There are endless marketing channels available to small businesses. These channels range in cost, from nothing to a lot. Small Biz Trends takes a look at 50 of the most effective marketing channels small businesses can use to reach customers.
Marketing Channels for Small Businesses
Facebook is free, easy to use and offers a great way for small businesses to reach customers. Simply create a business page on Facebook and start posting relevant content to build awareness of your brand.
Twitter is another marketing channel small businesses would be foolish to ignore. Set yourself up with a Twitter account and start attracting followers and ultimately customers by publishing engaging tweets.
Being an inherently visual social media site, Pinterest is great for posting inspiring images and visual content to generate interest in your brand and reach out to customers.
LinkedIn is another great marketing channel for small businesses looking to optimize marketing efforts. Join LinkedIn groups to help establish yourself as a leader in your field.
TV Ads
If your marketing budget will stretch that far, why not market your wares on a TV ad? Television adverts are still one of the most effective ways to help brands and business sell their products and services.
Newspaper Ads
Who said print was dead? Placing an advert in a national or local newspaper (depending on your budget) is an effective marketing channel for drawing attention to your business and reaching out to customers.
Radio Ads
Advertising on a local radio station can be a cost-effective way to reach out to customers and build your business’s community presence.
Websites
Does your website really sell your business and its products or services? If it doesn’t, now’s the time to redesign your website so it shows your business to its optimum.
Flyers
People can rarely resist reading a flyer or leaflet that lands on their doorstep. Design a colorful and eye-catching flyer of your business, sit back and expect an influx of phone calls!
Google AdWords
Use Google AdWords as a marketing channel to help your business appear on the search engines when people type in keywords relevant to your business and niche.
Blogs
Start a blog and provide it with fresh, original and thought-provoking content on a regular basis to help improve your website’s SEO and make you be seen as a leading figure in your industry.
Infographics
Another effective marketing channel is to create and publish an engaging infographic. Such visually intriguing content can attract visitors to your site with the view of turning them into customers.
Guest Posts
Making guest appearances on other people’s blogs is a marketing channel that small business should not overlook. Guest blogging is a great way to build authority in your niche amongst customers and peers.
Submitting content onto Reddit will help it be viewed by a wider audience. Featuring a news aggregator and discussion boards, Reddit is an effective channel for interacting with your audience.
Email Marketing
Customize personal and bespoke personal messages to your customers through email marketing. This marketing channel is great for communicating discounts and offers with customers.
Local Marketing
The likes of YellowPages.com and Google+ list local companies, alongside their contact details. Get your business visible on local listings so you don’t miss out on customer conversions.
Trade Show Displays
Again, if your marketing budget can stretch this far, get yourself a stand at a trade show relevant to your business. Displaying your products and services at trade shows will help build your brand and customer base.
Trade Show Attendance
If you can’t afford to display at a trade show, make sure you attend them, with a barrage of business cards in your pocket. Trade shows provide a great opportunity to mix with other peers and potential clients.
Quora
Quora enables you to interact with other members by submitting questions. You can also answer already submitted questions, an effective way to heighten your status as an expert in your field.
Networking
Do a quick search of any networking events in your area and attend them! Networking is an effective way to put your business in front of like-minded professionals and potentially reach new customers.
Coupon Sites
Another marketing channel your small business shouldn’t disregard are coupon sites. If you’ve got a discount, offer or deal on, let people know about it by listing the deal on coupon sites.
Skype
Another often overlooked marketing channel is Skype. Skype allows users to add connections and send instant messages, meaning you can find and reach new customers from your desktop or mobile device.
Instagram is another inherently visual social media channel savvy small business owners should be active on. Grab yourself an Instagram account and start posting inspiring photos and videos to promote your business.
Public Speaking
Market yourself as an authoritative figure in your industry by offering to speak at important events. If your audience is impressed with your speech, they could be a lot more willing to become loyal customers.
