The Most Effective Marketing Channels for Small Business — Ranked
Marketing has changed with the shift from traditional methods to online options. The most effective marketing strategies take advantage of both, but unfortunately, many small business owners rely too heavily on social media or don’t consider the value of traditional methods.
Below is a ranking of the most effective marketing channels for small business owners, and how to take advantage of them.
1. Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth is free and nearly effortless but often overlooked as a marketing strategy.
A study by Nielsen revealed that 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over every other form of marketing.
Furthermore, McKinsey discovered that word-of-mouth marketing is the number one factor behind up to 50% of all purchasing decisions.
How to take advantage of it:
• If your business is workshop or class-based, allow members to bring a friend for free (up to a limit).
• If you offer a service, give the referrer a percentage off their next appointment when a friend books using their name.
• Own a brick-and-mortar? Hand out coupons to your customers that they can share with their friends for a certain amount off their first purchase.
Word-of-mouth marketing goes hand-in-hand with social proof, which adds credibility to your business. So make sure to ask your happy clients and customers to write testimonials on your Facebook page, Google Business Profile, or product page that you can use in your social media posts, email newsletter, and sales pages on your website.
Keep in mind that word-of-mouth only works in your favor when you have excellent customer service.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The goal of SEO is to ensure that your website appears as close to the top of related search results as possible.
Why? The first page of Google captures 71% of search traffic clicks, meaning the majority of people don’t go beyond page one of their Google search results. So if you don’t show up on page one, your website is unlikely to be seen.
How to take advantage of it →
3. Email
Being welcomed in someone’s inbox is powerful. We’re able to build deeper connections with our audience via email, our subscribers are more likely to receive our emails than see our social media posts, and email is designed for conversions.
SOME STATS TO PROVE IT →
How to take advantage of it →
4. Social Media
Social media should never be the sole piece of any marketing strategy, but it can still be an effective channel.
It’s an opportunity to interact with your community, build relationships, and share what’s new.
How to take advantage of it:
Determine the platforms your business should be on →
5. Public Relations (PR)
Another overlooked yet effective strategy is PR, particularly press releases.
Press releases are news articles written and distributed by businesses to local news outlets. They are typically free to place as long as they follow “news-related” guidelines.
Newspapers still have a dedicated readership, and submitting a press release is one of the most effective ways to announce a new business and attract your first clients and customers.
Another PR strategy is landing features in publications or writing guest posts. They can skyrocket your business’ exposure, leads to your website, and your website’s SEO via backlinking.
How to take advantage of it:
Submit press releases to your local newspaper (grand opening, upcoming events, awards, etc.)
Submit guest posts to industry publications.
Create a free Expert account on Qwoted to connect with the media.
To learn how to write an effective press release and land guest posts, join my Debug Your Business membership. There are formulas outlining the process of each!
Utilizing a variety of these channels will help you attract more customers and close more sales — and they’re all free to use!
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Hey there! I’m Meg:
LOVER OF CATS, ROLLER SKATING, AND VW BUGS
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