2021 Small Business Marketing

One Step at a Time

One of the things that my mom instilled in me at a very young age is the importance and value of mastering ‘baby steps’. The baby step philosophy is that in order to conquer any big task or project you break it up into smaller, baby steps that are more attainable. 

It’s interesting how his baby step philosophy is valuable for almost every facet of life (motherhood, marriage, finances, house projects, etc.), but it’s also incredibly valuable to use when starting a business and then marketing it.

So, how is a small business supposed to market themselves in 2021 when the pandemic is still upending our normal day-to-day lives and businesses have been forced to improvise their business models drastically?

I dove head first into a wide array of marketing articles, blog posts, infographics that hit my inbox these past few weeks about what this year’s marketing landscape might look like. I took the best practices I know about marketing and merged that with 2021 marketing trends in the digital, social, SEO and branding spaces. There’s a lot I could talk about to help you flush out your business goals and marketing objectives, but I narrowed it down to 8 things that are the most impactful and relevant in my personal option. I would not encourage any small business to add all of these line items to their 2021 marketing plans. Instead, I would encourage you, a small business owner, to read through the list of items, download my free 2021 small business marketing plan template and then determine what makes most sense for you and your business. 

1. Define your brand & establish your marketing plan. 

This might sound like an overwhelming or unnecessary task for some. But, this is a non-negotiable in terms of long-term business success. Most marketing plans are incredibly overwhelming for small business owners. And, if you never put one together, you may not even know where to start. So, I created this two page marketing plan for small businesses that’s about as simple as they come. 

Your brand is a combination of design elements and messaging that reflects your core business values and resonates with your target audience.

While building a marketing plan without having a well defined brand is virtually impossible, the same could be said if it were the other way around; a well defined brand without an established marketing plan is pointless. 

Practical Baby Step: Let’s get you and your business set up for success this year! Download the worksheet below, read through the rest of this blog post, and then take an hour or two to complete the plan.

2. Prioritize purpose-driven marketing.

Brands are often shy about taking a stance on causes closest to their hearts. But, more and more research is showing that brands that show inclusivity and brands that fight for a good cause (ones that are universally accepted by most individuals) — see an increase in brand loyalty. Obviously, this isn’t a small decision to make for most businesses. And, you must know your audience well before you make any big decisions in this department. But, a fine example of a business that masters this technique well and has done so for years is Subaru. Subaru surveyed their customers and found that most of them are dog owners. So, what did they do? They created an entire Subarua Loves Pets Initiative.

Practical Baby Step: Write down a list of causes that you think line up with your target audience values. Survey a few close customers, and if you find a common theme amongst them — consider developing a plan for how your business can help contribute to that cause. 

3. Strengthen your digital footprint. 

A digital footprint is the digital space that your business occupies online (website, social accounts, online listings, etc.).

Having a strong digital footprint is important to managing your organic SEO efforts. But, for a lot of small businesses managing all of your local online listings, all your social platforms and your website is an incredibly overwhelming task. 

Practical Baby Step: My suggestion is for small businesses is to focus on one area of your digital footprint at a time. Start with your website. Once a robust, SEO-friendly website has been created, then move on to your social platforms. Once your social accounts have been created and social media strategy has been set in place, then move onto local citations. For local citations, I encourage clients to use a platform that can do all of the legwork for you (like Brightlocal). For website/SEO and social media needs, I would encourage small businesses to outsource both, if there is not capacity to take on either of those items in house exists.

4. Consider starting a blog. 

Speaking of a digital footprint, let’s talk about the best way to establish one — a blog. Blogs take maintenance and consistency. But, they’re a surefire way of creating a considerable traffic for your site. I have helped clients with websites that don’t have blogs and ones that do. The stats are obvious. Long after a blog post has been posted, you can still see a substantial amount of website traffic because of just one post. And, what that ultimately means for your business is exposure and potential new leads.

Practical Baby Step: If you think a blog is something you would be interested in, consider outsourcing the writing to a blogging company. Or, stick with small, medium and long blog post types that you can create ahead of time, and schedule out on your website for a later date.

5. Create meaningful content.

Customers want to be reminded of why they purchase from you, why they follow you and/or why they trust your expertise. Videos, infographics, podcasts, newsletters, listicles, white pages, blog posts, worksheets, guides, quizzes, ebooks, etc. — anything that shows value to a customer is incredibly important to leverage in your business.

Practical Baby Step: Pick one area of content marketing that you feel you excel at. Then, learn how your business can best optimize it. Videos are first on my list above because there is a lot of data on the perks of using video. But, if you aren’t comfortable on camera or don’t want to make the investment in good videography, consider picking another content marketing strategy that best suits you. 

6. Pick one social platform and leverage it well.

Know your audience and figure out which social media platform they’re likely to spend most of their time on. Then leverage that social platform. You can have more than one social media account.

Don’t let having multiple accounts stop you from managing the most important one for your business really well.

Once you’ve mastered one then you can move on to others, but take social media one step at a time, and determine how you can use just one platform to advance your business.

Practical Baby Step: Set aside one day at the end of the month to plan out all of your social media content on one channel for the upcoming month. Use Airtable’s calendar feature to move tiles around filled with various topics and captions, until you get your calendar just right. If you’re focusing on Facebook and/or Instagram, make sure you leverage the Facebook Creator Studio feature which is free for Facebook business accounts. 

7.) If you sell products, ensure your e-commerce is robust. 

The biggest way Covid-19 has affected small businesses is through product distribution. Many store front business owners have had to drastically overhaul the way they sell their product. If you haven’t created a robust e-commerce website and strategy yet, that’s okay. It’s still worth the hassle.

Many studies are showing that people will continue to leverage online shopping even well after the pandemic is over.

One area of growth for small businesses selling online is setting up social-commerce (selling through Instagram and Facebook). It’s a trend for 2021 that has been gaining momentum for months now and is expected to be of serious value throughout the rest of this year. 

Practical Baby Step: If you sell physical products, develop an e-commerce strategy that best suites you. Businesses like ShipBob take care of warehousing and offer 2-day shipping. They also integrate with Squarespace e-commerce. It’s something to consider for small businesses who are wanting to go big with their e-commerce goals.

8. Build community. 

The one thing people really missed in 2020 was “community.” Businesses who helped provide that sense of community through online events or groups on Facebook, etc. helped meet that need. 

Practical Baby Step: What type of online event or group can you create to help build that sense of community for your current and potential customers? An online event could be something as simple as a Facebook or Instagram Live one evening. Or, it could be a more elaborate event with a guest speaker, etc. Consider what makes most sense for your business, budget and target audience, and then go from there. 

Moral of the Story

At the end of the day, it’s best to take a look at this list and make sure you that you don’t try to boil the ocean. Start small, but don’t not start at all. The risk of not getting it exactly right for your business is worse than not taking on any project at all. 

Baby steps, one step at a time. Encouraged by this message? Download my Mac wallpaper below.

Need helping building your small business marketing plan?

I’ve got your back. I offer two hour consulting meetings for business owners who want to do a lot of the marketing work themselves but need just a little bit of assistance in ensuring their plan is on the right track towards success.

Send me an email if you’re interested in a consult, and let’s get you and your business set up for success in 2021!