marketing 101

It might be your best-spent 5 minutes this week. Your Instagram bio can increase your sales and appointments. All you have to do is make sure it includes all the details below:

1. The name of your business.

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2. What you do.

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3. Who it’s for.

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4. Your contact information (address, phone number).

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5. A link to your website, shop or online booking.

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Ready to go the extra mile? Try saying what makes you better in just a few words. Try things like “family owned”, “doing this for 30 years”, “ethically grown”, “voted most popular” or any other fact that explains why you’re so special.

It’s super easy and it will get more customers to visit your website and your online shop or your booking system. Instagram lets you place only one link on your account, in the bio section. So take advantage of it.

Here’s how.

You know how it feels when you’re at a restaurant and all the dishes have fancy names that you just don’t get, right? It just makes you want to leave! So while it’s cool to give your services unique names that relate to your brand, it’s even better to add a straightforward description next to each one. Help customers understand what they’re getting and build trust.  

To do this, make time to go over your menu, and add an explanation next to each service. When you’re done, let a friend who is less familiar with your business go over it and confirm that it’s easily understood.

Your service menu needs to reflect exactly what you’re offering. There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than finding out that a service they picked from the list is no longer available or finding out that something costs more than they expected.  

Go over your service menu and check if anything is missing or if it has items that aren’t available anymore. Also check if any details or prices need to be updated. Make a note of all changes and then make sure you change them everywhere: on your website, Facebook page, leaflets and social.

A Last Minute Special will encourage your clients not to hesitate to try getting a last minute appointment. Let all your customers know that if they ask for a last minute appointment and you happen to have a free slot during the day, they’ll get a small discount. Advertise this new special in your newsletter, social media, website etc. You can also send your customers a text message about this and inform them when they come in.

This is crucial to ensure you don’t end up with disappointed or angry customers. Is there anything more annoying than showing up at a place when it’s supposedly open, only to find out that it’s closed? Go to your website, your Facebook page and your Google My Business listing, and update your opening hours.

A great and easy way to boost your business is to give your clients an incentive to bring their friends and family with them. You can reward the client who brought in a friend with a discount. You can even offer a discount to the friend as well, for their first visit. If the experience is good, chances are you’ve gained a new paying customer.  

Make sure to communicate your new Bring a Friend Deal any way you can: Tell your customers about it at the end of their visit, post it on social media, and let your clients know by text or email.

If you have a Facebook page you can easily add a Book Now call-to-action button to drive traffic to your website and to increase your chance of turning your Facebook followers into paying customers.  

You can also manage your appointments and show your available appointments on Facebook, Here’s how to do all that.

You can do this even if you don’t have any previous experience talking in front of a camera. How? Because you have the expertise. You can choose to answer questions you frequently get asked in your business. Or you can encourage people to send questions on social media. An easy option is to choose a topic to talk about and answer a few questions on that topic. Whichever you choose, all you need to do is put your phone in front of you and talk directly to the camera, or have a team member help you and hold up the phone. Once you’re ready, just go live on Facebook or on Instagram. Don’t worry about messing up, just give it a go. We promise it gets easier with time!

Research shows that 82% of people prefer live video from a brand rather than standard social media posts. Combine that with the fact that your business uses/sells certain products, which you can review and recommend, and you get video marketing gold.  

Choose a few products from the range you use/sell. You can turn on your phone video and film yourself discussing the benefits of each product, while showing them to the camera, and broadcasting this live on social media. Or you could do an actual product demo and film yourself using a product, while explaining what you’re doing, and broadcasting this live. Either way, talk about why you love a certain product and why you chose it. Be informative, but avoid being too salesy. You want to educate, not sell.

Many people don’t feel comfortable giving you feedback face-to-face, so give them an easy anonymous option to tell you exactly what they think about your business. Create an anonymous questionnaire on a survey platform. Here is a list of some of the best online survey and questionnaire tools.  

Then, automate a text message or email to send to your clients after each appointment (there are plenty of tools for that too). Thank them for coming in and ask for their feedback with a link to your survey. Let them know it's anonymous so they don't hesitate to answer it.

Customer reviews are extremely beneficial to your business. 82% of consumers read reviews about local businesses. And did you know that customer reviews are also really good for your SEO? So, ask happy customers for reviews and do it right after they’ve received great service from you. You can also ask them by text, phone or email after they’ve left. Make it as easy as possible for them: provide them with a link – and emphasise how easy it is.

A monthly special attracts customers who are looking for that service in particular and it also makes customers who haven't thought of getting that service curious and maybe want to try it. If they like it, they’ll continue getting it in the future.  

At the beginning of each month decide on one service that will be discounted that month, and advertise it on all your channels: in your business, on social media, your website, newsletter etc.

Sometimes clients make an appointment with you and then forget to show up – so remind them! You will reduce last minute cancellations and no-shows and save money. You can automatically send appointment reminders via text or email.

A great bounce back promotion gives your customers an incentive to return. After paying for a service or making a purchase, offer your clients a bounce back voucher that is tempting and valuable. It could be a substantial discount, a free service or something exclusive or available only for a limited time.  

Be creative and remember that the offer you’re giving via your voucher needs to be attractive enough to guarantee a high bounce back rate.

Consumers are really influenced by positive personal experiences with a business, and what personal experience could be more positive than feeling that a business you frequent cares about your wants and needs. This is also the perfect way to find out which services you are lacking and can maybe add.  

The best way to do this is in person: Talk to your customers when they come in. You could also ask them by email, phone or text. Make a list of all requests, check which ones are the most commonly mentioned and see what you can add.

Since 82% of people go on Google to find local information, GMB is where your business needs to be. There is a good chance your business listing already exists on Google My Business. To check, you need to go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click on Manage Now. In the next screen you can either claim an existing listing or create a new one. It’s important not to create a duplicate listing because that can damage your ranking on Google. Before creating a new listing, make sure you don’t already have one. Once you’ve created or claimed your listing, you will be asked to verify it by mail, via a postcard sent to your business address within 14 days.

A massive 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. So, if you are on GMB or Yelp, you need to manage your reviews. Reply to all your reviews on GMB and Yelp, both the good and the bad. 45 percent of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews. And replying to the good ones is showing people you care about all customers, not just the complaining ones.  

