How Do I Market My Small Business in 2023?

4 Small Business Marketing Tips for 2023

Four essential and proven marketing practices that will continue into 2023 include the importance of having a professional-looking and updated website, getting lots of 5-star customer online reviews, the use of social media for marketing, and the use of video content to engage customers.

Additionally, the use of data and analytics to track the success of marketing campaigns is likely to become even more critical in the coming years.

Here are four doable marketing practices for your small businesses to undertake in 2023.

1) Have A Professional-Looking and Updated Website

The importance of having a strong online presence starts with a professional-looking website.  It is essential for small businesses for a number of reasons. Some of the key benefits of having an updated website include the following:

1. Increased visibility: A robust website that provides a strong online presence can help your business be seen by more people, which can increase awareness of your brand and drive more traffic to your website.
2. Improved credibility: A well-designed and professional-looking website can help improve the credibility of your business in the eyes of potential customers.
3. Increased customer engagement: A website that includes AI chat or simply the correct hours of operation, phone number, and address allows you to interact with your customers in real-time. This can help you build stronger relationships with your customers and improve customer loyalty.
4. Better access to market data: A website with the correct analytics can provide access to valuable market data and insights, which can help you make more informed decisions about your business.
5. Greater competitiveness: In today’s digital world, having a strong online presence is essential for small businesses to remain competitive. Without a strong online presence, your business may be overlooked by potential customers in favor of competitors who have a more established online presence.

Small Business Takeaway:
80% of your customers use their mobile devices to view your website. Most older websites are not mobile-friendly. Stay up to date! 
Call me to find out how.

Dig Deeper:
10 Key Steps to Building A Great Small Business Website

2) Get Lots of Customer Online Reviews

Online reviews from your customers benefit your small business and your customers too.   It’s a win-win.  The more reviews your product/service has, the more your online footprint improves, and the more growth your business will have in sales.   Here are the reasons online reviews are essential to your brand in 2023:

• 92% of people will hesitate to complete a purchase when there are no reviews (Fan Fuel)
• 94% of consumers typically read written reviews (Fan Fuel)
•Google Reviews received more reviews than any other site, with 68% of consumers reading their reviews (Review Tracker)

Clients always ask me, “How do I get my business ranked higher on a search page?” My answer is, “Get LOTS of positive (5-star) customer reviews on your Google Business profile; this is the most effective way to improve your business search ranking.”  The more reviews you have, the higher your page rank.  Buying Google Ads is the second most straightforward way to get ranked higher, but you need to pay for this.

Customer reviews on your website also improve SEO, and if you have an eCommerce site, you can not compete if you don’t have reviews.  When you post reviews, new customers see you as trustworthy.  They are essential to buyer’s decision-making, increase sales, and give you an opportunity to respond to your customers.  Continue the conversation, encourage repeat purchases, and nurture advocates.

Always encourage happy customers to write reviews. Send them an email with a link to your Google Review section, asking them to write a review.  Often if you don’t ask, they won’t write one.  Listen to your customers and always respond to a review, both negative and positive. Again, it’s all about creating the conversation!

Small Business Takeaway:
Positive Google Reviews boost your ranking on a Google search page.  Reviews benefit the customer research and buying phase.  Encourage consumers to talk about your products and services.  In this age of Conversational Marketing, let them do the work of selling for you!   Call me to find out how.

Dig Deeper:
50+ Statistics Proving the Power of Customer Reviews (Learning Hub)
5 Powerful Advantages of Google Reviews (Podium)

3) Do Some Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing can be an effective way for small businesses to reach and engage with their target audience. Some tips for using social media for small business marketing include:

1. Identify which social media platforms your target audience is most likely to use, and focus your efforts on those platforms.
2. Create engaging and informative content that is relevant to your target audience, and share it regularly on your social media channels.
3. Use social media to connect with your customers and build relationships with them. This can be done by responding to comments and messages and engaging with other users on the platform.
4. Use social media ads to reach a wider audience and target specific demographics. These ads can be an effective way to drive traffic to your website and increase awareness of your brand.
5. Use analytics tools to track the success of your social media marketing efforts and make adjustments as needed to improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Small Business Takeaway:
Your business does not have to be on all social media platforms. Choose the ones that your customers are on.  Do a great job on one or two platforms, and you won’t feel overwhelmed.  Call me to find out how.

Dig Deeper:
HubSpot Webinar: Small Business Guide to Social Media Marketing 

4) Use Video

The use of video in small business marketing is becoming increasingly popular, and for a good reason. Video is a powerful and engaging medium that can help businesses connect with their customers and deliver their marketing messages in a more impactful way. Some of the key benefits of using video in small business marketing include the following:

1. Increased engagement: Video is highly engaging and can help hold the attention of viewers for extended periods of time. This can be especially useful for businesses that want to deliver complex or detailed information to their audience.
2. Improved visibility: Video is highly shareable and can be easily shared on social media and other online platforms. This can help increase the visibility of your business and reach a wider audience.
3. More significant emotional impact: Video allows businesses to communicate with their audience in a more personal and emotional way. This can help build stronger connections with customers and improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
4. Better search engine optimization: Search engines often give higher rankings to websites that feature video content, which can help improve the visibility of your website in search results.
5. Increased conversion rates: The use of video in marketing has been shown to improve conversion rates, as it can help persuade viewers to take the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

Small Business Takeaway:
You don’t have to hire a costly video production company.  Use your cell phone. But do make sure your audio and lighting are crips and clear. It’s the message that counts.     Call me to find out how.

Dig Deeper:
New York Times Article: A Beginner’s Guide to Taking Great Video on Your Phone

And Finally, the use of data analytics for small businesses to measure growth is becoming increasingly important for small businesses

to track the success of their marketing efforts. By using data and analytics tools, businesses can gain valuable insights into how their marketing campaigns are performing and make adjustments as needed to improve their effectiveness. Some of the key benefits of using data and analytics in small business marketing include:

1. Improved targeting: Data and analytics can help businesses identify their target audience and tailor their marketing efforts to better reach and engage with this audience.
2. Increased efficiency: By tracking the performance of marketing campaigns, businesses can identify which tactics are most effective and allocate their resources accordingly. This can help improve the efficiency of marketing efforts and reduce wasted resources.
3. Better decision-making: Data and analytics provide businesses with a wealth of information that can be used to make more informed decisions about their marketing efforts. This can help businesses identify opportunities for improvement and make adjustments to their strategies as needed.
4. Enhanced customer insights: Data and analytics can provide businesses with insights into their customers’ behavior, preferences, and needs. This can help businesses create more personalized and effective marketing campaigns.
5. Increased ROI: By using data and analytics to track the success of marketing campaigns, businesses can optimize their efforts to maximize their return on investment. This can help businesses achieve better results from their marketing efforts and generate more revenue.

There’s a lot to do in 2023.  Let me know if I can be of help. Happy New Year!

Get my help with your 2020 small business marketing strategies today!