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☆ 2 founders share how developing a personal brand elevated their businesses — and 3 tips for building your own
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Building a personal brand as a founder can help your company appear more trustworthy. "Building a personal brand connected to your business is more important than ever because people won't do business with anyone they don't trust," she said. In a 2021 survey , four in five Americans said companies were more influential when their founder or executives had a personal brand consumers knew about, trusted, and followed. BI asked Mai and Gotlib for advice on building a personal brand as a founder. Connect your personal and professional selvesCertain aspects of a founder's personal life may also resonate with their company's audience.

Persons: SBOs, —, Quynh Mai, Mai, she's, Anouck Gotlib, Gotlib, It's, what's, it's, nauseam, I'm Organizations: Small, Service, Belgian Boys, BI, Belgian Locations: Brooklyn , New York, Belgian

☆ 3 ways small-business owners can use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, plan campaigns, and create a cheap marketing strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She said ChatGPT helped her cut her launch timeline to about a month and see new possibilities for marketing. Here are three ways these small-business owners have experimented with AI to support their marketing strategies. In October, Alert used ChatGPT to help her conceptualize and organize an influencer event, so she didn't need to pay for an event planner. To help with user research, she asked ChatGPT for ideas about the types of users she might target. ChatGPTSmith said she likes to approach working through ideas with ChatGPT as if she's chatting with a colleague.

Persons: ChatGPT isn't, SBOs, —, Candice Smith, Dion Lamar Mills, Smith, Marina Guastavino, ChatGPT, Guastavino, Marcela Rogante, ChatGPT Smith Organizations: Small, Service, French Press, French Press Public Relations

☆ Remarketing is a low-cost and effective advertising strategy — small-business owners share the 3 tips they swear by
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Remarketing to customers who have previously engaged with your brand can lead to new purchases. Insider talked with the Glassers and Karasin to learn about remarketing strategies for small businesses on a budget. The Glassers agreed that showing new aspects of their brand to customers is an effective strategy when remarketing. "If you're wanting to start running remarketing ads, have a few different types of content and a few different kinds of audiences and see what's working and what's not," she said. To monitor ad performance effectively, Karasin suggested that nontechnical business owners get support in setting up their pixels and attribution tracking.

Persons: remarket, SBOs, —, Lindsey, Courtney Glasser, Lindsay Glasser, Lindsey Glasser, Grey, Joe Karasin, Karasin, it's, what's Organizations: Small, Service, PPC, YouTube Locations: remarketing

☆ YouTube ads aren't just for big companies — founders share 3 tips for using them to target customers and show off products
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

YouTube video ads allow businesses to target specific groups without spending a fortune. This article is part of "Marketing for Small Business," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. Here, two small business leaders offer tips for using YouTube ads and explain how it benefits their companies. YouTube ads can also be targeted based on location, a business' search terms, and other factors, Orzechowski said. Orzechowski said he'd seen video ads created with smartphones generate just as much, if not more, engagement than highly polished ones.

Persons: SBOs, —, Chris Orzechowski, hasn't, Orzechowski, Kenneth Burke, you'll, he'd, Burke Organizations: YouTube, Small, Service, Google Locations: New Jersey, Chattanooga , Tennessee

☆ 3 tips for mastering niche-community marketing, according to small-business founders who used private Facebook groups to drive sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider talked to Soomro and Gatsos Young for advice on how other small-business owners could successfully market in smaller online communities. Danish SoomroSometimes this is very straightforward — for instance, when marketing Devi, Soomro joined several entrepreneurship groups, since those include his target audience. "If you're in a huge community, you might not even get noticed," Gatsos Young said. To find the right groups, Soomro said, you can search Facebook by keyword or look online for top groups for your audience segment (e.g., "top groups for female entrepreneurs"). Sales is an inherent benefit of being part of these communities, but you shouldn't approach them with the intention of getting business, Gatsos Young said.

Persons: SBOs, —, Danish Soomro, Soomro, Devi, Laura Gatsos Young, Gatsos Young, it's Organizations: Facebook, Small, Service, Devi Locations: Danish

☆ Product giveaways are a win-win for small businesses and customers — founders share 3 ways to get the most from every one
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Product giveaways can help small businesses get social-media followers and find new audiences. Small businesses share how they run giveaways and the benefits they see. Partner up to cross-sellTeaming up with similar brands can enhance the results of a social-media giveaway, Wen said. Wen said they planned to test video content for giveaways and hold giveaways on TikTok. Wen says product giveaways give small businesses a chance to get creative and connect with customers in an authentic way — as long as the businesses are intentional and true to their brand.