When dealing with negative reviews, respond as quickly as possible. Adopt a respectful and professional tone, offering empathy. However, trying to resolve the matter online isn’t advisable, so in your comment, try to take the issue offline (and make sure you do resolve it).

According to Google, listings with photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions and 35% more clicks than those without ones. If your GMB listing doesn’t have photos yet – make sure to add them. Pick some photos from your business that fit your brand. Whether your brand is young, fun, elegant, luxurious, organic or anything else – choose photos that include elements that define it. Photos should also show smiling staff and present your best work. Photos of happy customers also work wonders. Just don’t forget to ask your customers' permission before using photos of them. Read more about driving clients to your business using Google My Business.

When you run a social media giveaway you can ask people to like or follow you to enter the contest. This will increase your following. Plus, the buzz around your giveaway will bring you more visibility. 1. Decide which social media platform you want to use. Note that each platform has specific rules for contests that you must adhere to – carefully check what they are. 2. Decide how people can enter your contest – by liking your page? By sharing your post? By tagging a friend? 3. Decide what you’re giving away. 4. Announce it on your chosen social media platform and promote it on other channels as well. Don’t forget to announce your prizes and the length of your contest. 5. In the end, announce the winner, give them the prize, and publicise on it on social media.

Instagram Stories are super-hot and will get you lots of exposure! In fact, 62% of people say they have become more interested in a business or product after seeing it in Stories. If you’re on Instagram, don’t neglect the Stories feature. In fact, try it out today! It’s quick, simple and very effective. Here is a simple explanation on how to post an Instagram Story, plus answers to any other questions you might have on the subject.  

And while you’re at it, you can up your video marketing game by creating and uploading Instagram reels (those bite-sized, TikTok style video clips). They are engaging and fun.

You will increase your engagement on Instagram and possibly acquire new customers. If you’re on Instagram, post a photo that announces your giveaway and write all the details, including the end-date, in the description. You can give away a free service/product to whoever reshares your post and tags you, or whoever tags 5 friends in the comments etc. Be creative –think how to make the giveaway fun and enticing.

If you get notifications on comments it will be easier for you to keep track of them and answer them. This shows the Instagram algorithm that you have relationships with your followers, which is what it is looking for. Here is how you choose to get notifications when someone comments on your Instagram post. Make sure you get notifications for comments, and don’t get notifications for things you don’t need.  

Once you get notified that someone commented on your post, you should try and answer every comment, even if it’s just with a cute emoji. Remember – the algorithm prioritises posts and decides which will enjoy the most visibility, and relationships with your followers is one of the things the algorithm is looking for.

Email is the main driver of customer retention and acquisition for small businesses. 81% of SMBs rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for retention. If you don’t have an email list for your business marketing efforts,
start one today. Start gathering emails for your mailing list. Do that every way you can (in person, through your website and social media), and keep growing your list all the time.

An email is five times more likely to be seen than a Facebook message. So having a great email list is essential for your business. And asking customers to join and subscribe to your newsletter in person is an easy and effective way to reach that goal. Ask happy customers for their email for your mailing list at the point of pay, and instruct your staff to do so too.

An email is 5 times more likely to be seen than a Facebook message. You want to grow your mailing list, and this is a great way to do that. Add a CTA to your website, using your website builder, or even add a popup that captures the attention of your visitors just before they leave, which offers them 10% off their next visit if they sign up for your mailing list. Be sure to specify the time limit on the discount, so that they book an appointment ASAP.

82% of marketers have reported an increase in email opening rates through personalisation. Meaning, you only want to send people emails that are specifically relevant to them.  

Divide your email list into a few basic groups. You can segment the list by gender or divide it into two age groups (older customers and younger customers) or into frequent customers/customers that haven't been in for a while. Whatever is relevant to your specific business. If your email list isn’t very long you can do it by hand. Otherwise, there are email segmentation tools you can choose from.  

After you’ve segmented your email list, start customising your emails according to the different groups: send each group specials that are specifically catered to them.

If you are a hairstylist, interior decorator, landscaper, gardener, beautician, personal stylist, house painter or own any other kind of business with a strong visual side –Before and After photos are perfect for you!    

Not only do people love Before and After photos – it’s always fun seeing them – but they also showcase you and your staff’s talents, and they convert. So, from now on, each time you know there is going to be a big and impressive transformation in your business – ask the customer if you can take a Before picture (of them or their garden or house), and explain you want to do a Before and After. Take both pictures in the same location and from the same angle. You can use the Before and After Photos on your social media, website and email newsletter. Just remember to always get the customer’s consent.

This will make it easier for potential customers to find you on Facebook. When people search Facebook, your Page's categories appear below your Page's name, and they can help people find what they're looking for. Try to be specific when choosing a category, and remember – you can choose up to 3 categories to let customers know more about the specific services you provide.  

This is how you edit your Page's category. If you don't see an accurate category in the options Facebook gives you, choose the closest available option.

People who find you on Facebook need to be able to locate and contact your business easily, offline. If your Page category on Facebook is Local Business, you can add your address, phone number and more info about your business. This is how you add your contact information to your Facebook Page. If you are not listed as a local business, you should change your category on Facebook. This is how.

If you own a business you need a Facebook Page. Facebook doesn’t let you conduct your business from a regular profile. If you represent your business on your regular profile you run the risk of permanently losing access to your account, so convert it to a Business Page. Plus, these Pages are designed for businesses, with features that help you connect with your customers and grow your business.

To create a Facebook page go here. And this is how you convert your Facebook profile to a Page. Start filling your page with content and invite people to like your Page.

Birthday emails generate 342% higher revenue per email than promotional emails. This means your clients’ birthdays are special days for them – and for you. Start collecting your customers’ birthdates, either at your business or through a form on your website. Name, email address, and date of birth are a must – home address and a phone number are useful too. Then, automate birthday emails to go out to your clients on their special day. These should include warm birthday wishes as well as a discount or a free gift. You can follow-up with a reminder before the time to utilise their discount or claim their gift is up.    

Just remember, collecting your customers’ birthdates is legal as long as it’s in your sign-up terms and conditions.

