Sometimes, creative marketing ideas for small businesses are what you need to be motivated and continue running your establishment smoothly. So, we have put down the best creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
In this article, we have detailed the creative marketing ideas for small businesses, that are needed to help a small business scale up, even in a saturated market.
The Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Business
Here are some proven and tested ideas, that will surely work, if it is well implemented.
Hosting a competition on social media is a creative idea, to help bring visibility to the business.
The winners of the competition will be entitled to gifts, which can be giving them your products or a cash prize.
The participants of the competition will definitely find out more about you and your business.
They will make their research, to ensure the host of the competition is real and the business is authentic.
You will have the contact information of your participants and tell them about your business and products.
You can even consider giving them a discount.
You can send them emails to inform them of upcoming events, new product releases and the benefits of using your product.
You can make the winners of the competition ambassadors.
They will create awareness for your business using their social media platforms.
They will become your audience and also refer newbies to you.
The competition will help you have an audience with a high intelligence quotient.
Creation of leaflets and fliers
As a small business owner, there is a need for you to have a leaflet or flier that contains the details of your business.
A good graphic designer can help in achieving this.
You can easily share your leaflets with people, even at events that you attend.
Everyone you share your flier or leaflet with, might not contact you immediately, but they will when they are in dire need of your products.
Target Audience
Having a target audience is a creative idea for marketing your business.
There is no business that doesn’t have a target audience.
Your target audience can be teenagers, youths or even adults.
Having a target audience will help in creating visibility for your business.
The target audience is potential customers that will purchase your products because they need them.
The target audience will patronize you, give reviews, feedbacks and also suggest ways to improve.
Write a Book
Books have great value. If you write a book or an ebook, you’re putting your business in the face of so many people.
Your book should contain details about your business.
Your book should also address the benefits of using your products.
You can also teach people about your business, through your book.
 All the questions, surveys and feedback you get from your customers can be put in a book for new prospects to see.
Your book can be in any part of the world, without you being there physically.
Writing a book will increase the visibility and credibility of your business.
Your book can also be transformed into online webinars and video courses.
Writing and publishing a book can serve as an additional revenue source.
Writing a book requires a particular amount of time and research, but it will give transformative results.
You can host your books or ebooks on sites and fix them at a particular price.
Sites that offer free hosting of books are:
1. Amazon
2. Selar
3. Okada books
4. Sellfy
5. Fiverr
6. Smashwords
7. Barnes &Noble
Amazon can also help to put your book in a paperback format, after meeting the necessary requirements.
Host Classes
Entrepreneurs now host Classes. This is one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
They use it as a medium to teach people about their business.
You can also host classes as a small business owner.
When you host a class, you teach people a certain aspect of your business.
Do not teach everything at once.
An illustration is one who bakes and sells cake.
Such a person can host a class and teach how to bake two types of cake.
The other types of cake can be taught in another scheduled meeting.
Host classes and teach people about your business.
When you teach, you gain mastery.
Teaching people online will also help you to speak confidently about your business in public.
After the class, get reviews from the attendees, especially those who have implemented the teaching you delivered.
Their reviews will help in getting you more leads.
Promote yourself on social media
Social media has played a vital role in bringing people from diverse continents, countries and races together.
Business owners make great sales from social media.
Promoting yourself on social media is a creative marketing idea to create awareness and visibility for your business.
These are the steps to be followed, in promoting yourself on social media.
1. Create an account
The creation of a social media account depends on the platform you want to prioritize.
If you intend to prioritize Facebook or Instagram, creating an account for it is very important.
2. Social media optimization
After creating an account, optimization comes next.
Having a good display picture is necessary.
Your display picture should be clear and filterless.
It is advisable to use a headshot or a portrait.
People need to see the face behind the brand and business.
No one will be willing to patronize anonymously, someone who doesn’t have a display picture.
Secondly, your bio should contain what you do.
Here is an example.
I bake fluffy cakes.
I can teach you how to bake cakes and monetize the skill of baking.
3. Post valuable content
After optimizing your social media account, there is a need for you to post valuable content.
Valuable content helps to promote your business.
The more valuable your content is, the more people will want to read and patronize you.
You can also have a catalog or album where you can store pictures of your products.
4. Engage in other people’s content.
5. Follow influencers in your niche and line of business.
6. Pin your most important business post on your profile. Anyone who checks your account will see your pinned post. It saves people the stress of scrolling through your timeline to see the most important post.
7. Always add a visual element to your content. It could be pictures of your products or pictures of yourself.
Pay for courses
Paying for courses is also one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses. As you teach and sell to others, there is a need for you to learn more.
When you follow top influencers in your line of business, you learn from them.
Many of the experts in your line of business have books and courses, where they have documented their business experience.
You can purchase their books, and courses and also attend their training.
