When time is tight, marketing often drops to the bottom of the list of priorities. For many small businesses, marketing can feel like a big job: something they can only do effectively if they have a chunk of time to really think about the task at hand.

The reality is that any big success is made up of a number of small actions. Doing a little bit of good consistently, every day, will yield results over time. And often, those small actions can be taken in just a few minutes. 

I always have a list of 5-minute jobs on my phone. The kinds of to-do list actions that can be ticked off while you wait in a queue, for example.

Here’s a selection of quick jobs that can make a difference to your marketing: one for every weekday in September.

Remind people

1. Think people are constantly thinking about your business and know exactly what you do? Sorry, but most of them don't, no matter how many times you've told them! So it's a good idea to give them a regular reminder of the services you provide or products you sell. Videos are a great way to show the person behind the business and to explain what you sell in a personal way. They don’t need to be of high production quality either. Showing up imperfectly is better than not showing up at all!

2. Ask someone - or a few people - to review your business. Sometimes people just need that little nudge and would be happy to give you a testimonial. Then share great feedback you've had, ideally with the name and photo of the person who gave it. This really increases trust in your business.

3. Remind people where else they can find you, e.g. all the social media channels you're on, your YouTube channel, your website, and newsletter.

Quick marketing tactics

4. Maximise your email signature. Use it to link to your site, social media profiles, newsletter signup and/or blog posts.

5. If you have a big marketing job looming, like rebuilding a website, it can feel quite daunting. Break that project up into smaller, more manageable pieces, and set yourself realistic deadlines for completing them.

6. Refresh your Google Business listing. It's prime real estate for anyone searching for your business or looking for businesses like yours in the local area.

7. People don't get excited about products and services, they get excited about solutions to their problems. Be really clear about the benefits of what you sell, and how it can solve specific problems. This matters on your website pages as well as on social media, email newsletters and other forms of marketing.

Small business marketing strategy

8. Write down everything you know about your ideal client/customer, so you can create marketing content that really addresses their challenges and needs.

9. Go in incognito mode in your browser and search for your business. Do you like what you see? Does the search listing accurately portray your business? Do the words pull in your ideal customer?

10. Now look for your stuff *without* your business name. Do you still show up? If you don't, and you want to get in front of people searching for the things you sell, you need to improve your search engine optimisation (SEO).

11. Look at your site analytics. What can you learn from your best-performing pages which you can apply on some other sections of your site as well? Or can you identify areas that need work?

12. Surround yourself with a network/community. More than ever, with physical events greatly reduced, we need to connect with people with whom we can brainstorm solutions and bounce ideas. If you don’t already, check out my new free Facebook group Marketing for Goodness’ Sake which is for people who work for themselves and who don’t like following marketing rules!

13. Learn something new. You know all those articles/posts you think you’d like to read if you have time? Or videos that you’d like to watch if only you have a moment’s peace and quiet? Save the links to them in an app like Pocket so you can access them quickly when you have time. You can also store newsletters in a folder so they don’t clog up your main inbox, but are in one handy place to read them (sign up to mine here).

Website improvements

14. Google loves sites that load fast, so check your site speed and address any issues, such as huge images, unnecessary plug-ins and poor web hosting.

15. Check your blogs for sub headings that make sense. Sub headings make it easier for people to skim read and take in the main points of your post. They're also important for SEO as you can include keywords to show search engines what the page is about.

16. Check a blog or landing page to see how you can improve it by shortening paragraphs, adding in bullet points and bolding up text to help people who only skim read your content. Design matters!

17. Link to other relevant content from your blog posts. Mention old blog posts where readers can find out more, link to your related services or anything else that makes sense. Good for readers, good for SEO.

18. Where can you add photos, infographics, videos - anything visual that supports the points you make? They liven up the page and that encourages people to engage deeper and longer.

19. Do your pages all have a clear call to action? Don't leave your visitors hanging after reading. Direct them to the next place you'd like them to go: read more about the topic, sign up to your newsletter, find out more about what you're selling, or let them buy from you.

Social media tips

20. Talking about what you sell isn't enough. Show your products regularly with great photography. If you offer a service, you can show them the process of delivery, e.g. a before and after of a declutter job, or a website redesign, or a haircut. 

21. People love having the inside scoop, so invite them into your world. Show off your desk, talk about your product development process, film yourself making something, and post it on your social media.⠀

22. Ask a question to invite interaction and get into the minds of your audience. 

Want some help making sense of your marketing? I can help in a number of ways.

Book a power hour with me to help you get clarity, motivation and inspiration as you head into the final third of the year! I can also review your marketing with a Goodness Marketing MOT, longer-term marketing coaching or a small business strategy session.

Ready to get going, or want help but don’t know where to start? Let’s chat through your situation!