17 Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

So you’ve learned how mập start a business, now it’s phút giây lớn promote it. bảng giá dịch vụ seo tổng thể
your small business spreads the địa cầu about the incredible products you have mập sell. No promotion equals slim chances of making money trực tuyến any giây phút soon .

But your customer’s attention is being pulled from pillar lớn post. Big brands with thousand-dollar marketing budgets drive the cost of advertising sky-high. Let’s not even get started on mạng xã hội truyền thông channels changing their algorithms lớn make it even harder for small businesses mập reach the audiences they built .
It’s not all doom & gloom. You can stand out in the busiest of spaces. It just takes a little more creativity .

To get you started, this guide shares 17 creative marketing ideas we’ve seen from independent brands that are totally free (or very low cost) to replicate.

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12 proven small business marketing ideas

1. Host a social media competition
2. Share user-generated content on social media
3. Produce video tutorials
4. Jump on trending topics
5. Partner with other small businesses 
6. Give quirky product recommendations
7. Collect customer feedback
8. Enter local awards
9. Attend local events
10. Sell mystery boxes
11. Create content optimized for SEO
12. Sell gift cards

1. Host a social media competition

To say mạng xã hội truyền thông platforms are oversaturated would be an understatement. Some 92 % of companies will use platforms lượt thích Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok mập reach their target audience by 2022 .
Couple that with the fact Facebook only shows posts bự 5.2 % of a page’s followers và you’ll see why mạng xã hội truyền thông is a pain-staking way Khủng market a small business .
Diversify your mạng xã hội truyền thông marketing strategy by hosting a competition. Science proves people love không tính tiền stuff. So, give away something for không lấy phí — such as a sản phẩm bundle or trip mập your HQ — in exchange for mạng xã hội truyền thông engagement. Have your followers lượt thích, bình luận, chia sẻ, và tag a friend in the giveaway post béo boost reach .
Loca Foods, for example, hosted an Instagram contest that gave away dips và desserts. Participants had phệ lượt thích the post, follow its Instagram profile, & tag a friend. Bonus entries were up for grabs if followers shared the post Khủng their own story :

Granted, attractive mạng xã hội truyền thông competitions give away expensive products. But the marketing dollars you spend on hosting a giveaway don’t have mập be extreme. You can make the prize as cheap or expensive as you want .

2. Share user-generated content on social media

Another smart way mập use mạng xã hội truyền thông mập market your small business is béo use user-generated nội dung ( UGC ) — something 79 % of shoppers say highly impacts their purchasing decisions, likely because it’s less biased than branded nội dung. They get béo see someone in their shoes loving the sản phẩm .
Incentivize existing customers Khủng chia sẻ photos, videos, và testimonials of them using your products. Do regular scans of your brand name or hashtag phệ see mạng xã hội truyền thông posts people have shared without being prompted .
The goal is béo build a library of high-quality UGC that convinces on-the-fence mạng xã hội truyền thông followers béo buy, lượt thích this example from Andie Swim. Its previous customer created a TikTok video, which Andie Swim reposted lớn Instagram .
( Just remember lớn ask permission from the original poster before sharing UGC bự your own page. )

3. Produce video tutorials

Continuing with the mạng xã hội truyền thông theme, Clip marketing reigns supreme on many platforms. Take a look at TikTok’s success. Its minute-long videos became so sánh popular that Instagram, traditionally a photo-sharing ứng dụng, launched its own phiên bản — Reels — off the back of it .
Use a không tính tiền video clip ứng dụng lớn produce nội dung Khủng market your own business on mạng xã hội truyền thông. That could be :

• Reviews from happy customers 
• Behind-the-scenes of running your business
• Video tutorials that show how to use your product
• Livestreams co-hosted with influencers in your space

Dope Dog is one small business using this không lấy phí marketing idea. Its founder, Erin Mastopietro, says, “ We held Instagram live sessions with experts in our niche, during which audience members could ask questions, và we also conducted a small interview .
“ As a result, we gained exposure béo the audience of the expert và provided value béo our followers. ”

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4. Jump on trending topics

Social truyền thông is fueled by trends. Think about it : TikTok is credited for making songs go viral ; artists see record-breaking streams when a khiêu vũ trend emerges. Everyone posts videos of themselves khiêu vũ bự the same tuy nhiên .
How bởi vì you uncover trending topics before your small business ’ mạng xã hội truyền thông nội dung gets lumped in with the others jumping on trends ? Spot them before the crowd does by :

• Asking your customers
• Reading discussions happening in forums
• Running acompetitive analysis
• Celebrating annual events

Partake Foods, for example, posted this tweet that replicated Spotify Unwrapped — the âm thanh platform’s annual round-up of âm nhạc a user listened phệ throughout the year. Only in this case, Partake Foods switched most-listened-to âm nhạc out in favor of top products :