The training could be virtual.
Some might help you advertise your business, after seeing your innate passion to thrive.
When you learn from them, you gain more clarity on your business.
You can also decide to be partners with some.
Copywriting
Copywriting involves writing a sales copy. It is one of the top creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
The copy will include a headline and a call to action. You can hire a professional copywriter to help achieve this aim.
The call to action that will be included, can either be, redirecting people to your business page, or a direct link to your e-commerce store, where your products are displayed.
Effective copywriting attract a customer’s interest in a business, product, or service.
A persuasive and engaging copy will act as the call to action that is needed to convert customers, and help establish the small business as an industry leader.
Your copy is also a way to tell the world about what makes you different, which can help you position yourself against more established competitors.
Importance of copywriting to a small business:
1. Copywriting makes your branding consistent
By making your campaigns coherent, copywriting ensures that all of the marketing collateral you produce is consistent with your business.
 A good copywriter must reflect your business positioning, in every piece of content created, so your audience is easily able to identify you in the saturated market.
2. Copywriting allows customers to find you
Copywriting, when done correctly can produce SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation) benefits.
If your copy is aligned with online searches, you’ll gain more potential of connecting with your target audience, when they are actively searching on the internet.
An efficient copywriter must produce content that is relevant.
3. Copywriting helps your customer to trust you
Small businesses can appeal emotionally to their audience through copywriting.
A professional copywriter must engage your audience and make them feel something, which motivates them to act.
It could be the fear of being left behind, the need to belong, or the hope for a solution.
These are the best sites to hire copywriters from:
1. Writing Studio
2. LinkedIn
3. Fiverr
4. Upwork
5. Scripted
6. Brafton
7. Indeed
8. Express Writers
9. WriterAcess
10. Copify
Pay people to test your products
Paying people to test your products is a creative idea to expand your business horizon.
This is one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses where you can make a video of people using your products and show their reviews and comments.
This might incur a large cost, but the result will be amazing.
Create Offers and give incentives
Creating compelling offers that will attract potential buyers is one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
You can give bonuses to people who purchase your products.
The incentives you attach to your offer will trigger people to buy.
Customers love it when they get more than they paid for.
Incentives also known as bonuses, will make customers make repeat purchases.
A free marketing tactic that can broaden your business reach is to incorporate hashtags into your social media posts.
Trending hashtags can help you reinforce your business identity. It is one of the proven creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
Apply a mix of hashtag types in your posts, so they can reach the audience for whom they are meant.
Using small businesses and related tags will help you position yourself in discussions that are relevant to the market.
Volunteering
You can volunteer to promote other people’s businesses and it has been proven to be one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses.
In the process of promoting their business, their audience will notice you.
You can also volunteer to help at events, conferences, summits, or trade fairs.
When you volunteer, you’ll get people to notice your brand.
You can also get the opportunity to advertise yourself to a large audience at events.
Sharing your flier and leaflet at conferences is a big motivation for your business.
Create a launch team
Creating a launch team is important and it is one of the creative marketing ideas for small businesses, especially if you’re just setting up your business, or releasing a new product.
Create a group for the launch, then invite people to join. You can also run an ad for this purpose.
Get as many people as possible to join your launch team.
Educate them on the importance of the business or product you’re launching.
Schedule a date for the launch. On the day of the launch, you can give out freebies to arouse the interest of your team members.
Then, send the link to your products, or business page.
Some of your team members will purchase your product and also refer you to others.
 The following are other ideas and tactics you can use to promote your business.
1. Update or create a marketing plan for your business.
2. Start your market research.
3. Write a unique selling proposition.
4. Define the features of your products or service.
5. Create your business card and make it distinct from that of others.
6. Build a website for a functional online experience.
7. Join a networking group.
8. Plan a local business workshop.
9. Advertise your business in a publication.
10. Create a social media page for your business.
11. Send a customer satisfaction survey.
12. Give away a free sample.
13. Ask for referrals.
14. Pay for branded wearable items.
15. Partner with other business owners.
16. Use free promotional tools.
17. Invest in ads.
18. Create a business logo.
19. Leverage social media marketing.
20. Create an e-commerce store.
21. Publish testimonials and reviews.
22. Create videos and reels.
23. Run informative webinars.
24. Create blog posts.
25. Publish articles in magazines.
26. Speak at seminars.
27. Enter business award competitions.
28. Host free events.
29. Build a good relationship with your audience.
30. Set up an affiliate program.
31. Offer great customer service.
32. Create a LinkedIn account.
33. Join groups on LinkedIn.
34. Observe your competitors.
35. Attend networking events.
All the aforementioned creative marketing ideas for small businesses, have worked for small business owners, and can still work for you if you’re just setting up your business. What are your thoughts about these creative marketing ideas for small businesses? Please leave a comment below.