Persons: SBOs, —, Wendy Wen, Oana Borcoman, Evans Wilson, Borcoman, It's, Wen Organizations: Small, Service, Advertising Specialty Institute, Bocce's

☆ How 2 successful small-business owners use YouTube for cheap, sustainable, SEO-driven marketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Starting a YouTube channel can be a heavy lift but can have big marketing benefits. "My clients joke around that if you have a question, I've probably got a YouTube video on it," Liszewski said. Maximize the SEO benefitsOne of the best ways to grow your YouTube channel — and business — is to tap into its SEO potential. While monetization can be a nice perk (and help offset any costs associated with creating YouTube videos), Liszewski said it shouldn't be the primary goal for business owners using YouTube as a marketing channel. Charon swears by batching her YouTube content creation.

Persons: SBOs, —, Mariah Liszewski, Liszewski, she's, Mariah, Dielle, Charon, she'd, She's, I've, soley, she'll, shouldn't, batching Organizations: Small, Service, Mariah Magazine, YouTube

☆ 4 small-business owners who swear by podcast interviews explain why they're a marketing strategy worth prioritizing
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider talked with small-business owners to find out how to make the most of podcast interviews for marketing. Share your story instead of sellingGlogovac said you shouldn't go into podcast interviews with the mindset of pitching your product or service. Gunn likes to alternate between doing podcast interviews and writing online articles about similar topics to give customers multiple touchpoints. D'Angelo links to some of her favorite podcast interviews on the services page of her website, in part because it helps create warmer leads. Get yourself out there on a regular basisIt's important to give podcast interviews time — and do them consistently — to see results.

Persons: SBOs, —, Paul Gunn Jr, Michelle Glogovac, Lisa Haukom, Glogovac, Bryan Clayton, he's, Clayton, Gunn, Candice D'Angelo, Halle Alessia, D'Angelo Organizations: Small, Service, Kuog Inc, Vox Media, Halle Locations: Alabama, Florida

☆ 3 reasons short-form video is one of the best — and cheapest — marketing tools small businesses can use
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Short-form videos can be produced easily and inexpensively and offer high levels of engagement. This is just one example of how the New Orleans education and management firm uses short-form videos. Short-form videos are typically between five and 90 seconds and are often used as Instagram reels and stories, TikTok videos, and YouTube shorts. A Sprout Social survey found that three in five consumers consider short-form videos the most engaging type of social content. Short-form videos are easy to produce with a smartphone, making them an inexpensive way for small businesses to reach social-media audiences.

Persons: SBOs, —, Krystal Allen, Allen, Vanessa Rissetto, it's, Vanessa, Rissetto, you've, that's Organizations: Small, Service, Allen Consulting Locations: New Orleans

☆ I tried every marketing tool to build my small business but nothing worked until I went all in on SEO — within 2 years, I was making $1 million in annual revenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This article is part of "Marketing for Small Business," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. Aside from the fact that trying to be on every distribution channel was exhausting, it also wasn't working. He encourages businesses to focus on a single product, a single target audience, and a single distribution channel until they hit $1 million in revenue. My advice for others who want to choose a single distribution channel is that it has to feel expansive, like something you want to do. I simplified my funnelYour marketing distribution channel is not synonymous with your funnel.

Persons: Meredith Noble's, Noble, SBOs, —, Meredith Noble, Alexandra Lustig, Dan Martell, it's, It's, we've Organizations: Small, Service, PR, Google

☆ 4 tips for small businesses to get more customer reviews — and what to do with the feedback
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Reviews are a low-cost way to market your business and get live feedback from customers. Here, two small-business owners offer advice for collecting customer reviews and using them to scale their businesses. In a BrightLocal survey of shoppers, 88% of respondents said they were likely to use a business that responded to all customer reviews. When you ask for reviews and respond to them, you let your customers know that you value their feedback, Elston said. "Customer reviews are your live focus group where you get really valuable feedback that you can use to enhance the customer experience, enhance your product, and enhance your business overall," she said.

Persons: SBOs, —, Caroline Elston, Elston, Platterful, Ann, Noder, they'd, she's Organizations: Small, Service, Indiana, Consumers, Public, Phoenix, Google, Federal Trade Commission

☆ 5 tips for small businesses that want to try SMS marketing, from a founder who saw her profits double
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Short-message-service, or SMS, marketing can be a powerful way to engage customers. Insider talked to Vasquez and the marketing consultant Danielle Reid to understand what small-business owners should know about setting up a successful SMS marketing campaign. Reid said it's a good idea to regularly remind customers that they can opt out of SMS marketing if they no longer want you to contact them. Offer something of valueBefore she schedules any text message, Vasquez asks herself: Is this providing value? Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents said they learned of an interesting sale or promotion from a brand's text message that they wouldn't have known about otherwise.

