you build a stronger presence in the market and spread the word about your business. Your strategy for content marketing should include long-term goals and a clear business plan. Your goal is to create valuable content that serves your customers and attracts new ones. It's best to begin early to build a content library and build organic traffic. The best way to do this is by establishing a reputation as an expert in your field. Make your content useful and interesting and you'll enjoy great results. And remember to keep it as valuable as possible! Mobile apps While it's still early days for the small business world, there are some benefits to creating and marketing mobile applications. In addition to adding value to the business, these apps can help increase customer engagement through loyalty programs and referral programs. In addition, mobile applications incorporate the latest technologies to provide a better user experience. They can also be upgraded to make users aware of new promotional offers and push them to engage with businesses. Here are five advantages of small business marketing using mobile apps: Creating a mobile app for your business is not as difficult as you might think. You don't need to hire expensive developers, and the process isn't as complicated as you might think. However, if you can find someone who can do it for cheap, you may be able to find the right person to build your app. A well-designed app can help your customers accomplish tasks and make sales. Small businesses should consider hiring someone to develop and market the app. With the growing number of consumers using mobile devices, it is essential to provide information on products and services that consumers need instantly. Whether they're searching for a new restaurant or a way to make a purchase, apps can help them achieve their goals. The information they require is easily accessible, and apps can send push notifications that provide customers with irresistible offers. By providing these tools, users will be more likely to purchase the goods or services that the small business provides. If your app requires payment, make sure to include a payment processor. For example, if you sell products, you may need to integrate payment processors, such as Stripe, which offers easy integration with app development platforms. Likewise, if your business provides services, consider creating a mobile app for your customers that allows them to book appointments through the app. Providing a user dashboard will make it easier for customers to use the app and will reduce phone calls. Social media While many businesses use social media as a marketing tool, some have not yet figured out how to get the most out of it. For instance, Precision Nutrition curates content from industry leaders and uses it as a way to reiterate its brand mission. They also partner with local businesses, including gyms and spas, who share a similar industry. The goal of such partnerships is to build a supportive community that complements each other, and they may be able to cross-promote posts without detracting from each other. While using social media to promote a small business is certainly beneficial, there are many things that need to be kept in mind before you begin. The first is to identify your objective, which might be to connect with existing customers, drive conversions, or drive traffic to your website. After defining your goals, the next step is to select the most appropriate social media platform. Once you have chosen the right platform for your goals, you can begin expanding to other channels as your business grows. To maximize social media for small business marketing, you must be active on your social profiles. People will not follow a brand or business page that does not post new content. In addition, they will not navigate to your page if they don't see anything new on it. Content should show up on the timeline and homepage. As a rule of thumb, over 50% of small businesses post on a daily basis. This is a key factor in gaining followers and increasing sales. While posting on social media is important, consistency in posting frequency and content calendars will help you get into a good posting routine and keep your followers engaged. While a lot of businesses will get overwhelmed with content calendars and posts, quality and consistency will always trump frequency. It's far better to post a few quality posts a day than radio silence or weekly solid posting. Try to stick to a consistent one-post-a-day schedule on each platform. Remember, cross-posting can be done with minimal fanfare if you keep the word count and image settings up to par.