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Every business begins as a small business, right? Starting off with a strong strategic marketing plan from the get go will allow you to figure out what works and be able to scale at a faster rate. At Elysium Marketing Group,we believe that all small business marketing strategies begin with three core foundations. We refer to them as the WEST foundations. Curious what that acronym stands for? Keep reading to learn how we break it down.
W – Website
Does your business have a website? The answer to that question, most certainly needs to be yes. Let this quote from Paul Cookson sink in, “websites promote you 24/7: no employee will do that”. It’s scarily true, right? So yes, a website is a must-have but having just any old website isn’t going to solve all of your problems. Having a website that is aesthetically pleasing and an on-brand extension of your business is important to your current and potential customers. It is also important that your website is mobile-y responsive so people can easily navigate it via their desktop, iPhone, tablet or whatever they may be using to search the internet. Plus your website should be search engine optimized so Google and other search engines can rank it properly.
Maybe you already have a functioning website but are unsure if it’s working for your business as well as it should and can be. If that thought has crossed your mind, it may be time for a new website. To receive a free website audit by our expert team of web designers & developers as well as our SEO experts simply fill out this form.
E- Email
Once you have a website, you should be using it to capture your customer’s information. Having an email address is a direct line of communication to individuals who have already expressed interest in your products or services. Once you build your email list, there are various email services and providers that you can utilize to communicate your services, promotions, happenings and more. At Elysium Marketing Group, the email marketing service for small businesses that we usually recommend is MailChimp. Their interface is user-friendly, they incorporate scheduling, automation & trigger emails, and analytics & reporting for optimization purposes.
Once you’ve selected an email marketing provider, it is an easy, affordable and effective way to push out your content marketing to your list and send out special offers and promotions. For example, we’re suckers for simple “Happy Birthday” from brands we love. Interested in learning more about how a strategic email marketing strategy can work towards providing a return on investment for your business? Contact us today to learn more!
S – Social Media
Everyone has social media accounts, and we mean EVERYONE. Even your Great Aunt Sally that still somehow has a flip phone that she manages to “not mean to call you from”. So if everyone is on social media, then your business should be too. Having a simple Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram account that is pushing out relevant content increases the brand awareness of your company. However, your business definitely doesn’t need to have an account on every single social media platform there is. To learn which ones make sense to focus your social media marketing efforts on, read our quick guide here. Once you have your social media accounts set up, you can utilize them to promote your business, post special offers, educate your audience through blog posts, engage your target audience and even offer exclusive glimpses of what your business looks like behind the scenes. Make sure you’re posting weekly and engaging with users who comment on your posts to ensure that your business is not only present, but also active on social media.
T – TESTING
There’s no magic formula for how to market a small business. It depends on who you’re targeting, what your competition is doing, and how you can differentiate your business. The best way to start with marketing is to build your brand and website first and then put together a marketing strategy that will reach your target market. You should continue to test your messaging, your imagery, and your targeting to see what will convert at the highest rate possible.
So there you have it, the core WEST foundations of small business marketing. If you follow these foundations, your digital marketing footprint is starting off on the right foot (pun intended). We know that these can be overwhelming for a small business owner with a million daily tasks and a to-do list that somehow keeps getting longer and longer. That’s why our digital marketing and creative agency is here to help you. We can assist on a small project and provide you with assistance on overflow work or take everything we just talked about and so much more off of your plate. Sign up for a free marketing consultation today!
