The best marketing strategy for your small business is the one you’ll actually do. Full stop. Yes, we’re talking about the one that won’t just gather dust in a Google Doc or become a distant memory because you’ve got a million other things on your plate. And today? We’re going to dive into exactly what makes a marketing strategy not just good on paper, but practical, doable, and tailored to your unique business.
By the end of this post, you'll have a clear, actionable plan that fits into your busy life and gets results. Here’s what we are going to cover:
- Key elements of an effective marketing strategy
- Why you need to diversity your marketing
- What a marketing strategy for a small business really looks like
Key Elements of an Effective Marketing Strategy
First, let’s start with what you actually need to include in order to have an effective marketing strategy (one you’ll actually use that makes you money).
1. Your Target Audience and Where They Hang Out
First things first, who are you talking to? You’ve got to know who your business is trying to help (and what problems you’re trying to solve) because it’s the foundation of your whole marketing game plan. So who are they? Are they scrolling Instagram like it’s their day job, binge-reading blogs, or hanging out in Facebook groups? Figure out where they spend their time online, so you can show up right where they are. For more on this, check out our guide on creating a marketing strategy.
2. Your Goals
Next, having clear goals is essential. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive more traffic to your website, boost sales, or something else entirely? While most small business owners raise their hands when it comes to wanting more sales, that doesn’t need to be (and probably shouldn’t be) the only goal when it comes to your marketing strategy.
3. What You Have Time For
The next thing you need to factor in? Your time. Your marketing strategy is not going to effective if there’s 35 tasks for you to do each week and you can barely find a spare couple of hours in your week. If you only have an hour a week to dedicate to marketing, your strategy needs to reflect that. Overcommitting leads to burnout and inconsistency. And if you’re like most small business owners we’ve talked to, you know a lot about that already.
4. What You Enjoy Doing
We know that it might seem like a pipe dream, but marketing should be something you enjoy, not a chore you dread. One of the first questions we ask before creating a marketing plan in Enji, is what do you absolutely hate doing. We ask what platforms you know you won’t enjoy. Because while knowing what platforms your target audience is important, it’s also important that you don’t hate what you do every day. Do you love writing? Start a blog. Enjoy making videos? Try YouTube or TikTok. When you enjoy your marketing activities, you're more likely to stick with them and do them well.
5. Your Budget
Even if you’re on a tight budget—like most other small business owners—a little investment can go a long way. Don’t be scared to spend a bit on ads, tools, or outsourcing stuff you can’t handle. The return on investment (ROI) can be well worth it.
Why You Need To Diversify Your Marketing
While we are talking about the key elements of a marketing strategy, it’s worth mentioning that relying on a single marketing channel is risky. What if the platform changes its algorithms or your audience shifts to a new platform? Diversifying your marketing efforts means that you're not putting all your eggs in one basket. For example, if you’re relying on Instagram right now, you’re going to want to read our post on why social media marketing isn’t everything.
Not sure where to market your small business? Here are a few marketing ideas to consider:
- Content Marketing: Blog posts, videos, podcast episodes, infographics.
- Email Marketing: Newsletters, promotional emails.
- Social Media Marketing: Posts, stories, Reels
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results.
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC): Google Ads, social media ads.
A Marketing Strategy in Action
If you’re like most small business owners, this isn’t the first time you’ve thought about putting together a marketing strategy (maybe you even Googled “best marketing strategy for small businesses”?). But what does a marketing strategy really look like when it comes to the day-to-day of marketing your business? Here’s an example of how we do it with our own marketing.
Step-by-Step Example: Creating a Blog Post
- Identify Your Audience:
- Target Audience: Small business owners interested in improving their marketing strategies.
- Set Your Goal:
- Goal: Increase website traffic and generate leads for Enji’s marketing services.
- Content Creation:
- Write a blog post on “The Best Marketing Strategy for A Small Business.”
- Use Enji Copywriter to generate content ideas and create a draft.
- Add personal stories and tips to make sure it sounds like you (in your brand voice).
- Optimize for SEO (one of our brand’s marketing objectives)
- You can read exactly how to optimize a blog post for SEO here.
- Promote Your Content:
- Share the blog post on social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
- Include the blog link in your next email newsletter.
- Run a small ad campaign to boost visibility.
- Track Your Efforts:
- Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the blog post’s performance.
- Track metrics such as website traffic, time spent on the page, and conversion rates.
For more on how to track your efforts, check out our posts on key performance indicators and how small business owners use data to make decisions.
Creating Your Best Small Business Marketing Strategy with Enji
Ready to create a marketing strategy that you’ll actually use? That’s where we come in. As soon as you start your free trial on Enji, we’ll ask you 20 questions and then create a small business marketing strategy for you. Seriously. You could check this off your to-do list in the next ten minutes.
Remember, the best marketing strategy for your small business is one that you will actually do. Having an effective marketing strategy is not about jamming a million things on your plate and hoping nothing pours over. It’s about being strategic, creating a plan, and sticking to it. If you’re looking for an all-in-one marketing tool, you can learn more about how Enji can help with your marketing here.