5. Partner with other small businesses

Here’s a great marketing idea if you’re working with zero budget : collaborate with other small businesses whose target market overlaps with yours ( provided the products you sell don’t compete against theirs ) .
Let’s say you had an trực tuyến store selling handmade crockery. Partner with another small business owner that sold handmade vases & lean on each other’s audience & run a co-marketing chiến dịch, such as :

• Co-hosting a webinar
• Giving discounts to each other’s email list
• Shouting each other out on social media 
• Becoming a guest on each other’s podcasts
• Going halves on fees to host a pop-up shop 

The beauty of co-marketing is not only that you tư vấn fellow small business owners, but you get lớn tap into an existing audience for không tính tiền, unlike the influencer marketing route — many of whom charge mập publish sponsored posts .

6. Give quirky product recommendations

Shoppers have various things running through their mind when they’re visiting a mới nhất ecommerce store. At the forefront are questions lượt thích : How bởi vì I know this is the right sản phẩm for me ?
Take the pain out of comparing mới nhất products with quirky recommendations. Thes e don’t require hours of thời gian phệ go into sản phẩm development. Just go beyond “ you viewed this, so sánh you might be interested in this ” categories that grab people’s attention .
Digital consultant Kayleigh Töyrä recommends hàng hóa recommendation lists for :

• People who already have everything
• Gifts you may keep for yourself instead
• Things you don’t need, but may want

Kayleigh adds that with clever copy mập increase sales, mới nhất businesses can “ up – và cross-sell in a more fun way. ”

7. Collect customer feedback

Existing customers are your best friends. They’re the people who have seen your existing digital marketing strategy và purchased off the back of it. Use them as your starting point when developing mới nhất marketing ideas .
Use Shopify Apps lượt thích Post Purchase NPS Survey bự send a customer feedback survey phệ anyone who purchases through your trực tuyến store. Ask what they liked about your hàng hóa, how they discovered you, & the trigger that caused them mập buy .
Use those insights phệ fill your mạng xã hội truyền thông profiles, landing pages, & hàng hóa descriptions with customer testimonials .
Package miễn phí, for example, has a highlight reel of customer ra mắt on its sản phẩm pages. Anyone debating whether phệ trust the retailer is instantly reassured, undoubtedly improving the ecommerce site’s conversion rate :

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8. Enter to win awards

Being voted the “ best ” hàng hóa in your industry is a surefire way lớn build credibility và attract attention. Stephen Light, CMO và co-owner of Nolah Mattress, explains that “ awards offer businesses a solid shot of authority, which is one of the keys béo successful marketing ; you want your audience Khủng know that you offer the best of the best .
“ Regardless of your niche, there are countless awards & accolades offered that you can find with just a little digging. ”
Here’s a starting point for your award submission research :
Whichever awards you enter mập chiến thắng, Stephen says, “ It’s a cost-effective boost of credibility & publicity that can make a big difference with very little investment. Displaying them proudly on your trang web can encourage conversions. ”

9. Attend local events

It’s easy phệ fall into the trap of thinking all of your marketing tactics need lớn be trực tuyến. Granted, building an trực tuyến presence is crucial. But get away from the computer & meet potential customers in the flesh by attending local không 3g events, such as :

• Craft fairs
• Sunday markets 
• Networking events

Check with your local council, many of which have a danh sách of events béo tư vấn small businesses in the area. Sites lượt thích Meetup và Eventbrite also ván up business events in your local thành phố .
Can’t find any ? Host your own. Find a không lấy phí space bự host an sự kiện ( lượt thích the public library ), bring your inventory along, & hand out flyers béo build brand awareness. Just remember Khủng use Shopify’s không lấy phí business thẻ maker bự kiến thiết your business cards & take them with you. Anyone interested in your products but not ready lớn buy can have information phệ visit your trang web later .

10. Sell mystery boxes

Got a bunch of slow-moving products ? Sell them as part of a mystery box — something Kaleigh Moore did for her jewelry business : “ Fill it with slow-moving products & promote them as a surprise, offering at an affordable price point. ”
Mystery boxes work for several reasons :

1. The human brainloves surprises. 
2. Mystery boxes induce the fear of missing out, a phenomenon that causes60% of peopleto make reactive purchases. 
3. You shift slow-moving inventory and create space for more popular (and profitable) inventory.

Zac’s Sweet Shop is another ecommerce retailer that offers mystery boxes. Shoppers not only get the chance lớn try a variety of products at a low price, but the brand has a way bự shift slow-moving or soon-to-expire food products inside each mystery box .

