Expert insights | Advertising & marketing do’s & don’ts

Learn all about the do’s and don’ts when it comes to advertising and marketing your business successfully online.

Ben Precious, CEO, shares his expert insights on what businesses should be doing to attract customers while avoiding critical marketing mistakes.

What are your top advertising tips for small businesses to reach new customers?

My top advertising tips for small businesses to reach new customers are; use social platforms you’re not set up on, and leverage listing websites and services. 

Utilizing social media platforms your business doesn’t currently use is a great way to reach new customers, this may require some brainstorming and local PPC management, however, platforms like LinkedIn and Pinterest are greatly over-looked, LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for generating B2B leads and growing your business network, whereas Pinterest has the potential to land your product on the first page of Google while generating thousands of keen eyes. 

Listing websites are also a great way to drum up new business, most of these listing sites are either free to list your business or offer low-cost options for placements on their website, local listings are typically the best place to look as you know your local area the best as a business owner, more on this in my other tips below.

What advertising mistakes should small businesses avoid?

Small businesses should avoid making marketing decisions without data to support them. You’re a small business so you need to make sure every marketing dollar counts and using data is a great way of doing this. 

Usually, as a small business, you lack data, which can lead to poor marketing decisions, if you don’t have data to back up your marketing choices, it’s pointless to run them as you’ll be spending money like leaving the tap running. 

Testing is the best way to avoid poor marketing campaigns, I’d recommend setting up a handful of marketing campaigns with small budgets with each having variations in targeting, this will allow you to pull in some advertising data, pick the advert that performs the best, rinse and repeat until you have the perfect advert producing the results you’re looking for.

What are your top low-cost marketing tips for small businesses to consider?

I have three top tips for small businesses to consider… 

My first tip is daily posting on social media, this is a free or very low-cost way to engage your audience on a consistent basis with content you control, this process is very simple to automate and carries low costs or none at all in regards to content if you create it yourself. 

Secondly, leverage using local and national listing websites, this is a quick and easy way to start building traffic for your website and recognition in your marketplace, websites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, or services like Google My Business work great, most of the listing websites you’ll find are either free or offer low-cost marketing on their sites for increased positioning on their lists or placements, resulting in more traffic for you!

My third top tip is to use outsourcing websites such as Fiverr or UpWork, Fiverr is my personal favorite. Using these websites opens the door to a whole network of people who are skilled/talented in areas of online work and, of course, low-cost marketing, I’d strongly recommend investing in content creation, you can find a whole month’s worth of content (eg. 30 posts for your Instagram) for less than a couple of shopping trips! You can take this content and use my first top tip to make this work wonders for your low-cost marketing efforts.[/vc_column_text]

What mistakes should you avoid when implementing a marketing strategy/campaign on a budget?

You need to avoid poor budgeting when working with low-cost marketing efforts and smaller numbers.

You should have a set figure and work to this, if you’re looking for low-cost marketing, your budget is most likely smaller, this means you should be aware of where every penny is being spent. 

Keeping track of your spending and getting the most out of your money is the goal here. Content is a great place to invest as this can be used over and over again, across a long period of time, fueling your marketing tank.

What are your top creative advertising tips for niche businesses to consider?

I have another three top tips in mind regarding creative advertising advice for niche businesses. 

Firstly, consistent content/ads are key for engaging your audience and seeing an uptick in your engagement, make sure to post new content daily which could pose as a paid advert.

Secondly, brand-specific posting, since as you specialize in a niche you need to express this through your branding and in turn, your content. This can be as easy as showcasing your product, services, or expertise through photos, videos, snapshot clips, and stories etc. 

Thirdly, analytics, because you specialize in a niche, it is essential to figure out your audience’s pain points and needs which you can service. Data from your adverts, mainly, conversions will help you figure this out. Also, spend some time brainstorming and coming up with different pain points your ideal customer might have, and how and why your business should be the one to fix them.

What mistakes should you avoid when implementing an advertising strategy/campaign for a niche business?

Never stay in your own shoes as the niche business owner, your customers don’t see your product the same way you do, when creating your adverts and content, make sure to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and how they would view the content you are delivering to them. 

This will help you increase conversions on your advertising and paint a better picture of your marketing campaign to your audience and customers. Think to yourself, if you were a customer approaching your business for the first time, what would you like to see and what’s the best way of putting that in front of you so you can become a paying, loyal customer.

Avoid not advertising and promoting as much as possible during the summer months, this is an active time of year and leads are ready to convert! Remember, some leads and people may take longer to buy, so getting in front of them during these months is a key element in boosting sales. Ben Precious, CEO, weighs in on this with some expert summer advertising and marketing tips.

FINAL WORDS

Advertising and marketing are ultimately the lifelines to your business, nailing these areas will provide a consistent stream of customers and business, allowing you to scale into new, better, and bigger things. Advertising Agencies are a great step in the right direction when it comes to building out your marketing approach, here are some tips on how to choose a digital marketing agency.

As a business owner, it’s easy to neglect marketing and getting creative with it, that’s why we exist, to take the weight of advertising to your audience and place it on our shoulders.