Millions of people around the world search for local businesses on Yelp, and some of them happen to be in your area – so make sure they find you. To appear on Yelp you need to claim your business page. Here is a simple explanation on how to do so. Then make sure your Yelp listing provides potential customers with all your contact details: address, phone number and business hours.  

See what other options Yelp offers for businesses and take advantage of them to grow your business.

Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. So it makes sense to invest in your existing customers and get back the ones who have fizzled out.

When sending an email to clients who haven’t come in for a while, decide how long “in a while” is: 3 months? 6 months? More? Then, check with your system which of your customers haven’t been in for that period of time (or more), and send them a ”long time, no see” email to win them back.  

Tell them that you miss them and update them on what’s new in your business. Then offer them a discount or another special offer to entice them to book an appointment or buy a service from you. If you have online booking, don’t forget to link to it, so it’s easy for them to do.

54% of consumers want to see more video content from a business they like – so give them video!  

There are many types of video you can produce as part of your marketing. A particularly easy and fun one is a guided tour of your business.

If you have a brick and mortar shop and this type of content suits the type of business you own, show people the inside of your business. You can hold up your phone, film your shop as you walk through it and narrate what people are looking at, or you can ask someone else to film you guiding the tour. Make it interesting and fun: show hidden corners and behind-the-scenes, introduce your team and have them say Hi. You don’t need to edit – it can be just one shot.  

Do a few takes, until you get it right and gather some feedback along the way. When you have a video you're happy with, pin it to the top of your Facebook page, upload it as an Instagram story or email it as part of your newsletter.

You must nurture relationships with your loyal clients. Plus, you’ll get them to try other services in addition to the ones they are used to. When a steady customer who you know comes in for a certain service, let them know that you’re giving them 10% or 20% off any additional service of their choosing. You can make this a one-time thing or permanent. Maybe you’ll want to offer this combo only on the slow day of the week.

People love getting tips. So giving out useful tips will establish you as an authority in your field. Plus, having a list ready to choose from when posting on Facebook or sending out a newsletter will save you time and effort later on.  

Next time you have a spare 30 minutes, start writing a list of tips in your field of expertise. If you are a beautician, you can give tips on how to file your nails correctly; if you are a lawyer, you can give tips on what to look for when signing a contract; if you are a landscaper, you can give tips on how to best maintain your garden.  

Write short explanations that people can easily do at home, without needing any special products or equipment. Open a file on your computer. Each time you think of a new tip, add it to the list. The point is having great tips on hand for each time you send out an email to your clients or need something to post on social media. A cool trick will always make people happy.

Stamp cards are a simple and super-effective loyalty program that boosts your customer retention, and now you can do them digitally. We all know the concept of Buy 10 get the 11th Free. It works for take-away coffee and it works for blow-drys, massages, lawn mowing and many other services and treatments. Maybe this can work in your type of business too.

The beauty is you don’t need to print out cards and punch little holes in them anymore – now you can make digital punch cards. Just Google it and you’ll find many apps that can help you create one in no time. Once you have one, you can advertise it in your email newsletter, website or on social media.

Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined, and people love “how-to” videos! Just start with a short video showing how something useful is done – depending on what business you’re in.  

For example, if you’re a plumber, you can show how to unclog the toilet without a plunger. If you’re a gardener, you can show how to trim overgrown houseplants. If you’re a yoga instructor, you can make tutorials of different poses.

You can talk the audience through what you’re doing or just use background music and let people see what you’re doing. You don’t need any professional equipment: just use your phone. You can get a friend or staff member to help and film you. You don’t need to edit your videos when you’re starting out. If you want to add editing in the future, there are simple apps to help you do so.  

When you’re done, watch what you did (without being too harsh on yourself!), and gather feedback to see what you can improve: maybe your lighting or camera angle. Have fun with it and learn in the process. Once you have a good how-to video, post it on social media, on your Google My Business and on your website.

If your profile picture on various social media isn’t your logo yet, change it to your logo, in order to increase brand awareness and make it easier for people to recognise and remember your business.

Check each social media platform’s specific requirements regarding minimum size and make sure the file is large enough.  

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram crop your profile picture to a circle, so make sure you leave enough space between the logo and the edge of the picture, so it fits nicely.

The Instagram algorithm prioritises accounts that have relationships with their followers, and direct messaging is a great way to show the algorithm exactly that. Plus, this is good for really building relationships with your followers, as well as gathering valuable feedback. Ask a question in your Instagram Stories – let’s say about a new service, product or trend – and ask your followers to direct message you their answer. After they do, be sure to direct message them right back.

84% of consumers perceive companies with websites as more credible than companies with only a social media profile. If you’re still not convinced, here are some more crucial reasons why you need a website.    

So, if your business doesn’t have a website yet, you need one ASAP. No two ways about it. Choose a DIY website builder and get to work. Don’t worry, you don’t need to hire a professional. Today’s website builders are easy to use even if you're not tech savvy, and give you great results

Online reviews impact purchasing decisions for over 93% of consumers, so you need to know about every new review someone writes about your business – good or bad – and respond to it. Registering on Google Alerts will help you stay on top of the reviews and mentions you get online, so that you can promptly respond to them.

Register on Google Alerts to get alerted of mentions of your business online. Here is a full explanation of how to do that.

Your homepage is your storefront window. Many of your website visitors will find your homepage first. This means that a great homepage equals a great first impression. When working on your homepage –whether when you’re building your site or improving it afterwards – keep it simple, clear and uncluttered.  

Include these basic elements: 1. Logo on top – for branding. 2. Headline – to set you apart. 3. Call to Action – that’s the button saying what’s the one action you’d like visitors to take. We’d guess “Book Now”. 4. Social Proof – this can be good reviews from Google or Facebook. 5. Photos – to show off your work. 6. Text content – write a bit about who you are and what you offer. 7. Footer – this can include your contact details, links to your social media accounts, the payment methods you accept and more.  

As a whole, make sure the design of your homepage fits your visual branding, in colour, fonts etc.

Your website needs more than one page – to make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for and for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) reasons. Meaning, to make sure your site comes up in Google searches. We’re assuming your website has a homepage, but that’s not enough. This is the list of the basic pages a business website needs, in addition to a homepage. Go over it and check if anything is missing from your site: 1. About Us page: the place to tell your story and state what sets you apart .2. Services page: This is where your service menu and pricing go. 3. Blog page: If you have a blog, it should be here (and yes, you should have a blog). 4. Contact Us page: the place for your address, opening hours, phone numbers, emails and links to your social media channels.  