YouTube
There’s no channel quite like YouTube to publish engaging videos related to your products and services. Widen your customer base by posting video content on YouTube.
Case Studies
Customers simply love to read case studies about a business that give them reassurance about using a specific brand or company. Create and publish case studies about your satisfied customers to help attract new ones!
Local Business Groups
Another effective way for small business owners to network and build up some effective business contacts is to join local business groups. There’s bound to be some niche-specific business groups in your area.
Webinars
Drive interest to your company and turn webinar guests into paying customers by hosting informative and engaging webinars.
Testimonial Pages
If your website doesn’t yet have a testimonials page, now’s the time to create one. Testimonials and word of mouth advertising is one of the most effective forms of marketing there is.
Forums
Industry-specific forums can be an effective place to search for individuals who may be interested in your products or services.
Facebook Advertising
As well as being active on Facebook, make use of Facebook advertising. More than two million SBEs advertise on Facebook, which is an inexpensive marketing channel for small businesses.
Product Freebies
Staff can be fantastic marketing assets. Giving your staff company freebies will help them spread the word of just how great your business and its products are!
Flickr
Interacting with other users in groups or comments on Flickr can be an effective way for a small business to reach out to potential customers.
Newspaper Columns
If you’re good at writing, creating regular columns in a newspaper can do your brand’s image a world of good. Readers of your inspiring column could quickly turn into paying customers.
Direct Mail Marketing
Yes so-called ‘snail mail’ does still exist and shouldn’t be underestimated. We rarely ignore a letter through our doorstep, particularly in the envelope is designed in an eye-catching and intriguing way.
Google’s Local Offerings
Ensure your business appears on Google Maps by taking advantage of Google’s local offerings. Create a Google My Business account to help your business be seen online.
Vimeo
Upload company-related videos on Vimeo and give your services or products the publicity they deserve on this popular video-sharing site.
Google+
Google+ is another marketing channel small business can benefit from. By creating a Google+ account, small businesses increase their chances of received highly targeted visitors from organic searches on Google.
Other Social Tools
Sign up to use social tools such as Hootsuite and Buffer. Link the tools to your social media accounts and you can start scheduling posts for the future, meaning your business can exploit the marketing opportunities of social media more efficiently.
Search Engine Marketing
Obtain higher rankings on the search engines by researching the most relevant and effective keywords for your industry and business.
Content Marketing
Without going overboard on keyword saturation so you’re seen as spammy by the search engines, aim to scatter the keywords naturally throughout your online content to help boost your rankings.
Your Own Networking Event
If you can’t find a networking event in your local area, why not host your own? Advertise the event to get as many people there as possible and to give your business optimum publicity.
Business Awards
There’s nothing quite as effective in marketing a business than entering business awards, especially if you win!
Landing Pages
Creating landing pages, which drive visitors to land on the page, are a great way for businesses to generate leads by enticing interested visitors to carry out the call-to-action highlighted on the page.
About Us Pages
Ensure your small business stands out from the crowd by creating an eye-catching ‘About Us’ page. This is your opportunity to inform prospective customers about what makes you special.
Snapchat
Snapchat allows users to share photos and videos for 24 hours before the content disappears. This social media channel is starting to catch on in the world of business marketing.
Meetup
Meetup can be an effective marketing channel as it allows you to share events and meetings to broaden the reach and gain interest in your events.
WhatsApp is another potential marketing channel that often goes overlooked. This mobile messaging app allows you to create groups and communicate with other members via voice, text or video.
Magazine Ads
If your marketing budget is big enough, placing an advert in a magazine or brochure that’s specific to your niche is an effective way to reach new customers.
Billboard Advertising
Another traditional marketing channel that should not be ignored is billboard ads. Place your company on a billboard in a busy area and don’t be surprised if you get an influx of new customers knocking at your door.
Can you think of any other marketing channels for small businesses that we missed?
Tablet Photo via Shutterstock
This article, "50 Marketing Channels to Use to Reach Customers" was first published on Small Business Trends
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