If you are a small business or startup, take heart from the fact that the online marketing space has levelled out the advantage that the big brands have enjoyed in the past.

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Small businesses and startups have managed to create waves and catch customer attention, thanks to some creative and thoughtful marketing campaigns that don’t cost a bomb.

Follow these guidelines and tactics, and incorporate them into your marketing plan to create awareness, promote your brand and establish a strong and loyal consumer base.

1. Get The Marketing Basics Right

Make sure you have written objectives for your marketing plan that are closely aligned with the business goals.

2. Leverage Social Media Like A Gold Mine

This one hardly costs anything other than time commitment, and can yield fantastic results if done correctly. Identify the platforms that are right for your business. For example, if you are a B2B provider, don’t underestimate the power of LinkedIn; if you’re into fashion and accessories, leverage Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

3. Engage In Online Communities

In short, find out where your potential clients are hanging out, what causes they care about, which medium and platforms they prefer, and be a part of the conversation.

4. Create Awesome Content

Having a company blog has become almost the norm these days. The differentiator is now to create content and blog posts that add value to your audience. People can sense rubbish when they see it. Don’t produce mediocre posts – create awesome ones. Content marketing is a powerful tool to attract visitors and convert them to customers.

5. Use Referral Programs

This strategy has time and again proven to be extremely successful, provided of course that your customers love your work! Word of mouth and being referred from someone is the biggest influencing factor for a person’s purchase decision. Add to it a small discount or offer, and it becomes too good to resist.

6. DIY And Educational Videos

With too many distractions on social media, a casual browser skims over long and boring text updates, but an attractive video will always catch his eye. Educational videos that add value to clients have proven to be quite a hit for most businesses.

7. Create Infographics And Visuals

This is another form of visual content that is easy on the eye. Infographics are fantastic tools to convey your message succinctly and attractively. There are many design software and services that can help you design infographics easily.

8. Create Contests And Giveaways

An easy, fun or meaningful contest creates a buzz around your business because people love sharing them with their friends and connections.

9. Partner With Other Businesses

An easy and tremendously powerful way to reach out to more customers. Partner with businesses with some synergies to form a win-win strategy. It helps both businesses to leverage each other’s communities and appeal to a bigger audience.

10. Get Involved In Local Contests Or Events

This is especially useful for businesses with local presence. Sponsor a part of the event or contest awards to get some well-earned goodwill publicity. You could also organize a course or a meet-up in your location to meet potential clients or business partners.

Visit Influenshine page to find out more about Swati’s work.

_{This post was first published on Influenshine blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.
Edited by Nedda Chaplin}

_{Image credit: Young woman working behind the counter at a record shop from Shutterstock}

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