It’s easy to lock-in to one form of marketing and figure you’re doing all you can. Admittedly, we’re guilty of this ourselves. So as we’ve all said (or at least thought) to our kids, “do as I said, but not as I did.” Yes, I know that’s normally expressed in the present tense, but we ARE working on it.
What we all need is an integrated approach to marketing our small businesses, one that doesn’t put all the eggs in one basket. It’s time to mix it up a bit with a combination of online and offline initiatives.
Your 30-minute action item is to choose two new activities to add to your current marketing arsenal. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Visit a BNI (Business Networking International) meeting, Chamber of Commerce event or even a TweetUp near you. Take along your business cards and make it a goal to meet at least three new people. Repeat regularly.
- Look for an opportunity to speak to groups to share your area of expertise.
- Follow-up with past contacts by phone, notecard, or email. Don’t blast them with a blatant sales message. Think of this as relationship building.
- Create a postcard campaign.
- How about a print newsletter?
- Write a series of five tips that can be sent via autoresponder. Advertise your tips series on your Web site, in your email signature, and on your printed materials. Expect more on this in a future post.
- Record a fresh voicemail message for your company. Make sure to mention where they can find your Web site.
- Have news? Send out a press release. Better yet, incorporate sending regular press releases into your overall marketing communication plan.
- Sign up for Twitter and commit to 15-minutes twice a day to learn to make the most of it.
- Update your Web site, not just once, but regularly. Keep it fresh. Use the language your customers use.
- Start a blog or update your existing blog.
- Create a Facebook Business page.
- Claim or add your business on Yelp, MerchantCircle and other local business directories.
This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, and now it’s your turn. Please add your tips in the comments, below. Are you practicing integrated marketing?
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Very useful tips. Thanks. Often people overlook scaling with offline marketing. But it can be very effective. Leaflets, postcards, radio even TV. The difference between doing $100 a month or $10000 a month is scaling!
I think it’s best to work with different marketing tools, so you can reach as many potential customers as possible. Try print promotions, social media, and even word of mouth. Just do anything in your power to get you small business out there in the market.
Fabulous tips. I got inspiration by reading your blog now. Let me do something innovative and new on my blog. Thanks.
I have to say that the BNI thing was, for me, a waste of time. I wasted many early mornings linking with people that showed no interest in my ventures. It just forced a few people to take on things that they were not interested in doing.