Here are additional pages you might want on your website. Write down which pages you feel are missing from your website and what exactly you want to include in them. Next time you have some spare time to work on your website, you’ll know exactly what to add.

Businesses that blog generate 67% more leads than those who don’t. A blog will educate your customers and get you new ones, since it is great for SEO and will entice readers to share your content. In your website builder, choose to open a blog page. Brainstorm with your staff about the kind of content you’d like to create and the capacity you have for creating it. Start small and build it up.

In order to build the foundation for your blog and make it easy to post regularly and interestingly, you should make a list of blog post ideas.  

You’ve started a blog but what are you going to post about? Open a document on your computer, which you can always access and update, and make a list of ideas, so you’ll have topics ready to choose from once you start writing your posts. Make sure your ideas give your readers real value, that they educate and inspire them. Write about things in your field that you are knowledgeable and passionate about. If you’re out of ideas you can adapt formulas like “5 things you didn't know about…”, “5 reasons you must try…”, “10 myths about…”, “3 best new trends”, etc. You can also spotlight team members, give tips and tutorials, recommend products etc. Keep it interesting, useful and not sales-y.  

Pro tip: often the best ideas pop into our minds at inconvenient times (i.e. in the shower or just before we fall asleep). If they’re blog post ideas, don’t let them slip away. Write them down or dictate them into your phone, and add them to your list the moment you can.

Like many other digital efforts, when it comes to blogging, consistency is key. It’s important for SEO as well as building expectation and loyalty with your readers. Decide how often you want to blog. Since you’re not a professional blogger and you have a business to run, once a month sounds like a good and doable idea. So open your calendar and pencil in the date you want to post your blog every month, for the following year. You can and should write a few posts in advance, so you won’t need to scramble for content at the last minute. Just be sure to post consistently.

Bad grammar and spelling mistakes in your blog reflect badly on you and your business. They are an absolute no-no. If grammar and spelling are your forte, just make sure you proofread your blog posts before hitting “Publish”, just to avoid typos and make sure that you’re good to go. But if grammar and spelling are not your strong suit – get some help. Find someone to always go over your posts before publishing. It can be a friend or family member or one of your staff members - whoever is right for the job, and willing to do it. If it’s one of your staff members, it can be part of their job description and counted as working hours – that way it won’t feel like you’re asking a huge favor.

By doing this, you’ll know who you’re up against and what you need to do in order to stand out and optimise your marketing efforts. You might also find a gap in the market which you can fill.  

What you need to do is create a chart, with 10-15 lines. In the first column, put names of businesses you perceive as your competitors. Don’t know enough of those? Go online and search for more competitors. These can be businesses like yours located in your neighborhood or ones that cater to the same target audience, meaning the same age group, gender, income level or lifestyle. Now, add these columns: size, target audience, pricing, special services and weaknesses. Looking at your competition will help you fill in the columns.  

As a result of gaining clarity on your competition you’ll gain better clarity on your own business.  This will enable you to find your business’s X-factor and define your unique value proposition, which will enable you to do much more effective marketing

Most people check out 4–5 different service providers before they decide. Your value proposition is there to set you apart from the competition and make customers choose you instead of another business. A value proposition is a short statement that details the benefits of a business, and tells people why they should choose you. Firstly, make a list of what makes your business unique and different. Ask yourself: what do you offer that others don’t? Your value proposition should be easy to understand, without any hype or superlatives (it’s not a slogan or a tagline), and it should clearly communicate the real results a customer will get from your services. Then, put your value proposition into one clear sentence. Test what you’ve come up with until you’ve got it right.    

Once you’ve found your unique value proposition – it’s time to post it on your homepage. Here are four examples of value propositions that convert and how they are positioned on their brands’ websites

You’ve written down your unique value proposition and posted it on your homepage. This means you know what your brand specialises in. If you’re a hair salon, maybe it’s curly hair or bridal hair. If you're an accountant, maybe it’s international tax. If you’re a lawyer, maybe it’s divorce and custody law. Now you need to be honest about what you’re NOT specialising in, and cut the fat from your service menu.  

You don’t need to offer everything to everybody. Of course you’ll be offering the basics of your profession, but in addition to that, offer only the things that you are great at, and are part of your unique value proposition.

Both Facebook Ads and Google Ads are great for small businesses. The question is: Which should you use when? Well, Facebook Ads pop up on a user’s feed when they’re on Facebook anyway (and let’s face it, that’s where people are much of the time). They might not have the intention to buy or book a service at that moment, but they’ve been targeted according to their interests, meaning your business is relevant to them. So, Facebook Ads are great mainly for creating brand awareness. You can also use them to sell a service or product, but the main thing would be for getting people to visit your website, to sign up for your newsletter etc.  

Google Ads, on the other hand, show up in Google search results based on keywords, which means people see them when they are specifically searching for what you have to offer. That’s why they are great for getting people to book your services or buy from you immediately.  

Ask yourself what your end goal is at the moment. If you’re thinking long term, opt for Facebook Ads. If you’re looking for short term immediate sales and bookings, go for Google Ads.  And if you have the budget to do so – go for both!

When people search for a product or service you offer, these advertisements can appear based on what keywords are being used. They allow you to get your website listed at the top of the search results and in front of potential customers. A well-timed Google Ad will get your website listed at the moment a customer is looking for a service like yours.  

You can choose which keywords you want to have trigger your ad and it can be scheduled to run at specific times. You can set a location so that an entire country or only people in a specific geographic area will see the ad campaign. It can be as global or local as you choose.  

For example, you own a construction business in London and potential customers are searching for “bathroom renovation”, but your website appears on the third page of results, so they never see it. Then, you decide to run Google Ads for “bathroom renovation”. You set the right budget and limit your campaign for people in the London area only. Now when customers search “bathroom renovation” more of them will see your website appear on the first page of the results.

Yes, Google Ads are great for small businesses, since they have capabilities that perfectly suit them. First, you can target your ads locally, meaning they appear only to people based in the geographic area that is relevant to you. To create effective Google Ads you need to pick the right keywords, which means you need to know your customers well – and who knows their customers better than small businesses?

