If you just launched your small business, chances are you are starting with a limited budget – both financially and in terms of time, especially when it comes to marketing and planning.

So, here’s a list of 9 free marketing strategies that’ll improve your marketing and help you get more customers.

Know your Customer Persona

A customer persona (or buyer persona) is a semi-fictional archetype that represents the key characteristics of a large segment of your audience, and it’s based on the data you’ve collected from web analytics and user research.

The purpose of customer personas is to create reliable and realistic representations of your key audience segments for reference. Creating customer personas, and using them to guide your business, can help you focus on the needs of your customers.

Build an email list

An email list is nothing more than a collection of email addresses from people who have subscribed to your newsletter, website, or blog, and its primary purpose is to increase the number of your potential leads.

The first step toward creating your first email list is finding an email service provider. It is important to make sure that they have a minimum of capabilities, like providing a variety of sign-up forms, having the ability to send the sign-up to different lists, monitoring the effectiveness of each form, and sending automated messages.

You should also keep your list current. At least a large percentage of subscribers change their email addresses each year, so make sure to delete the inactive ones at least once a year. Remember, you should focus on quality over quantity.

Building an email list is, in theory, not a very complicated process. However, it does require one thing: that you have visitors to your website.

So here are some proven methods for getting that traffic in the first place.

• Create engaging content. Great content will bring visitors to your site. You just have to make sure that you have a clear call to action and a link that goes to the page you want your visitors to see.

• Write Guest Posts. Guest posting for other websites is an effective way to generate backlinks, boost referral traffic, and increase search engine results page (SERP) rankings.

• Keep active on social media. Social media is huge for attracting visitors. To increase your website traffic, make sure to interact with followers by replying to them, reposting their content, and tagging them. You should also use hashtags that are relevant to your business or include enticing information from the content to encourage people to click on the link you provide.

Sign up for Google My Business

Claiming your Google My Business listing is one of the simplest ways to gain traffic and customers. It is, in my opinion, the best free marketing strategy you can apply to your business. Google My Business is a listing of your business’s operating information, reviews, posts, and so much more. When used correctly, it is a powerful tool that can increase your revenue and provide valuable insights about your customers.

• Make sure your information is accurate, detailed, and updated.
• Ask for reviews (and respond to them. Yes, even the negative ones!)
• Speak directly to your customers through Google My Business messages.
• Add posts to share business updates.
• Track user actions.

Give things away for free

People love free stuff. So, offering a good deal or a giveaway on your website or social media business page is a great way to get more interest and business. You don’t have to offer anything big. Often, a small item like a coupon code for free shipping or a percentage off a future order will do the trick.

Nonetheless, the business this generates can be great and people might want to share your giveaway with their friends or social media followers.

Set SMART goals

When you start a business, you have a lot of goals. Perhaps you want to reach a certain number of customers by the end of the year or generate a profit by a certain month or year. Whatever goals you choose for yourself, make sure they’re SMART goals.

So, what are SMART goals?

SMART goals are a planning technique that includes five criteria that business owners can use to define and assess goals. So, what exactly do SMART goals stand for?

To help you set goals in your organization, the SMART method employs the acronym:

• Specific: Be as specific as possible about your goal.
• Measurable: Analyze whether you were successful in reaching your goal.
• Attainable: Include a practical strategy that divides your general objective into smaller action steps.
• Relevant: Create goals that are relevant to your business strategy, mission statement, market, client base, and sector.
• Time-bound: Set goals for a given timeframe.

The SMART approach will assist you in better outlining your goals and providing a clear understanding of what you want to achieve.

Improve your online visibility

The pandemic has taken online shopping to new heights, and it’s a trend that shows no signs of faltering. Whether you like it or not, the first place consumers look for information about your company is online. Even if they plan to buy from you in person, now is the time to build a website if you don’t have one.

Your website will be the first impression of your business for many potential customers. It’s essential that it’s both professional and engaging. Keep in mind to include all the necessary information about your company that your customers might need. At a bare minimum, include contact information, pricing, business hours, street address and/or service area, and, if pertinent, delivery, and refund information.

Make sure your website is SEO-friendly

With an SEO-friendly website set up and running, you can hope for organic traffic. This should be a priority before you venture into other marketing options. A crucial step to organically growing your business is ensuring your business website is optimized for search engines and conversions.

• Your website design should support an easy and user-friendly user experience (UX).
• Another crucial SEO aspect includes the keywords that you decide to use.
• To further improve your position in SERPs and your brand authority, it’s very important that you regularly create good-quality and engaging content for your target audience.
• In terms of SEO, long-tail keywords work the best in this case.
• While it’s still essential to include your keywords, the best approach to content creation would be to incorporate content hubs.

