What is the Best Advertising for a Small Business

If no one knows what you do, how do you expect them to book your services or buy your products? In the ever-evolving marketplace, small businesses must navigate the complex terrain of advertising to stand out and thrive. This article delves into the most effective advertising strategies tailored for small enterprises, blending traditional methods with digital innovations to maximise reach and engagement.

Who and Where are Your Customers?

Before jumping straight into a marketing strategy, make sure you know who your target audience is. We can then start to consider what may be the best way to reach that audience (use market research, copy competitors, or conduct surveys to find this out).

The best Ad strategy for a business will be unique to them, and you must ask yourself:

What stage of business am I in? (Startup, Growth, Maturity, Decline)
What is my marketing budget?
What are my business goals? (Brand awareness, lead generation, sales, etc.)

Knowing these things are crucial to tailoring the most effective strategy. As this blog is for small businesses lets assume that you’re a startup, who has a small budget and who wants to accomplish brand awareness and sales.

Let’s now run through all Advertising options, and then at the end we can then consider which will be best for us.

Google My Business

If you have a local shop you need to get yourself on GMB. It gives you a platform for customers to review your service so other customers know how good it is! It is the first staple of social proof. It also makes sure your profile (once optimised) appears in Google Maps, taking advantage of customers looking for something specific ‘near me.’

Social Media

This method is completely free (which suits our small budget) and can be a great way to reach our audience, though it does take time to create quality content. There are even multiple social media platforms that all have designated demographics who visit them meaning you can pinpoint your audience.

Website

A website is also a really easy way to display what you do, tell your story and display your brand. It gives customers the first impression of your business. It is also relatively inexpensive, and you can create a basic website by simply following a Youtube tutorial.

Though of course, not all websites are created equally, and you really do want to emphasise quality which is why I do recommend spending lots of time perfecting your website or paying someone who knows how.

It is one thing getting lots of traffic to your site, but it is another thing to convert that traffic to customers.

Once you have a website, it then opens lots of digital advertising options!

Digital Advertising Methods

All of these digital advertising methods can now be used to entice people to go to your website / high-converting landing pages.

Google Paid Search

Paid search marketing, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, offers small businesses a targeted approach to appear in front of potential customers actively searching for related products or services. By focusing on specific keywords and audience demographics, small enterprises can efficiently allocate budgets to achieve high visibility and immediate traffic. Immediate traffic is the key benefit here, just be wary that you have to pay for every visitor click.

Types of Paid Search Advertising

Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

This is the most common form of PPC advertising. Your ads appear alongside or above organic search results when users search for keywords related to your business. This can drive highly targeted traffic to your site, as these users are actively looking for products or services you offer.

Display Advertising

These ads appear on websites within the Google Display Network, which includes a vast array of sites across the internet. Display ads can be in the form of text, images, videos, or interactive media. They are particularly effective for brand awareness campaigns, as they can reach a broad audience and are visually engaging.

Remarketing

This form of PPC targets users who have previously visited your website but did not make a purchase. Remarketing ads can appear on any site within the Google Display Network, reminding potential customers of your business and encouraging them to return and complete their purchase.

Shopping Ads

If you run an e-commerce business, Google Shopping ads can showcase your products directly in the search results with images, prices, and product details. This can attract high-intent shoppers and drive more sales.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is crucial for small businesses to attract customers online who are looking for something specific. Whilst this method does take a while to generate results for new websites, it can generate results fairly quickly for established websites. So this is a long-term strategy for startups, but it ultimately pays off in dividends, as users are ultimately finding you online, whilst other advertising methods you have to pay to put yourself in front of people who may or may not be interested in your services.

Just to explain a little more about SEO, is that it does go hand in hand with paid search. Both methods include doing lots of keyword research (or market research) finding out what your competitors are doing, what customers are search for, what keywords have a high transactional intent. We then create bespoke landing pages designed to rank for specific keywords to pinpoint those searchers.

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads provide a versatile and highly targeted advertising platform for small businesses. With over 2.8 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers a massive audience that can be segmented by demographics, interests, behaviours, and location, ensuring your ads reach the right people. Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or generate leads, Facebook Ads can be tailored to meet your specific business objectives.

