A strong customer base is key to building a sustainable business. But in order to attract one, you have to get the word out to build brand awareness. Often, the best way to do that is to promote your products and services through a mix of free and paid advertising.
Here, we’re exploring proven advertising strategies — both online and offline — that can help you increase visibility, attract more customers, and build a stronger brand.
Key Points
• Advertising helps small businesses build awareness, attract customers, support growth, and even strengthen loan applications by showing a clear revenue strategy.
• Setting clear, measurable goals — such as SMART goals — guides ad decisions and helps evaluate campaign success.
• Understanding your target audience through research and data allows for more precise, effective advertising.
• Strong brand messaging and the right mix of online, local, and low-cost advertising channels improve reach and differentiation.
• Tracking results with analytics and performance metrics ensures advertising budgets are used efficiently and optimized over time.
Why Small Business Advertising Matters
Advertising can be a critical business growth strategy. Whether you’re a brick and mortar or growing an ecommerce business, advertising helps you connect your offerings to the people who need them. Ideally, this will eventually build a customer base.
Advertisements continually remind people about your business, helping ensure that it stays top of mind, and they alert customers to new products, services, and promotions. Your advertisements could also help establish your brand’ story, including how you are different from your competitors.
A marketing strategy can also play a key role in a small business loan application, demonstrating to lenders that you have a plan for attracting customers and generating revenue.
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Set Clear Advertising Goals
Your advertising goals are what you hope to achieve through your ads, such as increased sales and revenue. These targets help you understand the best ways to advertise and whether your ads have been effective.
Consider setting SMART goals, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Founded by George T. Doran, SMART goals may help improve your chances of reaching that goal.
Your goals should be unambiguous about what you want to achieve and why. Make sure that there are quantifiable outcomes that allow you to measure progress and success. Be sure it’s possible to achieve these goals and that they are related to your overall business strategy. Finally, be sure that there is a start and end date, which is a timeframe over which you’d like to see your goals accomplished.
For example, a SMART goal might be to increase online sales by 15% over the next year through targeted online ads.
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Know Your Target Audience
Knowing who is most likely to buy your products or services helps you target your advertising more effectively. Pinpoint this group through market research, such as trend analysis, surveys, and one-on-one interviews with customers. You may also take a look at who competitors are targeting to get a general idea of the demographics you should consider.
Analyze existing customers and traffic to your website to understand who’s coming and what they’re buying.
Build a Strong Brand Message
Your brand message helps consumers understand what a company offers and why it matters to them. It should demonstrate where a brand fits in the market and how it’s different from its competitors. A brand voice can establish a tone for these communications.
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Best Ways to Advertise Your Business Online
There are several online strategies you may consider for your ad campaign, such as:
• Search engine advertising: With this strategy, advertisers bid for the right to display an ad on a search engine result page. The ads are typically pay-per-click, so you’re paying by the click rather than for ad space.
• Display ads: These appear on websites such as online magazines, newspapers, or blogs. Typically you purchase ad space directly from the website owners or an ad network, such as Google Ads.
• Social media advertising: When using this strategy, you purchase ad space on a social media platform. Each platform may have different display types and different ways to target audiences.
• Native advertising: A native ad is designed to look like the content surrounding it. For example, the ad might look like an article on a news media site.
• Retargeting: Ever wonder why the brand of couch you once considered now shows up as an ad everywhere you go online? That’s thanks to retargeting strategies, which serve ads to people who have already looked at a product. These ads may help convert customers who have already demonstrated some interest in your product.
How to Advertise Your Business Locally
To advertise your business locally, consider a mix of digital and more traditional options. Use local keywords in your website and blog, and you can use location targeting for paid ads, such as on social media. You can also take advantage of online directories, especially if they are free.
More traditional methods of advertising in your home area might be advertising with local media, such as radio, newspapers, or local television stations. You may also consider sponsoring local events, such as little league games or holiday parades.
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Low-Cost and Free Ways to Advertise Your Business
Some low cost or free ways to advertise your business include:
• Establish a Google Business Profile: This is a free tool that controls how you appear on Google maps and in searches. It allows you to fill in your business name, location, and phone number, and upload images.
• Ask for reviews: Ask customers to share their experience and review your products and services.
• Leverage social media: Social media provides a free and direct way to communicate with your customers. Figure out which platform your target audience uses most and build a presence there.
• Optimize your SEO: Search engine optimization, or SEO, helps determine where your website ranks in online searches. Optimize results by using keywords your customers may search when looking for products and services like yours.
• Create an email list: Collect client contact information and build a local email list to send out updates and offers.
How to Track and Measure Advertising Results
Tracking and measuring your advertising results can help you understand what’s working and where your budget is best spent. Without clear performance data, it’s difficult to know which campaigns are driving real business outcomes versus those that simply generate noise. Consistent measurement allows you to make informed decisions and improve results over time.
By setting clear goals and monitoring the right metrics, you can connect your advertising efforts directly to sales, leads, or engagement. Modern analytics tools make it easier than ever to track performance across digital and traditional channels, helping you refine your strategy and maximize return on investment (ROI).
Key ways to track and measure advertising results include:
• Define clear objectives: Set specific goals such as website traffic, lead generation, phone calls, or sales conversions before launching a campaign.
• Use analytics tools: Platforms like Google Analytics, social media insights, and ad dashboards provide data on clicks, impressions, and user behavior.
• Track conversion metrics: Monitor actions that matter most, such as form submissions, purchases, or appointment bookings.
• Measure cost efficiency: Review metrics like cost per click (CPC), cost per lead (CPL), and overall ROI to evaluate budget effectiveness.
• Test and compare campaigns: Use A/B testing to compare ads, headlines, or audiences and identify which variations perform best.
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The Takeaway
Advertising works best when it’s grounded in clear goals and strategy. By understanding your audience, tailoring ads to them, and delivering these ads through the right channels, you can expand your reach, increase your customer base, and set your business up for sustainable growth.
If you’re seeking financing for your business, SoFi is here to support you. On SoFi’s marketplace, you can shop and compare financing options for your business in minutes.
FAQ
How do I advertise my small business with a low budget?
There are several advertising strategies that require little to no budget, including leveraging social media, establishing a Google Business Profile, creating an email marketing list, and adding your business to free online directories.
What is the most effective way to advertise a local business?
The most effective way to advertise will vary from business to business, but will likely involve a mixed strategy that draws on a strong digital presence and local engagement.
How much should I spend on advertising my business?
As a rule of thumb, businesses may expect to spend roughly 7% to 10% of their gross revenue on marketing. That said, this amount will likely vary depending on your industry.
How can I advertise my business online for free?
You can advertise your business online for free by optimizing your Google Business Profile, using social media consistently, creating helpful content, joining online communities, and encouraging customer reviews. Listing your business in free online directories, leveraging local forums, and collaborating with other businesses can also increase visibility without spending money.
How do I know if my advertising is working?
The only way to know that your advertising is working is to make sure you have measurable goals before you begin. With these in place, you can track pertinent data to see how much your efforts have moved the needle.
Photo credit: iStock/zamrznutitonovi
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