So, you have a fabulous idea for a small business. Your business plan is created, you have a large stock of inventory and your Shopify website is designed and ready to launch, but you have no clue how to get people to visit your site and start buying.
Here are 5 marketing strategies that are guaranteed to grow your small business!
Email Marketing
Email marketing is the act of sending advertisements through email. Email marketing has exploded in recent times due to its ease and cost effectiveness. According to Jake Link from Constant Contact, email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. As you can see, this strategy can really bring in the big bucks for your small business. Another perk of email marketing is its large reach. Almost everyone who has access to the internet has an email address that they use on a regular basis. So, the likelihood of people on your site having an email address is pretty high. One way to start your email marketing campaign is to sign up for an email marketing platform. GetResponse, Constant Contact, and MailChimp are a few examples of popular email marketing platforms. A nice thing about Shopify is you can easily link the accounts associated with these platforms to your Shopify site.
Social Media Marketing
Another strategy that has exploded in popularity during recent times is social media marketing. Social media marketing is the act of using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to promote one's business. To create successful email marketing campaigns, it's important to post well developed content, often. According to Buffer, there are five pillars of social media marketing:
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Strategy - Think about the goals you have for your campaign and what content you want to post.
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Planning and Publishing - Sharing well developed posts, using optimal timing to reach the largest audience.
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Listening and Engagement - Monitoring brand mentions and tracking action on social media platforms.
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Analytics and Reporting - Tracking overall social media engagement and ROI.
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Advertising - Utilizing social media platforms specifically to promote a brand.
A perk of utilizing Shopify for your business is you can easily link your social media platforms to specific buttons on your site. This allows users to have easy access to all your platforms all in one location. You can also utilize Shopify's own social media platforms to promote your brand. (See TikTok x Shopify for more information on how to leverage Shopify's social media platforms.)
Content Marketing
Content marketing is the act of creating and distributing brand information to a specific target audience. Content marketing can be considered an extension of social media marketing. You can use social media to create content, but it also opens doors to so much more opportunity for your business. According to Michael Keenan of Shopify, businesses can also create and distribute blogs, newsletters, videos, podcasts and much more to boost one's content marketing strategy. Your Shopify site can be used as a platform where your customers can easily access content that you want them to see. You can dedicate certain sections of your Shopify site to specific content marketing. Â
Referral Marketing
Referral marketing is an old school tactic that businesses use to get the word out. Referral marketing, also known as "word-of-mouth marketing" (see Referral Marketing: The Key To Business Growth) is a strategy where businesses use existing customers to promote their brand. This can be through referral programs, where existing customers earn benefits by telling friends about one's brand or through things such as reviews, where existing customers rate their experiences they had with one's business. On Shopify, pop ups can be created on one's site to promote referral programs and make customers aware of the perks they can earn by promoting your brand. Also, sections on your Shopify homepage can be dedicated specifically to reviews that customers have written about their experiences with your business. Â
Google Ads
Google Ads is a platform created by Google where businesses can bid to have their advertisements displayed to users of Google. Many people seem to shy away from Google Ads, due to its complexity. But once you get the hang of it, ads displayed on Google have the potential to bring in large amounts of money for your business. According to Google, one can create a Google Ad campaign by first determining the goals you have for your campaign, next selecting a target geographic area, then determining a budget and creating the advertisement itself. Once the advertisement is approved, users can view the ad by typing in certain "keywords" into the search bar. It's important to use popular keywords in your advertisement because that will generate more engagement. It's also a good idea to choose a unique domain name for your Shopify site, so users are more likely to view your site over others.
There are many other ways your can advertise your brand, but these are some good stepping stones for when you are just getting started. Of course, it is important to play around with different strategies to see what works best for your business, but we've seen great success with using these ones paired with a well developed Shopify site.
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