Kyla Nievera, World Executives Digest | As a small business owner, you probably know just how important marketing is. As marketing trends evolve, however, you need to follow suit – the more up-to-date you are with regards to everything, the more your business will profit. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up a list of six marketing trends for small businesses for 2017.
Stay relevant
It’s all about relevant content nowadays, as the “golden” days of content for the sake of content are in the rearview mirror. When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), unique quality content is the only thing that matters!
You want your content to be read and shared as widely as possible and in order for that to happen, you need to be able to reach out to a variety of people that are all looking for relevancy.
It goes the same for ads, as 26% of desktop users (according to an IAB report) use ad blockers to avoid irrelevant, unwanted ads.
Bottom line: people are tired of being fed random, useless content, so staying relevant is the first step towards good marketing.
Influencer marketing
Influencer accounts on Instagram and Snapchat are becoming increasingly popular – they are used by everyone from artists to entrepreneurs in order to get their names out there. So, what does this bring to the table? Well, it allows small businesses to easily connect with popular social media personalities, without spending a ton of money.
Networking is extremely important and getting featured by a, say, popular blogger will do wonders for your brand and influencer marketing is an excellent way to achieve this.
Website
Using social media to get your name out there is extremely smart and it’s slowly becoming a default step in marketing. LinkedIn, Facebook, even Twitter and Instagram are all valuable tools in terms of marketing and even more. However, this is no excuse for not having a website or having one that’s poorly designed. It’s quite simple: without one, people won’t take you seriously; if you aren’t on Google, you don’t exist!
Furthermore, a website has many functions that a social media page does not and, if properly designed, by an expert, it can offer a ton of marketing opportunities.
Go mobile
Having a website, though, isn’t enough. If it hasn’t been fully mobile-optimized, you’re already behind most businesses. In fact, having a mobile app is an excellent addition to your business marketing.
Think about it, an increasing number of people are starting to get comfortable with making product/service payments via their mobile devices, you should not miss out on this opportunity!
Promotional material
Some things cannot be replaced with technology. Promotional material, for example, will always be a useful marketing tactic and this trend will survive even beyond 2017. Gift packages containing mugs, pens, notebooks, etc. are a great way to get your name out there. Think out of the box – use promotional flash drives from professionals such as USB planet that specialize in this.
It is important that you know that the more you expose your name in the right light, the better job at marketing you’re doing.
Email marketing
If you think that using emails as a marketing tool is an outdated trend, you’re wrong. Of course, sending generic spam mail to all your contacts is incredibly counter-productive, as you want to be remembered in the best light possible, not as “that spammer company”.
Instead of generic mails, try giving it a more personalized touch – pick your recipients carefully and learn how to send the right message at exactly the right time.
Finally, build an email list – it will give you more control.