Types of Facebook Ads

Image Ads

Simple yet effective, image ads are ideal for promoting your products or services with a clear, eye-catching image and a concise message. These ads can appear in users’ news feeds, stories, and the right column of the desktop site. High-quality visuals are crucial to capture attention and drive engagement.

Video Ads

Video ads are excellent for storytelling and demonstrating your products or services in action. They can appear in the news feed, stories, and in-stream during other videos. Videos tend to capture more engagement and can effectively convey your brand’s message, evoke emotions, and highlight unique selling points.

Carousel Ads

Carousel ads allow you to showcase multiple images or videos within a single ad, each with its own link. This format is perfect for displaying a range of products, highlighting different features of a single product, or telling a sequential story. Carousel ads encourage users to swipe through the content, increasing interaction and engagement.

Collection Ads

Collection ads offer a seamless shopping experience directly within the Facebook app. They feature a primary video or image with several smaller images below it, which users can click to learn more about a product without leaving Facebook. This format is particularly effective for e-commerce businesses looking to drive sales directly from the ad.

Lead Ads

Lead ads simplify the process of collecting information from potential customers by allowing them to fill out a form without leaving Facebook. This type of ad is excellent for building your email list, offering free resources, or collecting customer feedback. The pre-filled forms make it easy for users to submit their information, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Targeting Options

Facebook’s advanced targeting capabilities allow you to reach the exact audience you want. Here are some key targeting options:

Demographic Targeting: Target users based on age, gender, education, relationship status, and more.
Interest Targeting: Reach people based on their hobbies, favourite activities, and interests.
Behavioural Targeting: Target users based on their purchase behaviour, device usage, and other activities.
Location Targeting: Show ads to people in specific locations, from countries and cities to neighbourhoods.
Lookalike Audiences: Find new customers by targeting people who are similar to your existing customers.

Budgeting and Bidding

Facebook Ads are flexible with budgeting, allowing you to set daily or lifetime budgets that fit your marketing plan. You can also choose between different bidding strategies:

Cost per Click (CPC): You pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM): You pay for every 1,000 impressions (views) of your ad.
Cost per Action (CPA): You pay when a specific action (like a sale or sign-up) is completed.

So Facebook ads are also a great option for startups if you know your audience will be on social media.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective and powerful tool for small businesses to build relationships with customers, promote products or services, and drive sales. This is also essentially a free option! With a high return on investment (ROI), email marketing allows you to reach your audience directly in their inbox, providing a personal touch that can enhance customer loyalty and engagement. Though it does have to be said that this method targets people higher up the funnel as you often have to persuade users to join your list by giving them something of value in return. But once you have their email address you’ve got it forever.

Building Your Email List

A successful email marketing campaign starts with a quality email list. Here are some strategies to build and grow your list:

Sign-Up Forms

Place sign-up forms on your website, blog, and social media pages to capture email addresses from interested visitors. Make sure the forms are easy to find and fill out.

Lead Magnets

Offer valuable content, such as eBooks, whitepapers, discounts, or free trials, in exchange for visitors’ email addresses. This incentivises people to join your mailing list.

Pop-Ups and Slide-Ins

Use pop-ups and slide-ins on your website to capture email addresses. These can be timed to appear after a user spends a certain amount of time on your site or is about to leave.

Events and Webinars

Collect email addresses during events, webinars, and workshops. Attendees are often interested in your content and are likely to subscribe to your email list.

Traditional Advertising and Direct Marketing

Traditional marketing I view in very much the same regard as PR, it’s very difficult to monitor its effectiveness and your ROI. Its also usually quite expensive as you have to pay to take up the retail space. So unless you have some clever PR strategies that’s going to make newspapers and news outlets go to you (free option), you will have to pay to go to them.

Print and Broadcast Media

Utilising traditional media channels like newspapers, magasines, radio, and television offers small businesses the opportunity to reach a broad audience. These platforms are particularly effective in building brand recognition and trust within local and regional markets.

Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail, including flyers, postcards, and catalogues, provides a tangible way to reach customers directly. This method allows for personalisation and can be highly effective in local areas, offering a physical reminder of the business and its services or products.

Outdoor Advertising

Billboards, bus stop posters, and signage can capture the attention of passersby and commuters, making them a potent tool for local businesses. Outdoor advertising creates high-impact visual impressions, reinforcing brand presence in the community.

Community Engagement and Collaborative Advertising

Building Local Connections

Active participation in local community events, from fairs to charity functions, helps small businesses build a rapport with potential customers and other local entities. Such involvement not only boosts brand visibility but also establishes the business as an integral part of the community, fostering goodwill and loyalty.

Networking and Partnerships

Forging relationships with other local businesses through networking events or joint ventures can lead to mutually beneficial advertising opportunities. Collaborative promotions or cross-marketing initiatives can expand customer reach and provide shared value to all involved parties. Utilise your connections!

Utilising Referral Programs

Implementing referral programs encourages existing customers to spread the word about the business, effectively using word-of-mouth to generate new leads. Incentives for referrals can significantly enhance customer engagement and acquisition rates.

Leveraging Local Media and PR

Engaging with local media outlets and utilising press releases can gain free or cost-effective publicity for small businesses. Coverage in local newspapers, radio, and community bulletins can elevate the business’s profile and attract a local customer base.

Strategic Advertising Planning and Analytics

Maybe you should try all methods and see which ones work best (though likely your competitors have already done this hard and expensive work for you, and you need only look at what is working already and whats not). However, you must have a way of monitoring the effectiveness, otherwise, how will you know your ROAS? (Return On Ad Spend).

Analytics and Performance Measurement

Utilising analytics tools to track and measure the performance of advertising campaigns is essential for assessing their effectiveness and ROI. Small businesses should regularly review metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs to make data-driven decisions and optimise future campaigns. Set up GA4 for free and you will get all of this data at your proposal.

Adaptation and Continuous Improvement

The advertising landscape is dynamic, necessitating ongoing adjustments to strategies based on market trends, consumer feedback, and campaign performance data. Small businesses must remain flexible, adapting their advertising approaches to stay relevant and competitive in the evolving market.

Conclusion

For a startup with a small budget aiming to build brand awareness and drive sales, a mix of the following advertising strategies is recommended:

Google My Business:
- Example: A local bakery can attract nearby customers by appearing in local search results and collecting positive reviews.
Social Media:
- Example: A fashion startup can use Instagram to showcase their products through engaging images and stories, reaching a younger demographic without high costs.
- Example: A fitness coach can create workout videos and health tips on Facebook, building a community and driving traffic to their services.
Website:
- Example: A tech startup can create a professional website to explain their innovative product, offer tutorials, and capture leads through sign-up forms.
- Example: A graphic design agency can use their website to showcase portfolios, client testimonials, and blogs about design trends, establishing credibility and attracting clients.
Digital Advertising:
- Google Paid Search (PPC): Effective for targeting specific keywords and reaching users actively searching for related products.
  - Example: An online bookstore can use PPC to target users searching for specific book titles or genres, driving immediate traffic to their site.
- SEO: Essential for long-term visibility and attracting organic traffic.
  - Example: A local plumber can optimise their site for local search terms like “emergency plumber near me,” ensuring they appear in local searches.
Facebook Ads:
- Example: An e-commerce startup can use carousel ads to display multiple products, targeting users based on their shopping behaviour.
- Example: A B2B software company can use lead ads to collect contact information from interested businesses, nurturing leads through targeted email campaigns.
Email Marketing:
- Example: A wellness coach can offer a free eBook in exchange for email sign-ups, then send regular newsletters with tips and services, maintaining engagement and driving sales.

Combining these methods will create a comprehensive and cost-effective advertising strategy, tailored to the unique needs and goals of your startup, regardless of industry. Tracking and analysing the performance of these campaigns will ensure continual improvement and maximisation of your return on investment.

Perhaps you’re looking for an agency that can help with all of the above? If so, please get in touch and we can discuss a bespoke package for you!

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