You know how tough it is being a small business owner. As a lone wolf, you have to take up multiple roles to keep it all together. Even when you have a few helping hands, things rarely ever get easier. To top it all off comes the struggle of advertising to attract new customers to your business.
Wouldn't it have been so much better if someone had told you what advertising platform to choose and what strategies to follow? Well, that's what we're here for! We understand your dilemma of juggling between budget and advertising. This is why we have compiled a list of the best online advertising tips that you can follow to save on your money and efforts.
So, if you're a small business owner stepping into the world of advertising, this blog is all you'll need. From display online advertising to collaborations, let's see what we've got.
Small Business Advertising: What makes it hard to navigate?
As of the year 2023, there were 33.2 million small businesses in the United States alone. [SBA, Office of Advocacy] So, your first thought will obviously be the big bold 'Competition'. But as a small business owner, you also have budget issues. Not the combination you want to find yourself in.
This is where small business advertising comes into the picture. It guides the promotion of products and services of small businesses to the target audience. The best online advertising strategies consider your budget and create a spending plan that caters to your urgent needs.
Let's Talk Goals
Your goals are where your advertising begins. Without a doubt, you'd want to do everything, everywhere, all at once. But let's slow down here a bit. Take a breath and think if your already multitasking hands will be able to take up multiple goals. No, right?
It's always better to concentrate on a single goal first before jumping off to another. Here are some common goals you might want to focus on:
Spreading Awareness: Your business is small (and maybe new). Chances are, very few people know about it until now. And if they don't know about it, how will they consider you a potential seller when making a purchase decision? It's extremely essential to come before their eyes and make an impression—once, twice, multiple times—until they start recognizing your brand.
Obtaining Leads: This is the point where potential customers know about the business but haven't taken any action. You need them to click on your ads, visit your website, or fill out a form to show interest. Having leads is a sign that your awareness campaign is working as you expected.
Winning Customers: Once you successfully persuade your leads, you'll have them as your customers. That's the ultimate goal we're working for, but it doesn't necessarily come first in advertising strategies. Why would someone buy from a business they know nothing about? So don't fall into the trap of thinking that winning customers is all you need to do.
Best online advertising strategies always scrutinize the goals first before creating ads and targeting campaigns that align with them.
Become An Advertise
The Best Online Advertising Tips for Small Businesses
Sometimes, you might find yourself stuck with your advertising. Your time is getting wasted, and nothing seems to be working. Here are 9 best online advertising tips to bring you out of your advertising block.
Target Ads through PPC
Finding customers after advertising to everybody is similar to finding a needle in a haystack. Not everybody is interested in what you have to offer. So instead, why not focus on audiences that do require your product or services?
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is a medium of advertising where you target your ads only to a niche audience. This 'niche' is the industry where your business operates in, and prioritizing it will make you gain more interactions. You can run ads specifically targeted to this niche, based on customer demographics and location, to make the most efficient use of your budget. 7Search PPC is one of the best online advertising platforms that you should definitely check out.
Go Socialize
There's a good chance that more than half of your audience is on social media. To engage with them, you need to get on the platforms they are on. Start by researching about them, establishing your social media presence, and filling up your feed with relevant information. Once everything is done, you can run targeted ads on the social media platform itself to reach potential customers.
Take Advantage of Emails
The best part about advertising through emails? They're free. All you need is an email list of interested customers and the power to persuade people to open an email only through subject lines.
Through emails, you can build a relationship with fresh leads and convert them into paying customers. Once they have become your customers, you can maintain your relationship with them by serving regular updates and cross-selling through ads. But remember to keep your cool and not come off too salesy.
Work with Collabs
Collaboration ads can be a serious boost for your business when done right. You can reach twice the number of people and make double the impact through a shared audience. The various ways you can go about this are:
- Influencer collabs: You can partner up with influencers and advertise via sponsored posts, giftings, product collabs, affiliates, and giveaway events.
- UGC collabs: UGC creators create content for brands that appears to be natural and relatable. It is usually shared by brands in the form of ads, and is typically not shared to by the creators with their own followers.
- Brand collabs: Your business can partner up with other similar or complementary businesses to reach both their audience base.
Promote with Offers
Everybody loves a good deal. By running promotional offers, you can tap into the customer's psychological state that if something free is also risk-free. This can include free trials, free shipping, loyalty programs, BOGO (buy one, get one ) deals, flash and end-of-season sales.
Successful companies consider promo offers as one of the best online advertising methods for increasing sales, boosting customer satisfaction, and attracting new customers.
Flaunt Your Reviews
What's the best thing existing customers have to say about you? Bring those forward for your potential customers to see. People believe the word of other customers more than that of the brand. You can use this to your advantage and flaunt what you already have. Bonus points if you can get some of your customers to record a video tutorial reviewing your product or service.
Remember that your reviews are a direct image of your brand. Using a positive quote from one of your reviews in your ad can do wonders for it.
Utilize the Word of Mouth
Ever heard praises about a product from a friend of a friend? In marketing terms, that's called word of mouth advertising. When your opinions and reviews about a business flow from one person to another and so forth. This strategy is absolutely free and forms a value of trust with the potential customers.
But remember that this can also backfire if their experience with you is negative. So if you can get people to talk positively about your brand, you have got it all figured out.
Create Short Form Videos
Ever since the rise of TikToks and Instagram reels, short-form video content has been dominating the advertising space. Something short and catchy enough to grab attention and attract users. It's ideal for brands looking to show their personality and enthusiasm through quick-witted videos.
Nine out of ten businesses use video marketing in the year 2024. So make sure you're creating videos to stay in the game.
Keep on Testing
As a small business, your funds are limited, and you want to make the most of them. To make this happen, you will have to start investing in areas that produce the highest results. And how will you get there? Constant testing and optimizing.
By constantly testing, you can keep an eye on what creatives work best, what targeting attracts the most audience, and what platforms and tools to opt for. This also keeps you updated with how a campaign is performing and discards things that aren't working up to the mark.
Automate Your Campaigns with 7Search PPC
For those who are still struggling or don't have enough time to spare, 7Search PPC is here to help. We help you serve targeted campaigns to achieve genuine traffic and high ROI for your business. Our team of IT and marketing professionals is committed to creating the best online advertising campaigns for all small businesses.
With multiple ad formats, pricing options, and a detailed analytics system, advertising with us becomes so much easier.
Conclusion
Finding a balance between your spending and savings is tough. As a small business, you probably want to invest more in other ventures. But remember that you do need a continuous stream of customers to keep your business going. And the best way to do that is by promoting your business.
Only after regular testing and optimization will you be able to find the best online advertising techniques. Stick to the ones that perform best and stay updated with trends to not miss out on any opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is the best online advertising strategy for small businesses?
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is considered the best online advertising strategy for small businesses. It helps you to reach a very targeted audience in a short span of time.
2) How to find the best online advertising platform?
To find the best online advertising platform, start by analyzing your needs and shortlisting platforms that meet your criteria. Then, select the one that perfectly meets your requirements and budget.
3) Can traditional advertising methods be used for small business advertising?
While traditional advertising methods like flyers and brochures can be a good option if you want to spread brand awareness within a local area, it's best to stick to online advertising if you want to reach large masses.
4) How can I make the most of my advertising budget?
You can make the most of your budget by choosing the best online advertising techniques and platforms that fit within it.
5) Can I promote my small business without spending anything?
Building your social media presence, sending out emails, and working on your SEO usually requires little to no cost. You can start working on it from today to reap results in the long term.