11. Create content optimized for SEO

Sometimes, the most effective trực tuyến marketing ideas are the simplest. They just take a longer phút giây Khủng come mập fruition. But lay the groundwork early & you’ll phối yourself up for success later lao dốc the line .
That’s especially true with tìm kiếm engine optimization ( SEO ), the process of optimizing your trực tuyến store. You’ll appear in tìm kiếm results when people are actively searching for information or entertainment, or béo solve a pain point .
Tie SEO in with a nội dung marketing strategy phệ get your small business off the ground. Write a blog post that targets low-volume từ khoá with a direct tie-in with your products. Go after those with minimal competition béo phối yourself up for success .
Here are some simple nội dung marketing ideas mập get you started :

• Solve a pain point your audience is experiencing
• Write a guest post for a popular publication in your niche
• Tell the story of your existing customers to help new shoppers themselves in their shoes

“The secret is really putting out great content. And putting out great content means a lot of different things, but to me, what I think it means is putting out content that’s relevant to your audience that people really want to read, and understanding how to monetize that content.”Trevor Crotts, founder of BuddyRest

12. Sell themed gift cards

Gift cards improve cash flow. You get the money upfront without immediately needing mập fork out fees lớn produce or ship the sản phẩm béo a customer .
Offer them through your trực tuyến store và prioritize marketing them in peak gift-giving seasons, such as :

• Mother’s or Father’s Day
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday 
• Christmas

Starbucks, for example, sells gift cards year-round. But the retailer keeps an ear bự the ground và creates customized gift thẻ designs based on trending topics. Lyrics from Taylor Swift’s hot nhất tuy nhiên appeared on a Starbucks gift thẻ just four days after it was released .

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Whichever season you’re offering gift cards in, post about them on mạng xã hội truyền thông, send gmail marketing campaigns bự subscribers, & add a pop-up on your trang web mập direct first-time visitors toward your gift thẻ options. You could even offer USD 10 gift cards mập thank existing customers for mua sắm with you — và encourage them mập bởi so sánh again .

Low-cost marketing ideas

Exhausted không tính tiền marketing ideas và looking for tactics that move the needle ? Put these low-cost marketing ideas on your to-do danh sách .

1. Offer free samples
2. Gift free products to influencers
3. Create a referral program
4. Incentivize email sign-ups with discount codes
5. Make an incredible unboxing experience

13. Offer free samples

We briefly touched on the idea that people love không tính tiền things .
If you can absorb the cost of giving away inventory for không tính tiền ( with the goal of turning those people into paying customers later lao dốc the line ), offer không lấy phí sản phẩm samples lớn people who visit your pop-up store or market stall. You can even give samples phệ customers who’ve purchased a hàng hóa from you as an incentive bự buy again .

“People love getting a free gift, and then if they share that kind of thing, it usually leads to good sales on our end.” —David Gaylord, founder ofBushbalm

Made with Local is one brand using this low-cost marketing idea. Sheena Russell, its founder & CEO, says, “ Because we are a sản phẩm / food brand, we’ve had fun using Instacart béo ship gifts — samples of our sản phẩm — lớn people that we’ve recently chatted with about Made with Local. This could be business contacts, potential buyers, etc .
“ You can get samples delivered phệ their door in less than two hours in most big cities, và folks love it. ”

14. Gift free products to influencers

Influencer marketing is big business. Some 87 % of consumers trust advice from mạng xã hội truyền thông influencers when making purchasing decisions. No wonder brands will spend USD 4.62 billion on influencer marketing by 2023 .
But instead of paying for influencers bự talk about your hàng hóa, a low-cost marketing idea is phệ give không tính tiền products Khủng them. Many bloggers have a PO box specifically for press packages .
While it’s not guaranteed that the items you send will be shared, the only thing you’ll pay for is sản phẩm manufacturing costs và shipping fees — a small price lớn pay if an influencer shouts your small business out lớn their loyal audience. ( Though you can boost the chances of having them open your gifts if the unboxing experience is enjoyable. More on that later. )
The Tur-Shirt Company tried this marketing idea. Its founder Terri-Anne Turton sent the brand’s clothing products lớn Instagram influencers in the parenting space. Many of them shared photos of their own children wearing the clothes, tagging The Tur-Shirt Company và directing followers toward its trang web .
“ I gifted her two Tur-Shirts & her kids loved them — they were amazed when they worked out how they work. It was heartwarming và the orders started mập flood in, ” Terri-Anne says. “ I had an influx of orders end the weekend totalling £ 1,300 of sales. ”

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15. Create a referral program

Granted, the goal of marketing is bự drive more revenue. But that revenue doesn’t always come from mới ra customers. Many ecommerce owners forget about one small business marketing strategy with a low barrier phệ entry & high success rate : word-of-mouth marketing .

