3 Steps to Nailing an Effective (And Easy!) Marketing Plan

Marketing

Jun 16

Creating a marketing plan for your small business feels like throwing darts and waiting to see what sticks; there are just so many platforms to choose from.

While it makes sense for a marketing plan to evolve over time, it’s important to put some thought into each iteration.

Step 1: Determine your target market

Your target market is the particular group your offers (products/services) are geared towards.

Many business owners find it helpful to create an ideal customer profile that details the demographics (age, gender, marital status/children, income range, if they live in an urban/suburban/urban setting, etc.) as well as their qualities, such as their favorite media, daily routines, and dreams.

Don’t be afraid to be specific and niche down.

You could also create an ideal customer avatar complete with a name. The point is to know your customer inside and out. This allows you to connect with them, understand (and solve) their pain points, and determine which marketing platforms you should be on.

For a deep dive into determining your target market, check out my Self-Employed School online course.

Step 2: Pick your platforms

Before the digital age, marketing was much simpler. Public relations, advertising, and word-of-mouth were the main sources of traffic.

Now there’s email, websites, and a plethora of social media outlets. And you don’t have to be on all of them.

Remember your target audience? You only have to be where they are. (So if baby boomers are the majority of your target audience, you can skip TikTok.)

Self-Employed School will help you pick the right platforms based on your target audience and your skillset, but I recommend that all businesses have a website and an email newsletter. Email is actually more effective than social media and allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. And websites are not only a marketing channel, but a sales one as well.

The Most Effective Marketing Channels For Small Business - Ranked →

To give you a head start, this post will help you determine which social media platforms are best for your business.

Step 3: Set your frequencies

There’s so much noise that you have to post daily on social media to be successful.

I disagree.

Quality is more important than quantity, and consistency is most important.

Big businesses with big budgets have the resources to staff an entire marketing department that keeps up with daily posts across multiple platforms. Small business owners don’t - and that can be advantageous.

People connect with people, and the shop small trend is still going strong.

This is why it’s more important to market with quality than with quantity. Yes, marketing is a numbers game, but your potential customers will respond better to a few well executed posts and emails than they would to poor quality campaigns that are pushed out often.

Instead, focus on showing up consistently. It’s preferable to start with a slow, manageable frequency and be consistent than to post four times one week, seven times the next, and once the following week.

Start slow, and when you’re confident you can increase your frequency, then do so.

Psst! Here are five ways to save time on social media.

Rather just hire someone to manage your marketing for you?

I get it, but hiring out can actually take more time and lead to less of a connection with your audience. And connection is essential when a potential customer is comparing you to a competitor.

Bonus: How much money should I spend on marketing?

Marketing is essential for growing your business, and now it’s easier than ever, which is why I recommend businesses take advantage of free marketing channels before diving into advertising – especially Facebook and Google ads.

It can be tempting to boost a Facebook post to grow its reach, but only do so if your post is promoting a timely offer, like a sale or upcoming event.

Whatever money you do spend on marketing and advertising, be sure to track the results to see if it actually worked, and save your invoices. You can write off these expenses and reduce your tax liability!

While creating an effective marketing strategy can feel like throwing darts, going in with a plan and tweaking it as necessary will help you hit that bull’s eye.

—

If you enjoyed this post, you can buy me a coffee or connect with me here. Thank you! =)