DIY marketing for small businesses can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks for a business owner.

You have to invest time, effort and money in order to get the best results from your campaigns. Social media plays an important role in any marketing strategy but it can also be a time sink for small businesses who have limited resources.

The key to success lies in proper organisation and knowing which marketing strategies are best suited to your business. Investing in the right tools can save you time, effort and money so that you can focus on what really matters – growing your business.

1.    Repurpose your content

Undeniably, it’s not possible to always create a totally original content for all forms of marketing. Blog posts, social media posts, press releases, email pitches, and newsletters can all be birthed from just one original piece of work.

After all, it takes around 11 touchpoints before a customer really pays attention to you. So using the same message in varying forms can actually be beneficial for business. It allows customers to recognise your message and tone of voice and get on board with your brand.

While you cannot post on social media at the drop of a hat in business (because the words, imagery, hashtags and tags are all very meaningful), you can take a line or two from the newsletter you worked hard on last month. But, it’s not guaranteed that everyone in your mailing list read that newsletter, so you’re doing them a favour by posting a snippet from it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter for those who missed it.

Previously wrote a blog post once upon a time? Update it so it’s relevant for today, publish it as a new post for 2023/24, and share it on social media. You can then take a couple of paragraphs from it and include it in your newsletter. Additionally, you could even use a section to include in an email pitch to a client you’re hoping to gain. Or you could even use it as a quote from yourself in a press release to send out to the media.

2.     Promote competitions

Small business owners can quickly benefit from social media competitions. This marketing hack is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to promote a business. Not only do contests help to create brand awareness, but they also encourage users to share and interact with a company.

Social media competitions allow small business owners to engage with potential customers, as well as reward them for their loyalty and support. They also provide a great opportunity for businesses to get creative and come up with ways to make the competition more exciting. This in turn can result in increased engagement and sales.

But organising, running and keeping track of a social media competition can become confusing and overwhelming. That’s why there are lots of tools available online to do it for you.

There are plenty of free tools and trials for you to experiment with. And if you get great results, you could invest in the programmes to gain regular traction. Check out some of these apps to get you started:

·      SweepWidget

·      Gleam

·      RafflePress

·      Easy Promos

·      Raffle Copter

3.     Create a content calendar

A social media content calendar is essential to stay organised and save time when marketing for small businesses. It helps small business owners plan their social media marketing activities in advance, so they can focus on other important tasks. A content calendar also helps you to stay consistent, track progress and measure the success of campaigns.

Having a content calendar helps small business owners reach more people with their messaging since they can plan out the timing of their posts and ensure that they are reaching the right audience at the right time.

You’ll be able to keep track of what kind of content is performing best and adjust accordingly. By using a content calendar, small business owners can be sure that they are getting maximum exposure for their brand and products.

4.     Make use of digital marketing tools

Similarly to the competition tools, there are an untold number of apps to help with business organisation, social media, advertising, and content. Significantly, these are all essential factors in marketing for small businesses.

Here are a few FREE tools that help small business owners in a range of areas in their marketing efforts:

Google Keyword Planner – to research keywords for search engines to find and promote your business

Hootsuite – to schedule and plan social media posts

Google My Business – to update your information for Google users and track reviews

Canva – to design presentations, adverts, social media posts and more

Vimeo – to create engaging videos for social media

Eventbrite – to plan and promote business events and sell tickets online

Hubspot – for CRM and lead generation software and marketing campaigns

Google Optimize – for A/B testing and experimenting with personalisation for your website

MailChimp – to create engaging email marketing campaigns

Google Analytics – for analysing and reporting your website’s search performance

5.     Apply for business awards

These are usually free to nominate or submit an application – especially at a local level. Though, the application can sometimes be a lengthy process and may require a few focus hours to answer detailed questions. Once you’ve put the work into that first application, you can generate a whopping return on investment (ROI). That ROI comes in the form of some fantastic marketing for small businesses.

The application process will have you thinking in great detail about where your company started, the challenges you’ve overcome, the successes you’ve experienced and your plans for the future. How often do you go over these questions in detail? So, it’s a great exercise to ground you, celebrate how far you’ve come, and push you to make plans for the future.

Once submitted, your application will be read by a host of judges and admin staff. That’s a whole load of brand awareness created for absolutely nothing. You’ll usually then receive a nomination badge to brand around on social media, email signatures and website. Again, great free promotion from a trusted awarding organisation.

And if you get through to the finals, you’ll most likely be invited to attend free and unique networking events filled with like-minded people. It’s all a great investment of time, even if you don’t win. But if you do, well… get showing off about it!

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