For any small business to be successful it needs sustainable growth, brand loyalty and a consistent stream of new customers. But you can’t just expect that to magically happen overnight and without any effort. Running a small business takes determination, consistent hard work and keeping your finger on the pulse to identify the best way to advertise.

In the big, overwhelming world of digital marketing, it’s easy to get lost in trying to find the solution on the best way to advertise your business. And we’ll be honest, there are countless ways to do so. To help you on your journey of business growth and success, we’ve gone through all the options and selected our top five ways to advertise your small business online in 2021

 1. Google Search

Ever heard of the phrase “Just Google it!” If yes, then there’s no surprise that Google Search is one of the most powerful advertising tools for your small business. The Google Ads feature allows businesses to bid to be seen on the search engine – the higher the bid, the higher your chances are of ranking at number one.

The best part of PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising is in the name. You only get charged an amount once a user has physically clicked on your ad, making it easier for you to budget and to be able to advertise on the platform at a small price. With 63,000 searches per second on Google according to a study by Review42, PPC advertising allows you to tap into an entirely new customer base, target identified markets and run specific campaigns to a variety of users.

However, with all these searches means your competition is vying for the same audience. Although PPC is a relatively low-cost way to advertise your business, it’s hard to make it to the top of the ranking because of this said competition.

2. Facebook (and other social media) Ads

Social media advertising has quickly become one of the best ways to advertise your business, build a following, increase brand awareness and get your marketing message across to a specific audience. The social media platforms favour paid content so much more than organic, which allows a vast opportunity for your business.

Because of the rapid growth in social media users over the past couple of years, people have become used to seeing ads on their feed without even realising they are being exposed to a brands message. Gone are the days of those annoying pop-ups when you land on a website, leaving the user feeling annoyed and frustrated. Social media allows for a business to market easily on their platforms, at a small fee, creating brand familiarity and increased website click-through rates.

3. Influencer Marketing

Nope, you haven’t read wrong. Influencer marketing is quickly becoming the most popular and most used content marketing strategy across the UK. The social media platform, Twitter, says users now trust influencers nearly as much as their friends. 49% of people say they rely on recommendations from influencers before making a purchasing decision, according to an article by Adweek.

Crazy right? What’s even crazier is that if you have not considered using this as a way to advertise your business in 2021, you’re way behind the times. Influencer marketing not only creates trust from the audience but it’s a great way for your product or service to be relatable, allowing your brand to connect with customers on a more personal level.

4. Sponsored Email Content

We know what you’re thinking, “Spam alert!” But you couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, according to an article by Oberlo, email marketing is the primary form of customer acquisition for small to medium size businesses and 80% of these businesses still rely on this method for customer retention.

Although you may think this method is outdated, people are constantly checking their emails, whether it be on their phone or computer. If you have a strong email marketing campaign you’ll land in the right place, at the right time, in front of the optimal consumer. Using platforms like Mailchimp allow you to gain insights and analytics to tweak and edit your campaigns for when you plan to remarket.

Our top tip is to make your email marketing campaign personalised in the subject and body, and interactive by making use of video content. These emails have been proven to have a higher open rate and believe it or not, customers actually want to hear from their favourite brands. If someone has signed up to a newsletter, you are already one step closer to converting that sale. Make the customer journey a positive and exciting one.

5. Video

We’ve mentioned it before and we’ll mention it again, simply because that’s how effective this kind of advertising can be. If you’ve been toying with the idea of putting some of your resources into video marketing, now is the time to hit that record button.

The popularity of video content has been on the rise for the last couple of years and there seems to be no stopping it! So much so that social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are now implementing their own video creation tools and including them in their algorithms.

The demand for video content is not purely for entertainment purposes. Studies have shown that consumers find videos more engaging, informative and allow them to feel more connected to their favourite brands. They also play a vital role in getting the customer into the sales funnel! It’s been predicted that by 2022, 82% of global Internet traffic will come from video streaming and downloads. With statistics like these, it’s no wonder this is one of the best ways to advertise your business in 2021. Time to make your small business part of that percentage!

Although there are countless ways to advertise your small business through digital marketing in 2021, implementing just one or two of these will get you off to a winning start.

Remember that all effort you put into your digital marketing needs to have a return on investment to make it worthwhile. This is why implementing a strong marketing strategy is vital in achieving this. Speak to an outsourced digital agency on how to get one.