You thought I was going to say Kardashians didn’t you? As a business owner, it’s part of your job to keep up with marketing trends. Your business can’t grow and succeed if you’re stuck in your old marketing ways that are outdated and ineffective.
What does it mean to keep up with marketing trends, and what can you do to ensure you’re doing so efficiently? Here are some tips:
Know Your Audience
Knowing your audience means you know where they go to find services. Generally, people go to the internet. When you target your marketing to your audience, you will be able to better adapt to marketing trends and the current marketing outlets. When you reach out to your customers, make it something that would fit their style. For example, if you run a business offering plumbing services, you likely want to target it to homeowners, rather than teenagers. Why? Because that is your audience and that is who you’re trying to attract.
Know Your Competition
That’s right, keeping an eye on your competitors and what marketing strategies they are using will help you to know what you should be doing. If you see that they’re doing something that works, why not try something similar? Marketing is all about testing and trying new things. Don’t be afraid to jump in and try out some new marketing method that has proven effective for other businesses, especially if they are in your industry. Watch how your competitors communicate with customers so you can pick up tips. You will learn things that you want to utilize, as well as things that you will want to stay away from!
Keep Up with the Internet
Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to run a successful business without being online. Everyone searches online for businesses to help them with the services that they need. It’s quite uncommon for people to find you anywhere else. It’s important that you keep up with the marketing trend of being present online! That’s a huge one that isn’t going away. Make yourself as present online as possible.
Utilize Social Outlets
We all know that people spend too much time on social media. As a business owner, however, this can be used to your advantage. Creating social pages for your business on several social media outlets is a marketing trend that most businesses have caught onto. If yours hasn’t yet, now is the time! Again, social media isn’t going anywhere, and it is used heavily. Take advantage of the fact that most are free, and get yourself out there!
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!