What Small Businesses Should Do in 2017
Whether you’re a new small business owner or an old entrepreneur, keeping track of the trend is good for your endeavor. Trends are transient. They don’t last. That has at least two implications. One, what works today may not work in the future. Two, what attracts people today is what works today. Think about these two facts for a moment.
Strategies are going to change, perhaps not drastically. But even small changes demand small adjustments that are crucial for the health of you business.
1. Go mobile
Phones continue to replace desktops and laptops as means of searching for information online and connecting with friends. The major advantage of mobile handsets is you can carry them anywhere. Thus, you can surf the web whether you’re on the bus to work or in a boat on a lake. You can also chat with friends and share your experiences. That people are going mobile is a fact you should embrace. So make your marketing mobile-friendly.
2. Look at the data
Whether you’re a marketer or a one-man entrepreneur, you should look at the charts from time to time. Look at where the trend is heading. Look at where the people are spending most of their time in. Success in business involves a lot of homework. It’s work. It’s difficult at times. But that’s the kind of work that pays off when you do it right. Data should not be ignored. Marketing research should not be dismissed. It should guide you in putting your resources where they will be utilized most effectively.
3. Keep writing to your audience
Yes, photos, gifs, and videos have invaded our online space for a long time, but they haven’t devalued words. Words still have power. Still, the most successful, the most viewed websites are not text-empty pages full of videos and animations. Instead, they are websites with rich articles. That tells us an important truth: People are still reading. On social media, it’s not only videos that go viral. Long Facebook posts go viral. Witty posts, personal digests, and even political commentaries get shared around. Yes, words still have their power. So keep writing to your audience.
4. Record videos or go live
The young business owner, the social media savvy, knows that in order to create a buzz, he must record videos. Videos haven’t completely replaced text. They go hand-in-hand. Planned appropriately, the integration of video into your overall marketing campaign can make your brand fly.
Be social
Social media marketing is hot because it works. It works because much of the engagement on the web happens on social media. Social networks are like coffee shops or cafeteria. These are where people consume information and talk to each other. In short, these are where people are. They’re like the urban spots of the cyber world. Marketing researchers continue to study consumer behavior on social media to better plan new strategies and refine existing ones.
