When it comes to marketing for small businesses, especially those just starting out, marketing is going to be a huge part of your focus. Many times you will be competing against major brands with an established presence in your market. For this reason, it is important to get your name out there. Whether you are a new business looking to build brand in your market area or are an established SME looking to boost your bottom line, the following 4 techniques have proven successful.

1) Social Media

You probably only know a handful of people who don’t belong to one social media site or another and that is the same across the board with the entire population. If you want to build brand in your local market as a small business, it is important to become a real presence to people in your community. Research has shown that people like to know who they are dealing with. By setting up a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or even an Instagram page, you are making yourself very real in the eyes of potential customers in your market.

2) Business Directories

Business directories are a great way to get noticed on the Internet. The search engines absolutely love business directories and will quickly pick up small businesses on the SERPs (search engine results pages) which is exactly what you need. If someone is doing a search for your products or services in your specific market area, the business directory with your listing should quickly gain rank. If you take a quick look at some of the better business directories, you will see just how effective they are at SEO for local businesses.

3) Local Marketing

Have you thought of getting listed with Google Local? Bing and Yahoo also have business local listings and they love it when you list with them. Not only will you get a much wider reach through your local listing but it will help the crawlers spot you much quicker. Your business will come up with other pertinent information such as your hours of operation and even a map to show new clients how to find you. For small businesses, this is the perfect solution to getting found.

4) Combining Print & Digital Advertising

Finally, there are reasons why you should also consider traditional print advertising to coincide with your online marketing. Whether you have a flyer in the Sunday paper or a direct mailing campaign, it helps to give prospective customers something tangible that they can keep aside as a visual reminder to contact you. Never underestimate the power of a well-rounded marketing campaign that uses as many techniques as your budget will allow. The more ways you utilise to get your name out there, the quicker you will build brand, name recognition.

Just because you are a small business doesn’t mean that you can’t compete in the market with the big guys. It simply means that you need to hit hard and heavy with a focused marketing campaign designed to reach the majority of prospects quickly. Keep advertising in the same way over a period of time and soon your name will be on their lips when they are in need of what you provide. In fact, locals may even trust you more simply because you are local. Use local techniques for local audiences and you will succeed.