Small Businesses: It’s Time To Be Seen Without Breaking The Bank

Approximately 18% of marketers spend $100,000 to $500,000 annually on influencer marketing, as per a recent survey by Mediakix. Needless to say, for a small businesses, those costs are way above the typical marketing budget. Yet, if you can’t pay for the Kardashian family to promote your latest product, it doesn’t mean you are condemned to remain unknown. 

Small businesses have more than one tip to get noticed and be seen without necessarily breaking the bank. 

Small venue – big signage

If you have a physical location, such as a shop or an office, it can be tricky to attract the attention of passers-by. Indeed, bigger brands are more likely to utilise their square footage to drive attention. Nevertheless, you can focus on your signage strategy with a partner such as Big Art and Banners, so people can follow the signs to find you. Signs can be a cost-effective solution to boost your visibility in a crowded space. 

Build an engaging social media platform

Social media is a two-way communication channel. In other words, it is inaccurate to assume that only big brands are more likely to get noticed. Social media success relies essentially on the ability to engage and acknowledge your followers. When you establish communication, you can create conversations that will get seen and read by your community. Therefore, your social media visibility relies on the following elements:

• Frequent and interesting-grabbing content
• Being on the right platform for your target audience group
• Monitoring competitors
• Addressing questions and queries rapidly

Who says you can’t work with influencers?

Believe it or not, but social media influencer marketing is not reserved for big brands. Small businesses can also partner with dedicated influencers to build their digital presence and awareness. Micro-influencers and local influencers are social media users who have built a recognisable presence in their local areas. You can use influencer platforms such as Ainfluencer to identify the right person in your geographic area. Micro-influencers have a considerably smaller follower base compared to national and international names. Yet, they are an inexpensive strategy for small businesses to create brand awareness. Additionally, as micro-influencers have a small community, they are more likely to engage with their followers. As a result, they tend to be a more reliable and credible authority for brands. 

Be the expert people see and trust

Many companies use their blog as a place to establish their brand expertise. Unfortunately, with over a billion blogs online, it can be tricky to get noticed. Blogging alone doesn’t promote your brand. Instead, you may want to expand your platform reach. 

If you prefer writing articles, it can be a good idea to consider content distribution best practices, which let you publish your content on authority platforms such as Medium. The process maximises SEO rankings and means your article is more likely to find readers. 

Alternatively, content can come in different formats. You can use short videos to answer frequent questions. TikTok, for example, prefers a short format, but it’s ideal for recording yourself answering popular queries in your sector. Instagram and YouTube allow you to upload longer videos, which can be perfect for tutorials, before and after process, and project follow-ups. As video is a highly digestible and shareable format, you are more likely to get noticed!

For small businesses, the marketing budget may limit your options. However, a shoe-string budget still gives you plenty of room to showcase your expertise, promote your venue, and share your views!