The timing, flexibility and budget flexibility that Google Ads allow also work well for small businesses. You don’t have to waste your budget on ads that run when you’re not working (if you own a seasonal business or are on vacation). Plus, your budget totally depends on you, meaning Google Ads also work on small budgets.

Remember that while 80% of people remember what they see, only 20% remember what they read. This means you need great images for your blog. Find yourself an image bank that you like, which you feel has suitable free (or low cost) photos for your blog. Stick to it, so you don’t need to start finding images from scratch every time you blog. Here is a list of great sites with free stock photos you can use. If you don’t find what you want there, you can check out the major image banks as well. Pick one and know that you have the source you need to find great images every time you blog.  

Plus, 12handz will also provide you with a free image bank full of images, specifically suited for the field you’re in, to use on your website and all of your marketing needs.

Posting reviews on your website makes searchers perceive your business as more trustworthy. If you have some great reviews on Google, Facebook or Yelp, you want to feature those on your website.

This promotional marketing strategy attracts attention to your business at an opportune time and increases revenue. Plus, increasing interest at unique times of the year offers opportunities to convert one-time customers into loyal clients. Go over your calendar, look for holidays and annual events like the back-to-school season and even for non-traditional holidays such as  the national coffee day. Create specials or discounts around a coming event/season.  

Create each special enough time in advance so that you can promote it on your website, social media and by email and text campaigns.  

We’ve mentioned the importance of offering seasonal or holiday specials before, and an event calendar will help you do this easily and effectively.

An event calendar is an important part of your marketing calendar. What should it include? Notable days that are relevant to your business and to its marketing: from national days to holidays to industry specific events.  

These events will dictate your offers/promotions, your social media content, your ad design, etc. Having a full and up to date event calendar will make it easy for you to offer a back-to-school special or design cute and festive ads for Christmas.

Great photos that show off your work are crucial  to your website, and this is a simple way to start filling your website photo gallery. If your Instagram or Facebook account have great photos, you can easily use them on your website as well.  

Most website builders will enable you to import the photos you already have on Instagram or Facebook to your website. Just remember to make sure you’re the rightful owner of each photo, or that you have the permission of the rightful owner and the people in the photo to post it – this is true for posting on social media as well as your website. And, only use photos that are aligned with your visual branding.

More than 75% of people visiting your website will never find it again. Starting an email newsletter will allow you to convert those website visitors into subscribers, and hopefully into paying customers. People who visit your website are already interested in your business. Use this interest to get them to subscribe to your email newsletter. Add email opt-ins on your site for users who want to receive more content or information from your brand. This can be a contact form or a sign-up pop-up –just make sure that people visiting your site are enticed to give you their email address. It’s advisable to add a few signup options to your website – not just one – using a variety of placements.

A newsletter increases traffic and engagement, gives you control over your message, enables you to connect and communicate directly with your target audience and ultimately gets you more conversions and more repeat business. After you’ve accumulated a basic mailing list, which you continue growing all the time, it’s time to start sending out your newsletter. They’re called newsletters but don’t regard them as such. You should send out the latest news and updates about your business, but you can also send trends, tips, interesting links etc.  

Make sure you send compelling and useful content, and not just promotions. A newsletter is NOT a sales pitch, so don’t make it sales-y. Compelling content and a personal tone are key. Things to remember before sending out your first newsletter: it needs to look good, it needs a great subject line and it needs to be free of typos, spelling mistakes and bad grammar.   

Once you have your email list in place, start sending emails to your customers once or twice a month. You will inspire loyalty and trust in your brand while building a relationship with your customers. Be consistent so people know what to expect from you and look forward to your emails.  

Even though this is essentially a newsletter, look at it more like a personal email. Keep your customers informed on anything new in your business, and send them informative content. Send them promotions too, but that shouldn’t be the main thing. Since consistency is key, plan out in your calendar when you’re due to send your new newsletter. You can also send yourself a reminder a few days before, to make sure you have everything ready for your next newsletter. 

You will increase customer loyalty by making your customers feel like part of the family. Plus, you will show them that your business is always moving forward, that it’s on top of the latest trends and incorporating new services and techniques. Use your email newsletters and social posts to let your customers know what's changing and what's new in your business. Regularly inform them of new services, products, techniques, trends, events and new staff members, and don’t forget to add photos. 
You can inform them in your email newsletters, on your website or on social media.

CTAs, or call-to-action buttons, are the buttons your website visitors need to click in order to take the action you want them to take. If they click – that’s another conversion for you.  

Most website builders let you add CTAs. Add clear and enticing CTAs in order to get people to book an appointment online or buy from your online shop. Make your CTAs easily visible, clear and straightforward. Something like “Book Now” or “Add to Cart”.

They should be well placed, action-oriented and have clear copy (meaning people clicking them know exactly what they’re clicking), as well as eye-catching colour. 

This will help inspire loyalty, make your business memorable and aid potential customers to choose your brand over the competition. A website without a “Meet the Team” page reduces the reliability of your brand, so bear this in mind. And it’s also good for your staff, since feeling like part of a team increases motivation.  

Add a page to your website, using your DIY website builder, and dedicate it to introducing your team. Make it easily and clearly accessible from your main menu because this is one of the first things that your website visitors will want to check out. Why? Because there’s nothing more important than a human connection. Each team member should be introduced with a photo and a few words, and they need to be part of the process of creating this page.  

We’ve compiled a post that teaches you exactly how to build a killer Meet the Team page, step by step.

If you’ve started a relatively new business and not many people in your area know about it, finding a local Facebook Group to post on is a perfect marketing solution. If you’re not sure what a Facebook Group is and how it differs from a Facebook Page, here is everything you need to know about Facebook Groups.  

Now, find a local Facebook Group that fits your target audience. Once you’re there, post valuable content in that Group from your business: tips, how-to guides, links to valuable information in your field of expertise etc. Don’t directly advertise your business, just educate and give the Group members interesting content to share and discuss. Be active in the Group on a regular basis and make yourself part of the community. That way people will learn about you and your business.