• “Getting customers to refer other customers is a great way to get more out of your marketing dollars. You can make this easier by using an app like Smile to incentivize customers to refer their friends to buy from you.” —Jason Wong, founder ofDoe Lashes

A customer loyalty program encourages your existing customer base bự recommend your products mập their family và friends. Incentives can be :

• Discount codes 
• Priority access to new products
• Points to redeem on future orders 

Use Shopify Apps lượt thích Referral Candy or LoyaltyLion mập power the program for you. From there, the only investment you’ll make is a small incentive for people phệ join through your referral program. Choose rewards lượt thích priority access Khủng make it even cheaper .
Derric Haynie, chief ecommerce technologist at Ecommerce Tech, did this for an trực tuyến business. It added a small section beneath the customer’s gmail order receipt that said : ” Share your chất lượng referral code & for every customer you refer you will get a surprise gift in your next shipment & they will get a surprise gift in their first shipment. ”
Derric reports this referral marketing program drove more than 15,000 referrals per month .

16. Incentivize email sign-ups with discount codes

There’s no beating around the bush : every small business needs Khủng build an tin nhắn danh sách .
Building a brand on mạng xã hội truyền thông alone is risky. You’re at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms — many of which are pushing brands into paying mập reach the audiences they’ve already built .

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Both SMS & gmail marketing are direct lines of communication for building relationships with your customers. Get their gmail address or phone number ( và consent phệ reach them in those inboxes ) by making the sign-up process irresistible. For many customers, that means offering discount codes .
Research shows that 81 % of shoppers enjoy receiving emails that contain special offers, making it the preferred channel phệ discover coupons. Thos e who use a discount code spend 24 % more than shoppers who don’t .
Again, this marketing idea doesn’t have lớn be ground-breaking. Simply create an gmail pop-up that offers a discount code in exchange for their subscription. Follow that up with an automated tin nhắn chiến dịch with the coupon và a danh sách of bestsellers .

Pattern Beauty uses a discount code as the incentive for trang web visitors béo join its gmail danh sách .

17. Make an incredible unboxing experience

Earlier, we touched on the fact that UGC is a superb way Khủng fill your mạng xã hội truyền thông calendars with nội dung that turns followers into paying customers .
The unboxing experience is a simple way lớn vì that. More than 165,000 people tìm kiếm for “ unboxing ” on YouTube every month, with channels dedicated phệ unboxing experiences lượt thích Unbox Therapy amassing more than 18 million subscribers .
Thes e videos are clearly in demand. So, if you have the flexibility phệ subtract a few dollars from your profit margin, go above và beyond lớn make your unboxing experience share-worthy .
Take it from Bokksu, a Japanese snack subscription box. The retailer experimented with unboxing videos on various mạng xã hội truyền thông platforms, as its founder, Danny Taing, explains : “ We experimented with Facebook. We experimented with Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, lượt thích a whole bunch of the mạng xã hội truyền thông platforms Influencers there .
“ What we found has been most effective has been YouTube, và specifically has phệ be YouTube influencers that have really engaged audiences, & that the influencers themselves really love eating .
“ Our sản phẩm is so sánh hands-on & sensual in a lot of ways, ” Danny says. “ You have bự unbox it & show the snacks, và eat it & talk about it, lượt thích a good five – phệ 10 – minute YouTube video clip gets the job done a lot better than an Instagram post. ”

Small business marketing doesn’t have to be expensive 

Thes e không lấy phí và low-cost marketing ideas prove there’s more phệ promoting a small business than investing in Facebook ads. The trick is béo thử nghiệm different ideas và get creative. Attend local events. Start a podcast. Partner with other businesses in your area. Run Clip marketing campaigns on mạng xã hội truyền thông .
Just don’t forget about the easiest source of creative marketing ideas : the customers already buying from you .

Marketing ideas FAQ

What are some creative marketing ideas for small businesses?

1. Host a social media competition
2. Share user-generated content on social media
3. Produce video tutorials
4. Jump on trending topics
5. Partner with other small businesses 
6. Give quirky product recommendations
7. Collect customer feedback
8. Enter local awards
9. Attend local events
10. Sell mystery boxes
11. Create content optimized for SEO
12. Sell gift cards

How do you come up with marketing ideas?

Your marketing idea should fit your audience, so sánh when coming up with ideas, consider how your audience behaves & what might resonate with them. Also be sure béo thử nghiệm out multiple ideas, so sánh you can see which work best with your audience .

How do you attract customers?

The best way Khủng attract customers is by growing your following on mạng xã hội truyền thông. Having a large mạng xã hội truyền thông following will make it easier phệ thử nghiệm out different marketing ideas và find out which ones work best for your brand .

Source: https://meopari.com