Owners of small businesses often can’t afford to take many chances. That especially applies to their marketing budgets, which are often put together on a shoestring.
Here are a few tips that small business owners should keep in mind as they seek to get a good return on their marketing budget investment.
First things first
Business owners need to have a marketing budget to make the most of it. We wrote about the importance of such budgets a few months ago. You can’t make something out of nothing, so businesses need to sprinkle at least a little cash here. (As an aside, Small Business Trends reports that owners should devote about 1 percent of their revenues to marketing.)
Pay up for social
Even small investments in Facebook or Google ads, for example, allow businesses to better target their audiences. Of course, the more money invested in social ads, the better the return. But even a modest budget can more than pay for itself. Social sites are constantly finding ways to restrict who receives what content, so paying for ads or boosted posts is almost a requirement.
Keep the good, drop the bad
No matter the budget, it’s essential to keep track of what’s working and what isn’t. There are plenty of tools to help monitor effectiveness. Email marketing apps, social media apps and online advertising offer analytics tools that can be used to see which marketing avenues are getting the best results.
Don’t hesitate to recycle
If content works on one platform, chances are good it will get the job done on another. Small business owners often have fewer resources, so there’s no shame in using information in a number of ways. A good example is taking statistics and turning them into Twitter posts. Or using a newsletter article as a blog. Consistent messaging never hurt anyone.
West Press’ talented staff is here to help you each step of the way — from graphic design to printing to mailing services to large format to website development. Contact West Press or your Account Executive at 520-624-4939 today.