The online world of advertisements, shopping, and the constant consumption of some kind of content can be very overwhelming to people and can make your business’s message get easily swept away. Here are ten tips for keeping your marketing tactics simple yet attention-grabbing in a world of short attention spans and endless content.
Know your mission statement
Perhaps one of the simplest and most obvious yet potentially challenging ways to know the message you want to portray about your business is to know your mission statement. If you understand why your business exists and what its purpose is, then you can more easily condense that purpose into bite-sized forms of marketing that your target audience can easily consume, drawing them in.
Know your target audience
Along with truly knowing and living your business’s mission statement, understanding who you want and need to sell is also very important. If you try to sell to everyone, you will most likely run into a similar issue of trying to get many people to see your online advertisement: you’re spreading yourself too thin and trying to reach people who might not even be interested in your product in the first place. If you find a specific market that you think would genuinely benefit from your product and who will actually buy from you, then you’re in much better shape.
Make use of SMART goals
SMART goals– which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound – can help you narrow down your goals, keep them realistic, and ensure that they are worthwhile to chase after. With a focus on measurable and time-bound goals, make sure you can actually account for the things you want to achieve or keep track of and set time limits for yourself so you don’t spend too much time on any one goal. You can use all of these factors together to make sure you have the ability to measure your goals and achievements and complete them on time.
Keep your words and messages short
Another element you want to keep in mind is the actual way you word things in your ads, slogan, and general messaging about your business. People can easily get bored or confused by long, drawn-out explanations about your product or overall business and move on without the plan of purchasing from you. Make sure to keep your messages short and sweet for you and your potential consumers.
Be bold and creative
Along with having a simple message, it’s important to stand out through all of the clutter that consumers will be facing as they look through advertisements and product offerings online. One way you can stand out without adding a bunch of unnecessary words that over-complicate your mission statement and product offerings is to be bold and creative in your marketing. Come up with a short yet catchy slogan or design an eye-catching yet not too busy logo to combine bold and simple.
Make sure your marketing mix is also simple
To keep things simple, you want not only your mission statement to be easy to comprehend but also the basics of your marketing mix, which includes your products, the place you sell, and the price. If you have a good grasp on what your customers want, where your products will be sold, what you can sell your products for, and how you will help customers, then you can move forward in making your overall marketing as simple as possible.
Attend or create events
One way to reach potential consumers online or in person is by participating in events, whether they are events you host or attend. This will start to get your business out there in the world, perhaps reaching people who might not have known about your business before.
Use giveaways or offer samples to customers
If you’re not sure how to keep customers loyal and coming back to your business, you could offer a giveaway, sweepstake, or sample to give people a chance to experience your products for free. This will incentivize them to interact with you and your business and could lead to more people returning to your business in the future.
Build visibility through social media
Not only could you set up a social media account for your business on multiple platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, but you could also get your business’s name out there by being featured or interviewed on a podcast, writing blogs on other sites, or posting online advertisements.
Build an email list
One final thing you can do to reach out to more people who are currently interested in your business is to build an email list. Returning to item 4, make sure your emails to current and potential customers are short and sweet and don’t take up too much of someone’s time. This could lead to customers thinking you’re needy or create an image of spam associated with your business.
There is no one right way to market your business, but you can start with some of these simple steps to be on your way to reaching the people you want with the message you want.
Works Cited
Antoine, Charlie. “Don’t Complicate Your Marketing: Keep It Simple!” Accelity, Don’t Complicate Your Marketing: Keep It Simple! (accelitymarketing.com).
Errington, Keith. “10 ways to keep your content marketing simple.” Equinet, 1 June 205, 10 ways to keep your content marketing simple (equinetmedia.com).
Holtzclaw, Eric. “10 Simple Marketing Tips for Small Businesses.” Inc., 26 Sept. 2013, 10 Simple Marketing Tips for Small Businesses | Inc.com.
Nikitas, Ariana. “Want more results from your marketing? Make it simple.” Crystal Clear Communications, Want more results from your marketing? Keep your marketing simple. (crystalclearcomms.com).
Pandya, Shilpa. “Keeping it Simple Could Be Your Road to Success.” HubSpot, last updated 1 Feb. 2017, Keeping it Simple Could Be Your Road to Success (hubspot.com).
