How to Market Without a Marketing Team
When starting a business, the goal is to check things off your to-do list without breaking the bank. One necessary––but often costly––box to check is developing persuasive marketing strategies. No budget? Don’t have an entire marketing department? No idea where to begin? No problem –– this blog is for you. Keep reading for some easy, low-to-no cost steps to get your branding on track, and your services out to the people.
Who is your customer? Identify your target audience and go as niche as necessary –– what are the interests, spending patterns and demographics of your customer? What is the problem you’re solving for them? Once you have a persona, you’ll be able to tailor your marketing efforts toward your ideal audience.
Online marketing tactics include blogs, customer segmentation, SEO (search engine optimization), social media ads, emails, webinars and more. While it may sound overwhelming, much of this work can be done with minimal resources, but first…
Your business needs a website. If you’re tech and design-savvy, you may go a more boutique route. Otherwise, look at Squarespace,Wordpress, Wix or other website builders that make it easy to take your brand online. Whether or not you have a graphic design background, you can save money and make your own graphic content. Platforms like Canva and Easel.ly will bring your ideas to life through infographics, compelling imagery and consistent branding.
Once you have a website, this is where you want clients to go. Emails, LinkedIn groups, Instagram and Facebook profiles should all redirect prospective clients back to the website.This is where you’ll house blogs, testimonials from clients and other resources. Some quick pro-tips as you begin to build out your website:
Create a pop-up that incentivizes prospective clients to sign up with their email address so you can start compiling a mailing list.
Write and publish regular content, specifically blogs, that boost SEO, generate leads and establish you as an industry authority. More on this in a moment.
Maintain a clean landing page with minimal links and cohesive, short copy.
Offer complimentary, introductory packages and/or rates. Some businesses have seen conversion rates as high as 75% for free consultations.
To accomplish the content needs of your marketing plan, an editorial calendar is a must. You don’t need to spend money on a project management platform, just make your own in Google sheets. Plan out intentionally-written, informative blogs to encourage returning visitors and command a larger presence via SEO. Make sure to both recycle and promote blog content on social media and in emails.
When it comes to blogs, think quality over quantity. Skip the content if it’s just for content’s sake and only publish information that your customers would find engaging. Using a marketing tool like Answer the Public, SEMRush or Google Analytics to see what topics people are actually searching for. Use infographics––reminder, you can make those yourself with the aforementioned marketing tools––to break up large blocks of text, insert bulleted lists for essential information and try to create evergreen content. When done right, Business to Business companies with a blog receive more leads than those that don't, sometimes up to 67% more leads, according to Impact, a marketing agency. Having a content marketing strategy is essential!
The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends you spend 7-8% of your total revenue on your marketing campaigns. For now, you may not have the budget for a marketing strategy with huge campaigns or omnipresent ads, but these simple steps can help drive the conversion rates that grow your business at a low cost.