10 Actionable & Affordable Marketing Tips for Small & Medium Business
By Mariana Wille
Having grown up in a family who still runs a small business after 40 years, I got to know the struggles and difficulties entrepreneurs face to survive and thrive, from accessing funds, to implementing the right invoicing software to learning how to get visibility in today’s digital world. This is the reason why I want to share with you some easy ways to grow your presence on the web.
How To Gain Visibility Online
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1. Build An Appealing Website
Unless you’re really in early stages and truly financially unable to pay for a website, building a website is fundamental for your business as it will be your “house” on the Internet.
There, you’ll be able to showcase not only your products or services and your expertise or unique story, but also run campaigns, connect your social media accounts, write and publish engaging content that will help you to be discovered on Google searches.
Some of the most popular options that will allow you to build and manage an attractive website with little or no additional help are Squarespace, Wix and Shopify. Other options and the pros and cons of each, can be found in this Best Free Website Builders of 2025 article.
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2. Understand Who Your Customers Are
This may sound very obvious, unless you have a very broad clientele that you can’t really narrow it down. The truth is that the more you understand who your customers are, or who you want your customers to be, the better. The reason is that there are different channels to reach different audiences or groups.
For example, if you’re selling video games and consoles, I can assure you that your potential customers are not on LinkedIn. Hence, it’d be a waste of time and money investing resources in creating and managing an account on LinkedIn.
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3. Choose the Right Social Media Platform
Continuing with the example of the video games and consoles business, if we assume their current and prospecting customers are teenagers and young adults (Gen Z), then Instagram and TikTok would be the best ways to interact with them.
According to The 2025 Sprout Social Index, 89% of Gen Z social media users are on Instagram, 84% on YouTube and another 82% are on TikTok. The same report indicates that Gen Z social media users go to TikTok and Instagram for product discovery and customer care. Even more, Retail Dive showed that 55% of Gen Z have made an online purchase while browsing on social media.
Choosing the right social media is fundamental for your business, especially if you have no website.
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4. Create & Validate a Google Business Profile
Especially when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to rank top in Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), creating and validating a Google Business Profile will help your business tremendously, and you can do all this for free.
To maximize the benefit, make sure you provide as many details as possible, including location, address, phone, operating hours, website, social media, pictures, services, menus, etc. to be easily discovered by customers nearby. You can jump start following these simple steps in the Google Business Profile page here.
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5. Ask Customers To Leave A Review
A few weeks ago, I went to my nail salon. As always, I was in a rush, so I really appreciated the manager asking me to leave a review by pointing to a QR code printed on the counter. It was very easy for me to scan it with my phone and type a few sentences. You may think this is a bit of a stretch for you, but it will pay off. Here’s a simple guide about How To Create a QR Code for Google Reviews.
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6. Manage Your Customers Reviews
If you’ve received a positive review - I’m sure you will - make the most out of it! You can showcase those great testimonials on your website, on social media and on any print marketing material you may produce for trade shows or seasonal markets.
You can encourage customers to leave a review, but never pay for positive reviews. Don’t be afraid of negative reviews. These will be an opportunity for you to identify areas of improvement and will add authenticity to your Google Business Profile.
Always reply to your reviewers, whether to thank them for the positive review, or to acknowledge an issue, show empathy and confirm you’re working on it.
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7. Boost Your Local SEO
Another way to enhance your SEO efforts is by identifying free business listings such as Apple Maps, Yelp and Yellow Pages. You can find step-by-step guides on how to get your business listed in these directories.
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8. Take & Share Pictures
We all love pictures! Pictures can say way more than words. And even if you’re not selling products, you still can take pictures of happy customers or great services rendered. Great examples of professional services showcased are those found on nails and hairstyles Instagram accounts.
Make sure you always have your website address on your Instagram or any other social media profile to direct traffic to it. You can also include it as part of your posts every now and then.
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9. Take & Share Videos
Video marketing is the most creative and powerful way to engage existing and future customers, and according to HighSpot, short-form video is king. As long as the people in the video give consent for their content to be shared on social media, this tactic is highly recommended, easy and fun to implement.
Videos encourage shares and have proved to drive conversion as well. And you can go as creative as you want depending on the platform you’re on. For example, you can share stories and reels on Instagram, and short-form videos, slideshow image videos, Stitch videos, live videos and TikTok Stories on TikTok. You can learn more ways to create videos on TikTok here.
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10. Pitch Your Story To Local Media
Did you know that in the U.S. there are hundreds of Awareness Days? From National Carrot Day to Dog Day to cultural and religious days, there are plenty of opportunities for you to nail your story down and pitch it to your local journalists covering Business, Lifestyle or any other vertical you’re in such as Food & Restaurants.
You can encourage journalists to write about your story as an entrepreneur, your business, or your products or services. For example, if you’re a female owner, by default your story qualifies for Women’s International Day on March 8th. It’s all about being passionate about your business, and exploring all the possibilities that can help you to gain more visibility online, and ultimately more customers.
Bonus!
If you have already done some of these things and you’re still not getting the results you want, or you feel overwhelmed that don’t know what to start with, you can sign up for a free consultation to be provided by Elevate Creative Marketing, a bilingual digital marketing and communications agency aimed to support businesses like yours in Wisconsin and the MidWest.
About The Author
Mariana Wille is a marketing and communications professional with 10+ years of experience across sectors, including retail and small & medium businesses. She’s enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Parkside, is a member of the Digital Marketing Institute and Marketing Advisor at Fiserv in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Promise Bakken Marketing & Communications Director
- March 31, 2025
- (715) 423-1830
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