Read on for tips and unique ideas to reinvigorate your marketing efforts for your creative small business ↓ ↓
It’s easy to fall into a hum-drum rhythm of the same old marketing strategies.
You’ve grown familiar with them, you’re comfortable, and they’ve worked – more or less. But over time, this can lead to a creative rut. Views and engagement can flatline. Sticking with just one platform and/or one approach can limit your visibility, your long term engagement, and slowly lead to a creative doldrums.
With the recent reminder that social media platforms are not always reliable, now is a great time to diversify, fire up a new part of the brain and learn something new.
Let’s breathe new life into your marketing efforts!
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Diversifying your marketing efforts across multiple platforms helps you:
- Reach a Wider Audience.
- What works on one platform might not resonate on another.
- Reach different segments of potential customers.
- Build Brand Trust and Credibility.
- When potential customers encounter your content in various spaces, it builds credibility and trust.
- Diversification Acts as a Safeguard.
- Relying too heavily on one marketing channel (like social media or email marketing) leaves you vulnerable to algorithm changes, policy updates, or even platform failures.
- Exploring New Strategies also Boosts Sreativity.
- Inspires fresh ideas, invigorating excitement and breaking free from a marketing rut!
Boost your creativity WHILE diversifying your marketing strategy! Try these approaches:
Go Old School!
Word of mouth is a powerful thing! Here are some ways to creatively engage with customers and have them returning with friends.
- Provide an incredible/memorable shopping experience they’ll be talking about!
- Give customers (well-designed) vouchers and coupons
- Develop a rewards punch card! (Yes, an actual physical punch card – they’re back!)
- Design a fun poster with unique color palettes, and put it up around town!
Get ‘Influential’
- Connect with a local micro-influencer whose vibe and audience feel like the perfect fit. You can start by offering a fun collab with perks they can’t resist.
- Put together a brand kit and deliver to businesses around town that could be potential brand partners.
- Offer a ‘brand ambassador’ program
Branch into Email & Newsletters
Intentional email lists are a powerful marketing tool. Instead of just sales-focused emails, consider what types of engaging content you could offer your audience.
- Educate subscribers on a topic you have expertise in.
- Share your brand story.
- Feature customers and how they use your product.
- Try out Substack!
Go Local!
Seeking out opportunities can be scary, but really rewarding. Make a list of local businesses that are looking for goods, have space for workshops, art shows, or pop-up shops.
- Pitch your brand to local businesses for a pop up shop
- Create a wholesale catalog and set up meetings with local retail buyers
- Explore strategic brand partnerships with product adjacencies
- Propose a workshop
- Host an off-beat/unexpected event
Try a New Platform!
Instagram and Tiktok may be the queen bee’s in town, but there are other platforms that can be just as effective for marketing your business!
- Pinterest
- Give Pinterest for business a shot! It is a marketing tool powerhouse for creative small businesses. Easily create product catalogs from your Etsy listings.
- LinkedIn
- Helpful in thoroughly building your brand. Join groups and engage in community discussions, connect with other business owners, and showcase your work in a portfolio.
- Reddit
- Engage in Niche Subreddits
- Host an ‘ask me anything’ on a relevant subreddit
Do you have some margin in your day-to-day business life right now? Could that time be utilized to creatively brainstorm alternative marketing strategies for your creative small biz?
Has anything on this list sparked some ideas? Let us know in the comments!
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