There are definitely tried and true marketing efforts that every small business owner should consider for their small business marketing strategy: social media, email marketing, content marketing are good places to start. It’s always a good idea to mix in some other marketing tactics as well, depending on your target audience, to help diversify your efforts. These might include video marketing, digital billboards, print marketing, etc. A good marketing strategy will help you determine what makes sense to try and solid measurement tools will help you decide what is working and what isn’t. What if you want to go further and get more innovative and creative with your marketing efforts? For that, you need to think outside the box with your small business marketing efforts. We’ll showcase a few unusual yet effective tactics you may want to take for a spin.
Many small businesses use promotional products for giveaways; typically pens, sticky notes or magnets, but what about apparel showcasing your business? Shirts, hats, tank tops, etc. It’s a subtle yet effective form of advertising that can help spark conversations about your brand.
Give away your product or service for free to increase revenue? Yes! “Contest marketing” is basically interactive marketing through contests, and it’s a great way to help spread the word about your company to people you’d like to do business with. To be effective, contests need a well-thought-out and executed plan and strong follow-up strategy. Since not everyone can win, it’s important to know how to continue to engage with ALL participants, whether they win or lose. Kickoff Labs wrote a great article on how to run a successful contest to boost revenues if you want to give it a shot.
There’s a good reason many professional sports teams have a mascot. Get your creative juices flowing and come up with a mascot of your own. Who knows? It may be the new face of your company that brings in business.
Need more ideas? Here are a few:
Some of these ideas are strange, some not so much, but they’re all different from the usual.
As with any marketing tactic, traditional or out of the box, it’s important to measure results to make sure you’re getting good returns on your investment. Make sure you’re working with a marketing professional who knows how to measure results and advise you on what is working and what isn’t.
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