All businesses know how important marketing is, but having a good marketing strategy is easier said than done. This applies even more to small businesses that may not have the capacity for a dedicated team of marketing experts. As a result, marketing for small businesses is a tricky task.
With trends constantly changing (we have an article on marketing: then vs now for more information on this!) and competitors always looking to get the edge, it can be hard to keep up. With this in mind, we’ve put together a few key trends that small businesses in Edinburgh should be aware of in the world of marketing.
Small businesses don’t have millions of pounds in their budgets to spend on creating a wide range of content. That’s why collecting data and implementing it when creating marketing content is essential.
HubSpot says 54% of people prefer video over written content. So you should be making more videos than anything else!
By collecting data on things like social media engagement, click-through rate on emails, and conversion rate from your landing pages, you can learn about what works and what doesn’t. This will save you time and money in future whilst bringing a greater return on investment.
You can also track things like location of people who engage with your content. Are they all local to you in Edinburgh, or is there the potential for a market elsewhere?
Have you noticed that your Facebook ads don’t work quite as well as they used to? People are more informed about data collection and privacy issues. This has led to more protection over personal data, making it harder for adverts to target the right audiences.
This doesn’t have to be a hindrance, though. Adapt with the changing environment by being honest and transparent about any data you’re collecting. And there are different, more interactive ways of learning about your audience than through third-party cookies. Try encouraging reviews, or ask customers to fill out a survey.
This isn’t exactly a “new” trend, but it’s still something businesses should be aware of! You will have seen reels blow up on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook since the dawn of TikTok. Businesses can harness this type of content to really boost their social media profile. It’s quick to make, popular with audiences, and can be done on your phone!
I said earlier there had been an increase in consumers protecting their privacy. It goes hand-in-hand with this that they are looking for honest, authentic businesses to buy from. This means your content should show your business to be just that! Show the reality of your business with your content and be as transparent and open as you can be.
I’ve talked about paid ads becoming less effective. This is in part because it’s more competitive than ever. For small businesses, this is another reason to be wary of spending your marketing budget on ads. Whilst it can still be an effective tool to grow an audience, your money could be better spent on focussing on an organic content strategy. If you implement your data collection in the right ways, then there’s no reason you can’t grow your audience organically!
There we have it, YouMore’s top 5 marketing trends for small businesses in 2023. We hope you’ve found it helpful! Check out our Learn Page for more useful tips.