Enhance Social Media Strategy

There are around 3.78 billion social media users worldwide in 2021, and that number is projected to keep growing in upcoming years. That is potentially a very strong market of consumers looking to buy goods and services, possibly clients for your business. Also, more than 50% of brands are discovered on social media.

So yes, social media channels are great places to connect with your family and friends, but are also great for growing your business. With a little planning, social media channels can easily turn into budget-friendly platforms for establishing your brand and growing your reach.

Here are some tips to help you out with your social media strategy:

• Choose platforms that your target audience uses the most.
• Humanize your brand. Add the human element to make it easy for people to understand and empathize with you and your brand.
• On a frequent basis, share engaging and meaningful material
• Use hashtags that are relevant to both your niche and your target audience.
• Add relevant information about your company, including a link to your business website.

Repurpose content on multiple channels

The success of a marketing strategy depends on the constant production of qualified, authentic, and persona-adequate content.

Your content calendar should always be full to maintain the relevance of your channels. And while this sounds like a challenging task, it doesn’t have to be.

By using a repurposing content strategy, you will be able to make the process faster and more productive.

Ways to repurpose content for your business:

• YouTube videos or webinars can be divided into different parts and published on Facebook and/or Instagram.
• E-books can be the source of several blog posts, which in turn can be announced on other social media platforms.
• Share testimonials on your social media to enhance the credibility of your company.
• If your digital marketing strategy is efficient, turn that data into a case study.

Repurposing content is a great way of exploring new audiences and creating even better experiences for your customers. Also, the benefits related to time management cannot be discarded.

So go ahead and make changes to your existing content and keep your editorial calendar full!

The post 9 Free Marketing Strategies to Use in Your Small Business appeared first on Multilingual VA.

Marketing skills are essential for small business owners since you have to do everything yourself. From selling products and services, promoting them, and creating content that brings potential customers to you. Marketing skills are also critical because they can help you find your target audience. If you know your target audience, you can tailor your marketing efforts to them, which will be more effective.

Here are five marketing skills you’ll need to be a successful business owner:

Decision-making

To make good decisions, one must have strong decision-making skills. Entrepreneurs need to recognize the best marketing plan for their company and how it will fit their goals and objectives. A crucial skill for a marketer is identifying marketing channels and analyzing which ones will be most effective. In addition, certain decisions are based on risk analysis, like choosing a business partner that can help reach your target market.

Problem-Solving

Marketing is difficult to break into and sometimes mistakes are made, even with the best intentions. When it comes to problem-solving skills and marketing, you can’t afford any mistakes. With so many things happening in marketing and advertising, it can be hard to keep track of your business.

Communication

Communication skills are vital in a marketing business too. If you want to succeed, you need to be a good communicator. Communication starts with understanding your audience and the context of the message. It is essential to use keywords targeted to your audience to get your message across effectively.

Creativity and Writing

Another important skill needed as an entrepreneur is creativity and writing skills. The ability to express oneself through creative writing can go a long way in marketing one’s brand. In addition, aspiring entrepreneurs need to be able to communicate with their potential customers, and the only way to do so is through words.

Focus and Flexibility

In the age of digital marketing, it’s important to have a strong focus and remain flexible. There is no one right approach to digital marketing. Instead, the key is to find balance and to be able to capitalize on opportunities that arise as they come.

With these skills, the right marketing techniques are better executed and more efficient. In other words, just because you follow specific marketing techniques doesn’t mean you will automatically be successful if you don’t have the right skills to communicate and deliver value to your target audience.

The post Marketing Skills You Need as a Small Business Owner appeared first on Multilingual VA.

Social media marketing uses social networks and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to create awareness about a product, service, or event. It is vital for entrepreneurs because it can help get your business or value out to the public.

Social media marketing is important to solo entrepreneurs because:

It directly engages your target audience.

Social media is a great way to engage your audience and keep them up to date on what’s happening in your world. You can easily target specific audiences with the information they’re interested in. Using hashtags is a popular way to engage and find your target audience on many platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

For example, if you have a company called “MOVING COMPANY,” you might choose to use the hashtag “#MovingCompany” at the beginning of your posts. Then tag the company name in the post to ensure that anyone interested in moving their current location to yours will find the information they need to decide.

It Reaches More Loyal Customers

Businesses can now reach more loyal customers than ever before by posting content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Eighty-four percent of people trust a company more if they see the company’s social media account or website on the landing page. And seventy-one percent of people would actually follow the company’s social media account if they liked what they saw on the platform.