A customer testimonial page is great for your website since it helps build trust and creates an emotional connection. Testimonials are personal referrals to your business that you want to have. Create a testimonial page or section on your website using your website builder. Ask happy customers for testimonials to post on your website (if you can get their photo as well that's even better). You can do that in person or by email or text message. If they’re happy with the service they got from you, they will be thrilled to share their experience with others. 

A customer testimonial page is great for your website since it helps build trust and creates an emotional connection. Testimonials are personal referrals to your business that you want to have. Create a testimonial page or section on your website using your website builder. Ask happy customers for testimonials to post on your website (if you can get their photo as well that's even better). You can do that in person or by email or text message. If they’re happy with the service they got from you, they will be thrilled to share their experience with others. 

Whenever someone tags you on social media, their followers see it and can easily reach you. There are many ways you can encourage your clients to recommend your business and tag you in their posts. You can ask happy customers to do so before they leave your business. You can also offer a discount or something special to whoever tags your business, and advertise this on your SM, website and email newsletter, as well as telling people who visit your business about it. When someone tags you, be sure to respond. Thank them, comment, like their post and even share it. This shows whoever tagged you, as well as their friends, that you are responsive, which builds trust in your business.

Engaging with your clients on social media will make them feel appreciated and valued, which in turn builds loyalty to your brand. Take a couple of minutes every day to like, retweet and share your client’s posts on social media. It’s easy and fun and very important to build a lasting relationship with them. If you participate regularly on social media, it won’t feel self-promotional when you post something. 

46% of Google searches are for local businesses and 80% of local searches convert. This means, it’s crucial for your business to show up on Google. Google your business. If you’re not showing up on Google, here is an extremely helpful link with possible reasons your website isn’t showing up, and how to fix it. And here is a post on how to get to the top of Google search results. Also, look at your schedule for next week and knock off 2 hours to learn some SEO. Just Google SEO principles and you’ll find plenty of helpful guides to improve your business’s Google rankings.

By following your alerts on social media you will be able to respond and engage with your followers and your community. You will build a better relationship with them and inspire loyalty, which is essential for your business.  

Make it a habit to browse through your alerts once or twice a day. You can even schedule a reminder on your phone. This will help you engage with others on social media. You’ll get alerts on mentions of your business, if you are tagged, so be sure to respond to all of those, whether they are good or bad. Never ignore a review or a post that mentions your business, even if you respond just with a heart emoji. Also, engage with other people’s posts and content.
Like, share and reply. Your alerts will help you see what’s the most relevant for you, and make sure you don’t miss anything.

Customers can review your business on Yelp and Google My Business. These reviews are very important for your business. By following your alerts you’ll stay on top of your reviews and will be able to respond to them quickly.  Respond to positive reviews on the spot, with a thank you, a nice and relevant response or cute emojis. Respond to negative reviews quickly as well – since time is of the essence – but not off the bat. Reread the review carefully and consider the best response. If you weren’t present for the situation mentioned, talk to the employee who was. Hear their side of the story before responding. 

By collecting customer feedback you will know what is working and what you need to change or modify in your business in terms of the services and products you are offering, your employee aptitude and behavior, your specials and promotions and all other elements. Plus, gathering customer feedback strengthens the relationship with your customers and promotes repeat business.  

If you are not collecting customer feedback regularly yet, this is the time to start. Write down the specific questions you want to ask your clients. Then choose the method that is most comfortable for you (online survey, email, text messages, comment cards, phone follow ups etc.). Keep in mind that some methods allow you to ask multiple questions while others just one. Start gathering feedback, and don’t forget: A. To put what you learn to use. B. To always respond to all feedback given, good or bad, and always thank your customers for their feedback.

LinkedIn is a very powerful social media platform for small businesses, especially if you have content to share. How is it different to other social media platforms? Well, it’s a professional network. In fact, it’s the largest professional network with hundreds of millions of members. So if you don't already have a LinkedIn Profile or a Company Page, go ahead and create one today.  

Obviously LinkedIn is more popular in some industries than others and it depends what line of business you’re in, but LinkedIn can usually help you with your marketing efforts, to grow your business and generate leads. It’s also important for building trust and credibility, for growing your professional network and for staying updated on industry news.

Like any other social platform, LinkedIn is all about content. This might sound obvious, but what you need to do is create and post content that your target audience will be interested in. In other words – don’t be sales-y. Be interesting and insightful. Use your professional expertise and give your audience fresh and engaging content which is relevant to your business and to them. Share timely and relevant content with strong headlines. Encourage engagement by asking questions.

What kind of content should you share on LinkedIn? You could share industry news or research (people love statistics!), as well as updates about your business. You can share useful how-to tutorials, tips and lists.

You don’t have to create new content especially for LinkedIn—you can repurpose content from your website, your blog, client comments and more. Share posts with rich media – meaning photos and videos (short ones!) – as they typically perform better. Be personable but not too personal – there are other social media platforms for that.

You need to optimise your LinkedIn page so that people searching the platform for what you have to offer will find you. How do you do that? Firstly,  fill out all the fields and make sure that your description and contact details are all complete and up to date. As always, use keywords. You need to insert keywords and key-phrases into your “About” description that potential customers might use to search your specific services. Links are also important for boosting your search ranking. One thing you can do is link to your LinkedIn page from your website. And don’t forget to choose the right hashtags for your business – that will also help you get discovered online.

LinkedIn is a professional social network, so make the most of it by joining groups in your profession or even starting your own group. In Groups, you can answer questions and join discussions in order to build trust in your business and position yourself as an expert in your field.  

These are great for small businesses since they leverage sales, help you network in your field and let you share content with relevant people. Participating in Groups will also help you make valuable connections for your business and gain better visibility for your business.  

Look for groups in your field. In order to decide if the group is right for you, check out how many members and how much activity it has.

Before creating a marketing plan and filling out your marketing calendar, you need a marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy is shaped by your business goals: what exactly do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Your marketing plan is how you are going to achieve those goals: the practical implementation of your marketing strategy.

In other words, the strategy is the “what” and the plan is the “how”. And you need both, so you don’t waste time and money.  

In order to create your marketing strategy, you need to know what your business goals are, who your target market is, who your competitors are, what your unique selling proposition is and what your marketing message is. The answer to these will help you shape your strategy, which your marketing plan will then be based on.

