Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

When you’re an entrepreneur starting your first business, there are so many little things you need to go well to ensure the success of your startup. Running a business for the first time is an overwhelming experience so here are a few marketing lessons Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec has already learned for you:

(Curated from Entrepreneur Magazine)

1. Take Advantage of Social Media

Marketing on social media isn’t just a good strategy for big brands. Your small business can take advantage of free platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to reach your audience and build brand recognition for your startup.

“With Facebook and other social platforms, you can have highly targeted marketing campaigns to attract customers who are interested in the product or service that you have,” Herjavec says. “Find the user groups they meet up in on social and win them over there.”

2. Sell Your Products Online

Small businesses often don’t realize the potential they have to sell their products or services online. Offering your customers a place to shop and buy online will help you build trust and retain customers more effectively as long as you do it well.

Even as the ecommerce economy continues to surge, many small businesses old and new still don’t have shopping carts on their websites. Herjavec says failing to sell directly online is “foolishly leaving money on the table.” He believes that if your customers trust and believe in your brand, they’ll buy what you sell on the Internet.

Of those that do offer online shopping, the feature is often set up so poorly that it frustrates and confuses customers. The result: Potential buyers end up abandoning their shopping carts altogether and the sale is dead on arrival. “It quickly becomes such a hassle to go through with the transaction that they say ‘forget it,’” he says. “Don’t let that happen.”

3. Use Visual Imagery

This may seem like an obvious tip, but visual imagery is more important than you think. You want to make sure your customers have all the information they need before they make a purchase. You can attract and hold their attention with stimulating images to keep them engaged long enough to get all the information they need.

“People are very busy and the first thing that hits them in any marketing communication is a really pretty picture, not words,” he says, “and I know that sounds really trivial but that engages people and gets them to look at more of your outreach.”

What marketing tips do you have for first-time business owners?