Marketing is key to connecting your brand with the right consumers. Social media has changed how marketing functions, allowing people to communicate directly to customers. Statistics show that over 3.6 billion people worldwide are using social sites. Often, this can be done without paying for traditional advertising. If you’re looking to market your business but don’t know where to start, here are five tips to consider.
- Select Your Channels
Marketing channels are the means you are using to reach your audience. Social media, mentioned above, is one way. More traditional routes are public relations, digital and print advertisements, mailing lists, and even coffee shop bulletin boards. For an email list, you will want to include an eye-catching subject line that speaks to your audience’s needs. Think about your customers and which type of advertising is most likely to reach them. A younger target audience is most likely to be reached online, while an older group may be more likely to see in-person or television promotions.
- Gather Data
Online advertising is particularly useful for collecting analytics. This data allows you to see which advertisements work and help you get to know your audience better. Other ways of collecting marketing information include surveys and focus groups. You can even poll your audience on Twitter or Instagram to see what products and services they are most interested in. Information is power in marketing, and it lets you make informed decisions.
- Hone Your Message
After collecting preliminary data, you’ll want to refine your message accordingly. Your message should convey how your product meets a need and create an emotional connection with the viewer or listener. Make sure the tone of your advertisement matches the voice of your brand. For instance, if you have a young, bright, and fun handbag company, you won’t want your messaging to be overly formal. It could alienate the very people you are trying to reach.
- Consult a Professional
You can attempt many marketing tasks yourself, but it’s always good to get some professional guidance from Olive + Ash. You can hire someone to consult in addition to your efforts. This works really well whether you have a clear vision of what you’re wanting or not because a marketing team can also help you with discovery. To bring your vision to life, send some examples of what you’re looking for, from images to graphics and documents. When doing so, using a JPG to PDF converter such as Adobe Acrobat or Canva’s JPG to PDF converter could help you retain the quality of the image while making it more convenient to share.
- Get Creative
The world is getting more overloaded with product messaging, and it can be challenging to cut through the noise. The more creative you are, the more likely people will remember your messaging and your product. One creative way to promote your business is by getting people engaged in a contest or giveaway. This gets people engaged and helps spread the word to others. For instance, on an Instagram contest, you might have people tag friends in the comments or post their own photos and tag you. This helps spread the word quickly by exposing you to more people and increasing engagement, which pushes the algorithm in your favor.
Marketing may seem like a difficult step in the process of running your business, but with a bit of help, you will get the hang of it in no time. Try implementing some of the strategies above, and don’t forget it’s ok to tweak things as you go along.
