As a small business in Brisbane, you know that marketing is essential to your success. But where do you start? And where should you go from there?
We outline the basics of small business marketing and provide tips for taking your marketing efforts to the next level. We’ll cover everything from creating a strong visual identity to developing a social media strategy and making sure your website is analytics-enabled.
So whether you’re just getting started or ready to take your marketing game up a notch, make sure to read on!
TLDR (too long, didn’t read)? Book in a complimentary consult with our partner agency to discuss where you’re at and how to get where you want to be.
The Basics
Whether you’ve been in the Brisbane business game a hot minute or you’re just starting out, make sure you’ve got these basics checked off.
A Strong Visual Identity
Your small business is unique, and your visual identity should reflect that. A strong visual identity includes a well-designed logo, fonts and colour scheme that are consistent across all of your marketing materials.
It sends a confusing message when your social media assets have a completely different look and feel to your website or physical store itself.
A Website
In today’s digital age, every small business needs a website. Your website is often the first point of contact between you and your potential customers, so it’s important to make a good impression.
Your website should be designed with your target audience in mind and include clear calls to action – things like “Book Now” or “Get in Touch”. It should also be optimised for search engines so that potential customers can easily find you online.
With businesses like cafes and other small operations, your website doesn’t have to have every single bell and whistle. A simple one-pager with links to your menus and core information can suffice.
Unsure where to get started with your website? Read top tips for small business websites here.
Know Your Target Audience and Value Proposition
There’s a saying that goes: you can’t be everything to everyone. And this is especially true when it comes to small business marketing.
It’s important to have a clear understanding of your target audience – who are they, what do they like and dislike, what problems do they need solving? – as well as your value proposition.
Your value proposition is the unique selling point that sets your small business apart from the competition. Once you know these things, you can start to develop a marketing strategy that resonates with your target audience and speaks to your unique selling point.
If you’re a cafe, what makes you different from the cafe a block over? Is it specialty coffee? A unique menu?
If you’re a dentist, how do you differentiate yourself from every other dentist in Brisbane?
Google Business
Make sure your small business has a presence on Google Business! This is a free listing that allows customers to easily find your business online and see key information like your opening hours, address and contact details.
It also gives you the opportunity to showcase photos of your products or services, as well as customer reviews.
Creating a Google Business listing is quick and easy, and we highly recommend doing it for any small business in Brisbane.
Now that you’ve got the basics covered, it’s time to start thinking about next steps. Keep reading for our tips on taking your small business marketing up a notch!
Next Steps for Your Brisbane Small Business Marketing
You’re all set up… now what?
Develop A Social Media Strategy
Social media is a powerful marketing tool for small businesses, but only if it’s used correctly.
The first step is to develop a social media strategy. This should include things like what platforms you’re going to use – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok? – as well as what kind of content you’ll be posting.
Your social media strategy should align with your overall marketing goals – are you looking to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website?
It’s also important to consider how often you’ll be posting, who will be responsible for creating content and what kind of time you can realistically dedicate to creating social content.
If you do find yourself stuck for time or ideas, bring in a professional. They’ll be able to work with you to tell your brand’s story and achieve your goals.
Experiment with Video Content
Video is one of the most popular forms of content online, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
As a small business, you can use video to showcase your products or services, tell your brand story or even just give potential customers a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on.
Instagram REELS are a great place to get started if you’re not ready to jump straight into TikTok.
Your videos don’t need to have extremely high production quality either – they just need to be engaging and offer value to your target audience.
Double Down on What Works
Speaking of social media and video, once you’ve experimented with different types of content and started to build up a following, it’s time to start thinking about what’s working and what’s not.
Look at your social analytics – which posts are getting the most engagement? Which videos are being watched all the way through?
Then, start to double down on the content that’s performing well. This doesn’t mean you should only post this type of content from now on – mix it up and keep things interesting – but it does mean you should focus your energy on the content that’s giving you the best results.
Work With Press
If you’re a business, especially a business starting out, there’s so much value in good press. It can be an investment but consider a good public relations agency to launch you.
There are a lot of small businesses in Brisbane, so standing out can be difficult. But with the help of a good PR agency, you can get your small business name out there and start to build up a reputation as an authority in your industry.
If you can’t afford or don’t want to work with a PR agency, be prepared to reach out to publications directly yourself!
When you do this, some top tips to include are:
- A personal greeting
- A unique or otherwise newsworthy story
- Imagery
Work With Creators
The other way to get your name out there is to work with creators in Brisbane. We have such an exciting mix of bloggers, vloggers and influencers across everything from fashion and lifestyle to food and finance.
When reaching out to potential people to collaborate with make sure your initial contact is warm, enthusiastic and specific to their work.
From there, you can start to discuss what kind of collaboration would work best. This could be anything from sending them a product to review to hosting a giveaway on their social media platforms.
Be prepared that many people will not be willing to take contra and they may have fees involved. Do your research into the creator and other brands they’ve worked with to decide which partnerships may be right for you.
Getting Technical
One of the best things about the internet and digital marketing is the degree in which it allows us to measure success. This also helps us to determine where to place our marketing efforts (and budgets!)
Make sure you have the following in place.
Install Analytics on Your Website
No matter what kind of small business you have in Brisbane, one thing is certain – you need to make sure you have analytics set up on your website.
This will allow you to track things like how much traffic you’re getting, where it’s coming from and which pages are being visited the most. You could determine just what press platform or creator is driving traffic to your page, or how much your return on ad spend is on Facebook.
All of this information is invaluable when it comes to understanding your customers and making decisions about your marketing strategy.
There are a number of different analytics programs out there, but Google Analytics is one of the most popular and user-friendly options.
Use Digital Advertising
When it comes to digital advertising there are two main platforms you’d probably want to explore: Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
Google Ads
Google Ads is a platform where you can pay to have your website appear as a sponsored result at the top of the search engine results page based on what people type into the search bar. This is great for getting exposure to people who are already searching for products or services like yours.
A perfect example for a business that might consider Google Ads is a dentist running a campaign for wisdom tooth removal.
On the other hand, a restaurant driving lunch bookings would probably find the cost for a conversion not worth it with the revenue they would generate, so they might want to look into a different platform. Like…
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads is a bit different in that it allows you to target specific demographics with your ads. For example, you could target people in Brisbane who are interested in fashion, or 25 – 35 year olds who have recently gotten engaged.
Facebook may be less useful for very niche circumstances (like the aforementioned wisdom tooth removal) but it’s great for consideration and “wants”. Think things like clothing, or dinner out. Not necessarily a need but something people may want once it’s placed in front of them.
Both platforms have their own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s worth doing some research to see which one would be best for your small business.
Digital marketing is an essential part of growing any small business in Brisbane. By following the tips in this blog post, you’ll be well on your way to putting your small business on the map.
If all this sounds a little overwhelming – or you simply don’t have enough hours in the day – that’s where a marketing agency can come in. Their goal is to work with you to set realistic goals for your small business and then meet (and exceed) them.
If you’re looking for support in the marketing space get in touch with our partner agency, Pop Media. They’ll be able to discuss your goals and assess where you’re at with a free initial consult, simply get in touch.