Persons: SBOs, —, Ashley Vasquez, Zachary Dripps, Vasquez, Danielle Reid, Reid, Britney Kelsey, they've, Dripps, it's, that's Organizations: Small, Service, Los Locations: Los Angeles

☆ 3 tips for creating branded merch your customers will love, from small-business owners and marketing experts who have used it to build vibrant brand communities
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When it comes to growing a business, there's definitely a wrong way to do branded merchandise. Insider spoke with small-business owners and marketing experts about how to use branded merchandise effectively. Your brand should still be incorporated subtly on any merchandise you're giving out or selling to customers, Hofman said. The Anti-Diet PlanUse swag as an incentive for marketing or sales objectivesSimply having customers use your branded merchandise can provide low-cost, word-of-mouth marketing. Sharon LevinKassis has used branded merchandise to encourage customers to share their experience with Product League on social media.

Persons: SBOs, —, there's, Amanda Hofman, Bryan Clayton, Vistaprint, Hofman, Moriya Kassis, Julia Guignard, Kassis, it's, Clayton, Danielle Reid, Reid, Sharon Levin Kassis, She's Organizations: Small, Service, Product League, League Locations: swag

☆ 3 reasons social listening can be the best way to connect small businesses with customers and inspire products
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Social listening refers to monitoring your social media for customer feedback and industry trends. Social listening isn't easy, but small-business founders say it's worth your time. Here, two small-business owners explain how social listening benefits their companies. Sharma and Arias handle most of the social listening for their companies, with help from their small teams and the tools available within social platforms. "It's very manual," Arias said, adding that her customer-care consultant helped with day-to-day social listening and responding to comments and DMs.

Persons: SBOs, —, Ash Sharma, Sharma, Noa Arias, Bloomers, Shaula Alexander Yemini, David Wagner, Arias, Naomi Phan Organizations: Small, Service, New York, Cincha Locations: Oakland , California, New York City

☆ 'The greatest advertising you can get': Small-business founders explain how to build and grow your company with referrals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This article is part of "Marketing for Small Business," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. "It was just friends, and friends of friends, referring each other." Here's how two small-business owners seek out referrals and have used them to generate leads and build their businesses. Connect with your ideal clientsReferrals can reduce the time you spend pitching your company to prospective clients, Wilkerson said. "It really boils down to building long-term business relationships," Nova said, adding that those connections had been the "lifeblood" of his company.

Persons: SBOs, —, Michael Nova, Nova, Kirby Wilkerson's, Wilkerson, it's, you've Organizations: Small, Service, Nova Custom Printing, BMW, American Express, Nielsen Locations: New York City, Michigan

☆ Cofounders of a grassroots tequila company share how storytelling earned them loyal and engaged customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This article is part of "Marketing for Small Business," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. Storytelling is ingrained in Nosotros Tequila & Mezcal. Michael Arbanas, a cofounder of Nosotros Tequila & Mezcal. Today, Nosotros products are available in 42 states. Helping consumers understand the motivation behind the company creates an emotional connection, builds loyalty, and distinguishes a small business, Johnson said.

Persons: SBOs, —, Carlos Soto, Michael Arbanas, " Soto, who's, Nosotros, Arbanas, Soto, Matt Johnson, Prince Ghuman Forrester, What's, Johnson Organizations: Small, Service, Los Locations: Costa Rica, Los Angeles, Mexico

☆ 3 cold-email strategies from small-business founders who used them to show off their work, land clients, and grow company profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These cold emails have helped her land some of her best clients. For small businesses with limited marketing budgets, cold emailing can be an inexpensive way to build relationships with prospective clients. He recently landed a manufacturing company as a client after a cold email reached the company's CEO. "There's a little bit of tongue in cheek when we talk to someone because they're like, 'Does cold email work?' Show your value to build relationshipsTo make a connection via a cold email, Davis said the message needed to be personalized and offer value.

Persons: SBOs, —, Erin Derby, that's, Marshal Davis, Davis Davis, Davis, Derby, Instagram, it's, she's Organizations: Small, Service, Derby, Ascendly Locations: New York City, The Woodlands , Texas, Derby

☆ SMS marketing may cost more to set up than email, but 2 small-business founders say it's worth it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Data indicates that people check their phones every 10 to 12 minutes and spend most of that time reading and responding to text messages. Since 2014, SMS marketing has helped GreenPal stay in direct contact with its 300,000 customers nationwide, increasing sales and engagement, Clayton said. Here's why SMS marketing can be a successful way to reach your customers. Understanding these rules is the biggest hurdle small businesses face in getting started in SMS marketing, she added. Often, businesses need to hire a company to build a custom program or use application-programming-interface services that offer SMS marketing, such as Mailchimp or Twilio.

