Marketing has gone through an overhaul over the past few years. The traditional stalwarts of the marketing world have been subverted by newer, more accessible and more effective forms of marketing.
Digital advertising has toppled print and TV as the focus for small businesses in the UK. A consistent, focused strategy that is designed to snare a particular demographic should yield invaluable outcomes.
But, if you’re not well-versed in the new world of marketing, how can you discern which strategies are valuable and which are an ill-advised choice for a small business hoping to snag new customers?
Small businesses are most concerned with their ability to acquire new customers and social media and email represent their best opportunity to realize this ambition.
In this piece, we’ve come up with two ways new businesses just starting out can utilize social media and email to create tangible results that’ll benefit the long-term outlook of your organization.
Making use of ephemeral content on social media
A presence on social media is a staple of many small business’ marketing efforts. But what does the next frontier of savvy social media use look like? For many ahead of the curve businesses, their new focus is ephemeral content. Snapchat was the first app to make ephemeral content a central part of their platform. Messages were only available for 10 seconds and stories lasted for no longer than 24 hours.
Instagram quickly borrowed this idea and made stories an integral part of their platform. Twitter has recently followed suit. They all appear right at the top of the news feed/ timeline of their respective apps and they’re an excellent way to get your brand in front of users.
By using polls to stir up debate and test consumer interest in new product lines and services – or simply sharing photos/videos of your business in action – you can generate brand awareness and drive engagement. Being aware of the best ways to utilize ephemeral content will give you a unique advantage over your competitors.
Offering vouchers or discounts for first time customers through email marketing
Most of the growth in the tech space in recent months has been in the food delivery market. Part of this is because the pandemic has forced restaurants throughout the UK to stop welcoming customers in through their doors – and these apps have raced in to absorb what has been left of the market in their wake. But the likes of Deliveroo, Hello Fresh and Uber Eats were all in the ascendancy anyway.
This is thanks to their customer acquisition strategy. They entice new users to make their first order by offering them significant discounts. The availability of these offers often hinge on them being shared with other users – friends, family and colleagues – to generate brand awareness. And because these offers are time sensitive, new users feel under pressure to use them.
Users are then reminded of their offers through targeted email marketing campaigns. By nudging potential customers through email and underscoring the time they have left to take advantage of the offer, businesses are able to consistently acquire new users and tempt their existing customers into spending more money.
In summary
For small businesses,ephemeral content is a savvy way to exploit the massive reach of social media. Equally, email marketing gives businesses the ability to acquire new customers quickly and wring more profits out of their existing ones. They are both effective marketing strategies that every small business should consider.