You own a small business – you’re not a professional marketer – and yet you need to market your business. The problem is you’re busy and your marketing efforts might suffer and become too sporadic or unfocused to be effective. This is why you need a marketing plan that covers your future marketing activities.  

Look at your marketing strategy to create your marketing plan. Ask yourself how frequently you plan to promote your  business, where and how. Which types of media will you use and what type of content will you create?  

Consider advertising campaigns, social media campaigns, email and text marketing, content creating, blogging etc. Decide how frequently you want to do each, and take into consideration holidays and seasons of high or low demand for your services and products.  

In order to create your marketing plan you need to know who your target audience is, where to find it and how to approach it, as well as what your marketing budget is and what your resources are. Your plan will give your marketing focus and direction and once you have a plan in place you’ll know what to do.

You have a marketing strategy and a marketing plan and you’ve filled out your marketing calendar for the rest of the year – that's great! But this is not a onetime task. Your marketing strategy and plan are always subject to change. Your business changes, the demand around you changes, your goals change. Nothing stays the same and your marketing shouldn’t either. You need to periodically analyse your results, and make changes accordingly.

So, make sure you include in your marketing calendar a few dates a year in which you plan to analyse your results. After doing this, make needed tweaks and changes to always keep your marketing up to date and effective as it can be.

Once you have a marketing plan in place, start filling out your marketing calendar. This is your overview of your marketing efforts for the rest of the year. It is time consuming but it will save you precious time and effort in the future, as you will have all your future marketing tasks before you, in one place.  

Your marketing calendar must also feature relevant days or periods when there is a higher demand for specific services or products that you offer so that you can prepare materials and campaigns to take advantage of these dates.

If you are an interior designer, handyperson, furniture restorer, landscaper, hair stylist, fashion designer or landscape architect, start taking pictures of every beautiful creation of yours. If your business is of a visual nature, people will need to see your work in order to select your business.

So, invest in a good camera and lighting and start experimenting with photography. The more photos you accumulate, the better you’ll get. You’ll learn from your mistakes and understand what makes a photo great.  After you’ve accumulated a gallery, start posting your photos on your website, social media etc. Just don’t forget to get your customers’ permission to post their photos. 

You’re a small business and your budget obviously is more limited than that of a large company. But even so you can still market effectively. And since you don’t have any money to waste, a marketing plan is pivotal.  

There are many free and low-cost marketing options available, and remember that content is key. Choose the ones that are right for your business and your audience.  

By creating quality content, you can market your business cheaply through many different channels. It’s known that paid social media advertising is very effective, but if you have a plan and are creative, you can really leverage organic social media to get your business out there.  

Another thing you can do is to start a blog – it’s true that blogging takes time, and time is money, but you can create a few blog posts in advance, and with a little bit of time and effort you can attract customers to your business just by creating valuable and engaging content.  

You can use email and text marketing and you can ask happy customers for referrals, reviews and testimonials. And whatever you do, don’t forget to optimise for SEO and write compelling CTAs.

Photos are an important part of your website. A great way to create a connection with your customers is by  using personal photos of your business and your employees. This makes people feel they know you personally. You can import the photos you already have on Instagram or Facebook to your website.  

How do you know you’re using the right imagery for your website? First, create photos that show off your business in some meaningful way. This can be how nice your team members are, how fun it is to visit your business, or how great people feel after getting a service from you. Plus, use photos that are aligned with your visual branding. In other words, make sure you choose photos that represent your business accurately and that have the right color scheme and overall feel of your brand. For example, if you’re branding is young, fun, colorful and bright – that’s what the photos you include in your website should convey. If it’s serious and professional – that’s how your photos should be. That’s the case when you create the images yourself and also if you choose images from a library.

Again we emphasise that video is extremely engaging and for many types of businesses – and that could include yours. And if you create videos, YouTube marketing is great for your business.  

YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users, which means it is an effective platform for small businesses to share their video content.  

Set up a YouTube channel for your small business and start sharing videos. There are many types of video you can create for your business.  How-to videos, for example, are really simple to make, using your own expertise.  

YouTube is a video search engine so you need to optimise your videos to get views by filling out your YouTube profile and using keywords (words and phrases your potential audience might use to search businesses like yours), descriptions etc. You also need to use a strong title and an enticing thumbnail.

Once you start using YouTube for your marketing efforts, use YouTube Analytics to see how you’re doing and how you can improve.

Creating quality content is the most important thing for your blog, but you also need to consider blog SEO, which means optimising your blog so that it ranks high in search engines. The optimisation should be a natural part of choosing which topics to write about and how to write them.  You need to write posts about things that your target audience is searching for and to optimise each post for one main keyword – that’s a word your target audience is searching for. There are many online keyword research tools that can help you find what those keywords are.  Include your keyword in the post as well as in the title.  

Keep your title short, because blogging platforms usually use it as a title tag (what shows up in search results) and you don’t want it to get cut off. Write an interesting meta description – that also shows in the search results. Add internal links (from one page on your domain to another) and backlinks – meaning you need to entice people to link to your post.  

Consistency is also important for your blog SEO – so post consistently.  

These are the basics. Research Blog SEO online to see what else you can do to optimise your blog. You don’t need to do everything at once. You can always improve your results over time.

No matter how small your business is, you need a business website which is search engine optimised, meaning that it ranks highly enough for customers to easily discover your business on Google.

In order to do that you need to get an SEO audit for your website. An SEO audit is a website analysis, after which you can fix it in order to up your site's rankings in organic search results.

An SEO audit checks the technical infrastructure of your website. It looks at on and off-page elements that are crucial to your SEO. And this is not a one-time thing – it needs to be done regularly to make sure your website is working its best and getting you the best results. Among other things that this audit should inspect are your SSL Certificate, Smartphone optimisation, page speed, your sitemap, your cookies policy, etc. There are many online tools that can help you do an SEO audit.

Your website needs more than one page – to make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for and for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) reasons. Meaning, to make sure your site comes up in Google searches. We’re assuming your website has a homepage, but that’s not enough. This is the list of the basic pages a business website needs, in addition to a homepage. Go over it and check if anything is missing from your site: 1. About Us page: the place to tell your story and state what sets you apart .2. Services page: This is where your service menu and pricing go. 3. Blog page: If you have a blog, it should be here (and yes, you should have a blog). 4. Contact Us page: the place for your address, opening hours, phone numbers, emails and links to your social media channels.  