It Helps to Promote Your Products and Services

An ODM Group study found that 74% of consumers are influenced by social media. This is because social media provides a connection between customers and businesses. In addition, the use of social media creates a two-way conversation between consumers and marketers. This means that the consumer can also share feedback about how they feel about the product or service being offered.

This can be done more personally and directly with social media than with traditional media.

Social media is a crucial marketing tool you can’t skip as a solo entrepreneur. This tool helps you reach more people and improve your communication to provide better products and services. Over time, social media helps increase your revenue as you have another way to share your products or services with your target audience. So don’t delay. To succeed at online marketing, first, you should look for the right social media platform for your business. And then share your best content regularly.

The post Social Media Marketing: What it is and Why it’s Important to Entrepreneurs appeared first on Multilingual VA.

Digital marketing uses the internet, social media, mobile devices, and other electronic tools to reach customers. It has become an essential tool in every business’s marketing strategy. Digital marketing includes various techniques, from SEO to email campaigns, from Facebook ads to content marketing. It is about understanding what your customers want, which will help you sell your product or services to them.

The following is why digital marketing is critical to your use as a solo entrepreneur:

Brand Awareness and Visibility

From social media to email marketing, entrepreneurs can use these tools to connect with and reach their target audience. As a solo entrepreneur, you need to understand digital marketing because it can help you grow your business by reaching out to more people and increasing your customer base.

Improved Customer Experience and Relationships

Digital marketing plays a vital role in developing customer relationships and improving your customer experience. Entrepreneurs need to have a fundamental understanding of using digital media to ensure positive customer interaction. If your audience doesn’t understand your value or can’t use your products and services quickly, they won’t have an enjoyable experience. You retain an audience by giving them a good user experience and providing high value through content.

Cost-Effective, Scalable, and Sustainable

Fortunately for us, getting started with digital marketing is now more affordable than ever before. Businesses can invest in advertising their products and services with a relatively small budget, and the potential customer base is exponentially more extensive.

Increased Sales and Profitability

Digital marketing can also increase sales and profitability by providing a more efficient and direct route to your ideal customer. It is easy to increase your revenue when your target audience knows about you and what value you can provide. Content optimized for search engines, Facebook ads, and lead magnets are three great ways to increase your sales and profitability through digital marketing.

As you can see, digital marketing is crucial for any business owner who wants to succeed today. However, you are unlikely to find your target audience or effectively communicate with them without it. On top of this, digital marketing also enables you to find new opportunities for your products and services. So, if you need a way to target potential clients interested in what you do and want to learn more about your work, you must invest in digital marketing.

The post Why Digital Marketing is a Vital Tool to Use as A Solo Entrepreneur appeared first on Multilingual VA.

Social media is a great way to promote your business and get your message out. Free social platforms offer a cost-effective way to reach a broad audience. Many social platforms exist to choose from, but three are the most popular among solo entrepreneurs: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Social media offers a level of engagement unlike any other form of marketing today. It allows you to connect with your customers and build your brand in ways never before possible.

Try these four advantageous ways to use social media as an entrepreneur:

Engage with Quality Content

Social media marketing starts with quality content. First, you need to create exciting and engaging content to get people interested in what you offer. Using social platforms won’t benefit you without quality content. Next, you need to have a marketing strategy. You’ll also need to know who you’re targeting and what they want. Without a strategy, everything you post will be in vain. The key to social media marketing is making sure the content is presented so that people want it: quick, interesting, and easy to digest.

Be Generous

The growing number of social platforms and the increasing usage means that there is a lot of competition. So, how can you cut through and make sure that your posts are noticed? First, be generous with the content you share. In other words, use social media to share as much as possible. The more you communicate and share information freely, the more trust you build. Eventually, this will lead to higher returns.

Start With the Right Platforms

Most people are unaware that various social platforms exist for different purposes. For example, Facebook is for personal connections, LinkedIn is for professional connections, and Twitter broadcasts information to a wider audience. Therefore, it’s important to use the right platform to get the most out of social media. If you don’t take the time to study and find the right platform, you’ll just waste your time.

Use it To Drive Traffic to Products Directly in Your Store

Finally, but certainly not least, the best way to take advantage of social media marketing is to drive them to other places, such as your blog or online store. You can add links to your social profiles, posts, blogs, or websites. Make it easy for them. And follow their trajectory to where you want them.

Taking advantage of social media starts with sharing valuable and free content on the platforms you know your target audience uses. This helps get your business more exposure and increases your chances of success. In addition, it can help you engage your audience better and make their experience worthwhile.

The post Four Ways to Take Advantage of Social Media as a Solo Entrepreneur appeared first on Multilingual VA.