It would be fair to say that the marketing world has been turned on its head over recent years. While traditional forms of marketing aren’t over just yet, there’s no doubt that the online world is taking over and at least making them more obsolete.
For the new business, this is ideal. The online landscape provides a lot more flexibility when it comes to marketing, and some might argue that it’s not all about how many dollars you can throw at a campaign (although this plays a significant role still).
Joe Cianciotto knows all about how marketing can be used to such immense effect for smaller businesses. In New York in particular he has been a witness to this first hand, and today we will take a look at some of the main suggestions he has to offer to the up-and-coming startup who is looking to get their name out.
The wonders of Facebook
For years, Facebook was regarded as the biggest social network in the world. Now, it’s one of the biggest advertising platforms.
The amount of granular detail that companies can target customers with is insane with this network. Whether it’s devising a campaign based on jobs, location or even general interests, Facebook has it all.
From a cost perspective, it tends to be based on a CPC model, meaning that you will pay every time somebody interacts with your ad. This can keep costs down substantially, and at least guarantee some traffic to your business (which can’t be said with pretty much every method of traditional advertising which is out there). Technology is winning for marketing your business.
Google My Business
We’re going to assume that most small business owners have tapped into this feature before, but probably unwittingly. If you’re looking for a pizza at 11pm, and perform a quick Google search, you’ll be presented with all the nearby establishments that are currently open. This, my friend, is Google My Business.
The best part about this is that you don’t even have to pay for the privilege of being included. It’s all based on algorithms meaning that in some industries, where competition is low, you will appear prominently just for registering your site with Google My Business.
Coupon websites
Last on our list is a suggestion honing in on coupon websites. Again, this is probably a service that most of you have used, with Groupon being one of the big players.
The way in which this works is a company placing a product on one of these websites, but at a huge discount. This discount isn’t the typical 5-10% off, but rather something in excess of 50%. Ultimately, it’s a gigantic saving and one that can push a huge number of customers to a company.
Of course, whether or not this brings in instant profit is a different matter in its entirety. However, for the small business that it looking to open its doors to new customers, it can be a very smart way of marketing.