Persons: SBOs, —, Bryan Clayton, GreenPal, Clayton, they've, Barbara Casey, Casey Organizations: Small, Service, Mobile, Consumer, SMS Locations: Nashville , Tennessee, SimpleTexting

☆ 3 ChatGPT tips that have helped small-business owners nail their marketing copy — and still keep the 'human touch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Over one-third of small-business owners in a survey said they'd tried ChatGPT for marketing content. The founder and CEO of Slade Copy House, a copywriting agency, believed the artificial-intelligence tool couldn't replace a human copywriter. In an Alignable survey of US small-business owners released in July, more than half of respondents said they had tried ChatGPT, and one-third said they had used it to create marketing content. Using ChatGPT successfully takes practice, and it doesn't work for every marketing task. ChatGPT can save small businesses time and marketing dollars, but it's not a magic bullet.

Persons: they'd, SBOs, —, Haley Slade, ChatGPT, Slade, Chris Winfield, Chris Eckert, Winfield, It'll, We'll, it's Organizations: Small, Service, Slade, Publicly, Super Connector Media Locations: ChatGPT

☆ 2 female small-business founders share how they cracked the code on successful lead magnets — a win-win for your customers and company profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Known as a lead magnet, the gift should be tied to the value your company offers. Develop and market a lead magnet like any other product or service. Insider spoke with small-business owners about what they'd learned about making a lead magnet successful. When brainstorming ideas for lead magnets, Louise considers what made her opt in to other companies' lead magnets. Lead magnets can also be an effective tool for segmenting and reengaging existing email subscribers, Louise said.

Persons: SBOs, Jenn Robbins, Ashley Louise, Louise, they'd, Robbins, what's, they're Organizations: Small, Service, Google Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ 5 marketing experts on how to pull off a heritage-month campaign that's authentic and builds trust with the community
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"I want all businesses to make people of all stripes feel warm and welcome," he told Insider. "There are times when something can be well-intentioned but could be wildly off," he told Insider. Michelle Thames, founder of Thames Media Solutions. Courtesy of Michelle ThamesAuthentic marketing resonates with people and is more likely to boost brand awareness, said Michelle Thames, founder of Thames Media Solutions in Chicago. "It's definitely important to have a connection instead of just posting a meme and slapping up a picture, which doesn't really resonate," she told Insider.

☆ A small, specialty water brand created a customer loyalty program to thank consumers, and it led to a 90% repurchase rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Customer loyalty programs incentivize customers to engage with and support their favorite brands. They found that making personal connections through loyalty programs garnered more repeat customers and better feedback. We learn all kinds of things from our customer loyalty program." We've found from our loyalty program that when it comes to attracting and retaining good customers, the only thing that may be second to a strong loyalty program is excellent service." Loyalty program members also tend to spend more with companies and refer them to friends and family, according to a Forrester report.

☆ Customers saved a New York bar after it nearly shut down over rising rents. Its owner learned community is key to building a successful small business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Erin Greenawald | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

These five small-business owners have built online brand communities that bring customers together. A community founded by Neir's Tavern in New York City helped save the business from closing when it faced financial difficulties. Experts identified 3 key factors to building a brand community that businesses can rely on for support. Gordon, Jones, McLoughlin, and other small-business owners shared their tips with Insider. But if your business does need help, McLoughlin says to just ask.

☆ How small businesses are using marketing techniques to demonstrate their values through social causes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Cause marketing can help businesses support social causes that align with their values and connect with customers. These experts say cause marketing should be equally balanced with the needs of the business. Cause marketing can include sponsoring events, fundraising, or raising awareness for a social or charitable cause. How cause marketing can benefit small businessesCause marketing can increase brand awareness for businesses and exposure for nonprofits, Conway said. When businesses support causes, it can also improve employee morale and help with hiring and retention, Conway said.

☆ 4 reasons small businesses shouldn't skip out on advertising in local media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Small businesses that invest in local advertising can connect and engage with their communities. Local advertising is a way small businesses can support and partner with other businesses. Companies can help other small businessesAppearing in local media outlets that have been around for generations and are known and trusted in the community can elevate local businesses, Walker-Smith said. He also said that many local media outlets are also small businesses themselves, so advertising is a way of supporting the business community. Even if small businesses think local advertising is too expensive, Walker-Smith urged company owners to contact local media organizations about what options are available.

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