5 Simple Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses

Necessity has ever been the mother of invention and innovation. Nowhere is that more true than in the realm of small business, where your company could live or die based on its ability to adapt and reach out to new audiences.

The coronavirus pandemic saw some severe losses to many small businesses. However, some managed to adapt and overcome by adjusting their offerings or their advertising to reach new demographics. If you want your business to be one of the ones that survive, our list of 5 simple advertising ideas will give you some inspiration.

1. Embrace Social Media

Social media has proven a great equalizer in the realm of business marketing. All companies, large and small, incorporate some form of social media element into their advertising strategies. If you aren’t already leveraging the power of Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and their powerful algorithms to boost your views, you’re missing out on a key portion of your demographic.

2. Work With Video Marketing

People will remember a viral video or a heartfelt commercial a lot longer than they will anything else. That makes video marketing one of the best types of advertising. Whether you choose to partner with local TV stations or use streaming services like YouTube or Twitch, you can find an audience for your video marketing campaign. 

And if cost concerns you, don’t worry. The barrier to entry and general cost for quality video marketers has decreased as recording technology becomes smaller and more portable.

3. Leverage Connections With Other Local Businesses

Perhaps, instead of getting annoyed with your neighbor’s advertising outdoor signs, it’s time to consider working with them. If you already have connections with other local businesses, you can set up mutually beneficial arrangements where each of you carries advertising material or vouches for the other through word of mouth. If you don’t already have those connections, consider visiting your local chamber of commerce to start making them.

4. Everyone Loves Contests

If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s free stuff and a chance to win it. That’s why hosting a contest is one of the best advertising ideas that a small business can have. No matter how slim the odds or wacky the competition, if you hold the carrot of “free stuff” in front of most people, they’ll bite it.

What’s even better? The contest you hold will generate serious word-of-mouth buzz, advertising a small business drawing in new clients in one fell swoop.

5. Offer Relevant Skill Tutorials

Among the advertising tips to emerge from the pandemic era, we believe this to be the most lasting. People like to learn things for free almost as much as they like free stuff. So, if you offer to teach them something relevant to your product or business, especially a relevant skill, people will come to you.

Simple, easy-to-follow tutorials make for fantastic advertising ideas.

Looking for More Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses?

Figuring out how to advertise your small business can be difficult. However, we hope the 5 advertising ideas above gave you some inspiration. And, if you need more food for business growth, check out our blog for more articles like this one!