Ways to Market Your Business in 2023
As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats. And it can feel overwhelming at times when you’re doing all the other things to run your business — especially marketing.
Sometimes it feels like marketing is a sluggish and challenging endeavor but what if you could let it be fun and easy? There’s lots of ways to market your business so let’s find an avenue that plays into your strengths.
Here are some ways you can market your business to get those creative juices flowing…
Grow a Community on Social
Y’all, social media is free advertising for your business. People want to know what you’re up to and they want to support you - let them! They also really need your life-changing expertise so give them a taste of the goods.
When starting to market on social media pick ONE, I repeat ONE, platform to focus on that makes sense for you. Here are a few of the main ones and who they’re great for…
Instagram is for service providers or product-based businesses. There are so many ways to share on IG these days so find the avenues of sharing that feel generative for you. Know that it’s a practice and will get easier with time.
LinkedIn is a dark-horse in the social media space. It’s great for folks who’s ideal client is in the corporate world.
Pinterest is for those businesses who’s clients are looking for visual inspiration or recipes.
YouTube is wonderful for those people who enjoy being on camera or want to refine their skills in that area with more practice. It’s such a great learning platform and folks are turning to “YouTube University” when they’re looking for an expert.
No matter which one you pick, being on social media is a practice. It’s not going to come easily at first because it’s new! People are OVER seeing the perfect, polished version of people and businesses - let them in on the messy reality of creation. The magic is in the process not the perfect.
Email Marketing
There was one day in 2022 when Instagram, Facebook and What’sApp were all down. It was a stark reminder that social media websites could evaporate at a moment’s notice. As you’re growing a community on social, it’s important to invite them over to your website and offer them a free gift so they will join your email list.
The inbox is a more personal place and should be treated as such. As you grow your list, you want to be reaching out them on some kind of consistent basis. Pick an interval of time that works for you (weekly, monthly, quarterly) and then commit to writing to them with a tip, a story or some inspiration for their journey. That way when you have something new you’re offering they’ll remember you as an expert and someone they trust. Which leads into my next tip…
Nurture Your Community with Your Expertise
Share parts of your process or tips that you find yourself sharing over and over again with your clients. What are they needing support with right now and how can you meet them where they are with a piece of advice that will help them along their journey? This will showcase you as an expert and helpful guide they won’t soon forget.
There’s so many ways you can do that theses days - writing a blog, journaling prompts, creating a meditation, going live, starting a youtube channel. Literally the sky is the limit. Play to your strengths by picking something that is in your flow - sharing through words, images, videos, story, voice…it’s all possible.
Networking
Do you get energy from being around others? Then, networking is your thing! I truly love being around people and making personal connections is one of the best ways to grow your business. It creates a know, like and trust factor immediately. Not only will networking grow your business but you’ll likely make a few new friends in the process - bonus!
When I was brand new to an area, I used Meetup to find out about groups that were either supportive of my industry or where my ideal clients were getting together. It takes that extra bit of effort to actually GO but just remember you’ll walk away with some inspiration and new connections to support you.
Referrals
Referrals are the number one way to grow a business. Your clients know other people who need you and can refer you when the time is right. Remain top of mine by staying in touch, checking in and maybe even creating a referral discount so that they’re incented to send folks your way.
Partnerships
Do you know anyone who does a complimentary service to yours that you could partner with? Connect with those folks who serve the same people you do but in a different way. You can create a way to thank them when they send clients your way (and vice versa) as well as brainstorm ways to collaborate on marketing and growing a community around your businesses.
Free or Low-cost Workshops
Promoting your expertise with a free or low-cost workshop is another great way to grow your audience and offer value. Everyone is always looking for ways to continue growing and refining their skills so how can you support that with a workshop? Promote that workshop via social, email and personally inviting your folks so that you’ve got a solid audience and then deliver valuable content they can implement after the workshop. Keep it simple and leave them with 3 things they can implement to see results.
There are so many ways to market your business and no right or wrong way to go about it.
Identify 2-3 avenues that feel good to you where you can let your creativity flow.
More important than the HOW is the energy behind what you’re creating so let positive energy flow into what you’re doing and you can’t go wrong.
If you need support in clarifying your unique approach to marketing this year then reach out for a free discovery call - I’d love to support you in carving out a clear direction for your marketing.
