From the blog 7 Ways to Evolve Your Small Business Marketing for 2020

Small business marketing is a moving target. The strategies that work today will change tomorrow. 

But your marketing budget isn’t unlimited. So how do you make the most of it? Where do you even start? 

Here are 7 strategies to include in your small business marketing plan for 2020. Let’s get you some bang for that marketing buck.

1. Choose your weapons carefully

There are so many channels to choose from. The temptation is to root your strategy in terms of the venue that resonates the most with you. But that’s a mistake.

Instead, ask yourself what resonates with your customers.

Do some research. What do your customers like? Do they have preferred social media channels? Where are they posting, reading and commenting?

It doesn’t really matter what social media channels you like. Your marketing should be focused on the channels your target market likes.

You should also take into account the amount of time you have before picking specific social media networks. If your customer base is on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, but you don’t have the time to edit pictures or videos, go with Twitter.

2. Measure and analyze

Digital channels (like social media) have the added advantage of collecting data. Tons of data. All the data. Part of your job is to keep an eye on that data.

Determine which content gets the most likes and shares and which content goes unnoticed. Then produce more of the good-performing content and less of the poor-performing.

Keep up with how your posts are performing.

It’s entirely possible to learn how to analyze basic social media performance yourself. But if you want deep-dive analysis, you should consider hiring a social media manager or SEO specialist. 

3. Update your website

If you’re going into 2020 with a website that hasn’t seen a refresh since the iPhone had a headphone jack (2016), it might be time to update.

Best practices for website design change all the time. 

You don’t have to stay on top of every single stylistic shift as it emerges. But every few years, you should absolutely revisit your site’s design and ensure it’s not out of date.

If you’re on a tight budget, even small changes (like updates to your color scheme, logo or menu layout) may be enough to make things feel fresh and new. 

4. Look in the mirror

Are you ready to get down to brass tacks? Good. 

Seriously review the strengths and weaknesses of your operation. Be honest with yourself and your team. Consider current business trends, too, and decide what you can do collectively to be as competitive as possible.

Align your strengths and identify your weaknesses.

For example, you may discover that “buy local” is a relevant trend you’re not taking advantage of. Just recognizing that trend presents opportunities. Jump in there, adjust your marketing message, and make your networking tactics work in your favor. 

5. Plan your social media presence

It’s not enough to be on social media. In fact, it’s not enough to analyze your current performance and reactively adjust. You need to be proactive.

Do you have a system for planning and generating relevant content? Are you strategic about coordinating posts with your core products and services? Does your voice on social media play in your favor?

Are you a social media follower or a trailblazer?

Build a schedule and make a list of potential posts your followers will find relevant. We suggest creating 3 months of content before you post a single thing. Then once you’ve started, set aside a little time each week to keep creating content so that you’re never behind.

You can always create relevant posts on the fly to make sure you don’t get left out of any trending conversations. But planning ahead makes it easy to keep content rolling out without stress.

6. Use email effectively

Personalized email will only get better in 2020. And that means you need to keep up to date customer lists. Without the right data, you can’t make the most of email marketing.

Email is still an effective marketing tool – if you use it right.

Write short, informative emails. Always lead with intriguing subject lines… that are relevant to the content of the email. (No one likes a bait-and-switch.) 

In the body of the email, get straight to the point. A few sentences is typically enough. Avoid the temptation to drone on for paragraphs.

7. Don’t always think digitally

For many small businesses, it’s challenging to climb your way to the top of Google search results. Challenging and expensive.

If that’s the case for your business, maybe it’s time to consider some more traditional marketing tactics that are still relevant in 2020. Things like flyers, snail mail or even door hangers.

The point of marketing is to create awareness. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you do that digitally or some other way.

Figure out what works for your business and roll with it. As long as your customers are happy and your bottom line is growing, you’re doing marketing right.

Are you ready to grow together?