Here are additional pages you might want on your website. Write down which pages you feel are missing from your website and what exactly you want to include in them. Next time you have some spare time to work on your website, you’ll know exactly what to add.

78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day; 54% of consumers want to see more video content; marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users; and by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic.  

People love video and engagement rates are significantly higher for video than for other types of content, so consistently create and share videos.  

Videos need to be short and engaging, and there are many different types you can create. For instance, animation (even simple stop-motion), educational videos and explainers/tutorials, behind-the-scenes videos, product videos, testimonial videos, personalised videos, thank you videos etc. Some are right for social media, others for email marketing. And of course each type suits a different part of the funnel. Think of what types of video will help you with brand awareness, which will help you build trust, which will help you gain new customers or retain existing ones.

There are many different things you can do with video content, so don’t neglect it.

Do you know where the kids are these days? Right, on TikTok – the incredibly popular video-sharing social network. So if your target audience is a young one – meaning teenagers and 20-somethings –  TikTok is the place you need to be.  

Start by opening a TikTok business account, which of course will supply you with metrics you will need to up your game. And there is also the TikTok Ads Manager, if you plan to run ads on the platform.  

Remember, TikTok is not Facebook or any other social media network you might be well versed in, so familiarise yourself with the platform. Since TikTok has a very young demographic, it is very big on trends and one thing you can do is create your own unique and relevant spin on popular TikTok trends. Also, use trending hashtags and sounds (that’s the music in your videos) to get discovered.  

Check out TikTok’s Discovery Page for inspiration, and see how you can reach your target audience on their favourite social platform.

Give your customers and potential customers engaging visual content and something cool to look forward to and recognise your brand by. If your business is of a visual nature – gardening, landscaping, home improvement, any kind of design or any business in the beauty and wellness world – you should be taking pictures on a regular basis and uploading them to Instagram and other social media. Once a month, choose the best/coolest photo you’ve posted all month and include it in your newsletter. Be sure to ceremoniously announce that this is your pic of the month. You can also encourage people to share and tag you by offering a discount.

Choosing the right images for your social posts, email marketing etc. is crucial, but it’s not enough.

After you’ve chosen the right images, that convey your business’s personality, don’t forget to make sure you’re the rightful owner of each photo, or that you have the permission of the rightful owner and the people in the photo to post it.

Happy customers will most probably gladly let you publish their photos, but never do it without asking them first.

Facebook. Instagram. TikTok. Pinterest. Reddit. Twitter. LinkedIn. Snapchat. There are many social media channels out there and if you’re not on any of them yet, it might seem overwhelming and even intimidating. But don’t worry, you don’t need all of them. You’re busy running your business and you obviously can’t be active on all social media platforms, so just choose a few that are right for you.  

First, ask yoursef what type of business you own. If it’s not of a visual nature, then Instagram or Pinterest are not for you. Then you need to identify your audience (in terms of age, gender, income, interests etc.) and ask yourself which social platforms they are on. If your target audience is over 50, don’t go on TikTok, for example.

For choosing the right social channels you also need to identify your marketing goals: some platforms are better for staying friendly with your customers and boosting loyalty, others are better for reaching new audiences.

After eliminating the social channels that clearly aren’t right for you, you need to do a little research and understand the pros and cons of the channels that you’re considering, for your needs and for connecting to your specific audience. Narrow it down to a few and start getting social.

Snapchat is the app where people (and businesses!) post short videos and photos that disappear after a while. You know, where Instagram Stories initially came from. If your target audience is young and your brand identity is fun – Snapchat is the place to be. Obviously it’s not for accounting firms, but many types of businesses will find it effective for their marketing.

It’s a great place to connect with your audience by showing your personal side, with funny videos of your staff or behind-the-scenes content. And since Snapchat is the kind of place where you create anticipation and buzz, it's great for contests, freebies, discount coupons, flash sales, limited time offers and any kind of content that’s exclusive and  sparks excitement.  

Plus, you can create specific groups to send snaps to, so you can send each promotion or piece of content to exactly the right audience and maximise your marketing efforts.

A good way to use your current customers to get you new ones is by asking for referrals. According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising. But you can’t be passive and wait for your clients to recommend you (many of them might not do that on their own initiative).

You can simply ask happy customers for referrals. After they got a service or bought a product from you, you can send a follow-up email to make sure they are satisfied. Then follow that up with another email asking for referrals.  

You can also give them an incentive to do so. Invite customers to share your business with others and reward them for it with a  “bring a friend promo” for example. If a customer of yours brings in a friend, they get a discount. If you reward both the existing customer and the referred customer with a discount – that’s even better.

Let your customers know about this on your website, by sending them an email or text message, or in person. This way, they will recommend your business to friends not only because it is great, but also because they will be motivated to do so.

And remember to always thank customers who refer you.

Did you know that 50% of people on Instagram follow at least one business? As with all social media platforms, Instagram isn’t right for every type of business. But, if your business is visual in nature, and your target audience is relatively young (71% of the billion monthly active users on Instagram are under the age of 35) – you definitely need to be on Instagram.  

If you don’t already have one, create an Instagram business account and start taking beautiful pictures of your work today. In addition to connecting with your customers and with potential customers on the app itself, you can also upload those photos to your website for extra value.

You need a logo for your business and you need to use it everywhere: on your website, in all your communications, business cards, social media, etc. And you don’t even need a designer to create a logo – you can use an online logo maker. Just make sure that it fits your business’s personality and branding.

Keep in mind that you should never use a photo in your logo, because a photo has a certain image resolution and you can’t change its size according to your needs. It also has certain colors, which might not fit your color scheme. You want your logo to have one color or two – no more than that. A logo can be either an icon, or an icon with text, or just text. Generally, it’s best to choose a relatively thick and heavy font, because it makes a bigger impact and is more memorable.

Everybody knows that attracting new customers is much harder than retaining existing ones, but for your business to survive you must attract new ones too, and this is a great way to do that.  

Offer all new clients a special price for their first visit. Advertise this wherever you can: on your website, social media etc. Let all your customers know, so they can tell their  friends.