If you own a small business, you know marketing can be an essential component of your company’s success. The right marketing strategy can help grow your business and bring a wider consumer base. And the summer is the perfect time to market to or support events like the Fourth of July, National Black Business Month, back-to-school days, and the tax-free holidays.
This article will give you some marketing ideas to help you promote your business this summer.
How Effective Marketing Brings Your Business to the Next Level
Effective marketing strategies target specific audiences. In other words, they can help you reach the consumers who are most likely to purchase your products.
You need to know your ideal customers before planning a marketing strategy. For example, if your company sells snowblowers, try to reach consumers that live in cold locations like Fairbanks, Alaska. You wouldn’t want to waste your time advertising to consumers in hot areas like Phoenix, Arizona.
Try to determine things like your ideal customers’ ages, locations, incomes, and interests. When you understand your target audience, the right marketing tools can help you engage and connect with them so you can form a community of consumers who are loyal to your brand.
Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business
The next few sections review some fun and engaging marketing ideas you can use to help increase your customer base and, ultimately, your bottom line this summer.
Encourage Customers to Engage on Social Media
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are full of potential customers. If you can create posts that entertain and engage them, they’ll likely share your content with their own communities of friends and followers.
You should try to post consistently for this strategy to work. Customers may stop paying attention to your page if you don’t deliver valuable content on a regular basis. Consider including things like high-quality images and relevant text in your posts. Also, make sure you have calls to action (CTAs) that link to your business website.
Try to focus on platforms where your ideal consumers are likely to congregate. For example, if you’re a business consultant, you’ll have better luck finding consumers on a professional networking site like LinkedIn than you would on Twitter.
Create Promotional Products
Promotional products like custom T-shirts, custom hats, and custom water bottles can help your customers and prospects remember your brand while they enjoy the summer. Plus, your gear can serve as a billboard for your business every time consumers wear or use it.
If you have a company car, why not make it an advertisement for your business? By creating magnetic car signs for your vehicle, you can show people who you are while cruising down the street.
Any promotional products your company gives out can be branded with your company’s logo and slogan if you have one. You can sell your promotional materials on your website or give them away at events.
Get Involved in Local Events
Look for local networking events where you can spread awareness about your company. You can also attend conferences and workshops focused on your industry. Make sure to have plenty of business cards to pass around.
Before going to a networking event, contact the organizers to see if you can set up a booth for your company. Consider stocking your booth with plenty of branded giveaways, like keychains, calendars, and custom posters. Try to create eye-catching, custom signs and posters to draw people to your booth.
The summer is a great time for outdoor volunteer projects and fitness events. Consider having your team join an organization like Habitat for Humanity or United Way. You can also participate in outdoor community fitness events like 5K runs.
Host Your Own Event
Consider hosting your own get-together to let community members know about your brand. The summer is the perfect season to try to organize an outdoor event.
Here are a few types of events you might want to host this summer.
- Charity walk
- Family field day for your team and customers
- Outdoor movie night and with pizza
- Luncheon at a local restaurant.
Try to get creative and come up with your own ideas for unique marketing events. You can host classes and conferences that provide value for your customers. These types of events can work especially well for business-to-business (B2B) companies. Educational events may build trust among your consumers and encourage them to view your company as a thought leader in your industry.
For example, if your company sells customer service software, you might offer a class to teach small business owners the most effective ways to automate customer service on their social media accounts.
If you have the budget, you can advertise your event by taking out ads in local publications concerning your industry. Or you can save money by printing out flyers for your event and posting them on the bulletin boards of local businesses in your area.
Content Marketing
Content marketing can be an extremely effective form of promotion. Content marketing consists of producing, designing, and dispersing valuable, industry-specific content to attract the attention of your ideal consumers. Content can come in both digital and physical forms. Your content strategy might include blogs, videos, white papers, and brochures.
Remember that any content for your business should have your logo, business tagline, and any other branding information clearly displayed. You can also use search engine optimization (SEO) principles to help your digital content rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Your content doesn’t have to be about your product specifically, but it should always be about a topic related to your industry. For example, if your company sells workout supplements, you might write an article about the best 15-minute workout routines to keep busy professionals in shape.
Try Some Guerilla Marketing
Using unconventional, surprising advertising techniques can be an effective way to increase interest in your company. Guerilla marketing can involve promoting your products and services in public spaces where consumers are likely to pass by.
An example of guerilla marketing would be a mural advertising your company on the side of a building. Other ideas include hosting engaging pop-up shops and flash mobs.
Don’t forget to look for any clearances or permits you may need to advertise in public locations.
Start a Contest
Contests can be a fun way to get people involved in your business. They can get people talking about your brand and help build excitement for it. You can do virtual or in-person competitions.
Here are a few types of contests you might want to start this summer.
- Photo contests: Challenge your audience to post pictures of themselves using your products. The best picture wins a prize.
- Polls: Ask your customers and website visitors to fill out a marketing research poll. When the poll closes, pick a participant at random to win a prize.
- Raffles: Have customers pay a small fee to enter a raffle for an exciting prize.
- Trivia: Ask questions about your company at an event or online and reward correct answers with prizes.
Put some thought into prizes that your consumers can get excited about. You might give away a cool piece of tech, like a computer or TV, a free year of your service (if you have a subscription service), or even money.
You can also use promotional material as prizes. For example, you may toss out T-shirts with your logo to guests at a conference who answer questions about your business correctly.
If you plan on hosting a contest or giveaway, don’t forget to consult your business’ attorney for legal compliance with contest rules, eligibility, and terms and conditions.
Develop a New Partnership
Partnering with another business in your industry can greatly expand your audience and decrease your marketing costs. You can team up with your partner to sponsor an event, start a contest, or run a promotion. When you partner with another business, you’ll generally gain access to their customer list, and you’ll give them access to your own.
Just be sure to pair with a company that isn’t your direct competitor. For example, if your company sells computers, don’t partner with another computer business. Instead, partner with a business that complements your own, like an internet service provider or a software company.
Prepare to Make This Your Best Summer Yet
Great marketing can help your business create more qualified leads and make more sales year-round. If you’re looking to expand your business, the marketing strategies in this article can give you a chance to make this one of your most successful summers.
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