In the United States, marketing is a colossal business. More specifically, advertising is huge, with around $300 billion spent in 2023 on putting up ads in the country. Digital takes precedence these days, making up around a 61 percent share of the advertising market, but there’s still a place for physical advertisements. Of course, marketing goes beyond traditional ads.
Like the Golden Trailer Awards we covered at westsidetoday.com, film trailers are a form of marketing, and so too are offers like discount vouchers, free samples, bonuses for new users, posters, and public stunts to raise awareness. California is the most populated state in the US, with an estimated 38.9 million residents. As a result, it’s the most valuable market for businesses to target for their marketing and advertising efforts.
Here’s a look at the options and the angles that have proven to work for small businesses aiming to enhance their marketing regimes in the Golden State or to Californians.
Social media marketing is even more important than you know
Source: Pixabay
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that a business can overwhelmingly enhance its sales and reach by leveraging social media platforms well. The simple fact is that most social media is free to access and, thus, very popular. In California alone, there are over 19 million users on Facebook, which are more than one in two Californians. The power of social media was perfectly demonstrated by local business Kestan in 2019.
Forced to shift from brick-and-mortar to digital, as zdnet.com details, siblings Stephanie and Kevin Lin took to social media to promote their store and keep sales flowing. Facebook and Instagram Live were the focus, with their winning formula proving to be showing videos and images of the behind-the-scenes design process and giving fashion tips to enhance the value of visiting their feed over those of their competitors.
Small businesses aren’t the only ones leveraging social media. Marketing companies now anchor a great deal of their efforts on social media. From free posts on a dedicated page to utilizing fairly cost-effective ad programs, there are so many ways to make use of these online gathering places. Facebook is said to be used by nearly by nine in ten B2C and B2B marketers as the user base of three billion offers such tremendous reach.
Free samples and perks for new customers
Source: Pexels
Even as our technology continues to evolve and we can start to reach thousands of people with a click of a button, some of the tried-and-trusted, classic methods of marketing can do everything that you need. Freebies, free samples, and bonuses or discounts for new customers can still be powerful tools to expand brand awareness and increase sales – even to the point that those sales far surpass the cost of deploying such marketing schemes.
You can see it in action in physical stores and online. Pretzel Crisps’ owning company, Snack Factory, saw a conversion rate of between 25 and 30 percent after deploying some free samples. Credit card providers like Chase and Capital One offer bonuses of upwards of $500 or even a $100 gift card. Online, the arena where newcomer offers are most prevalent is that of iGaming.
The list on bonuses.com from over 200 companies showcases the range of offers and bonuses that can be found. Some are completely free to claim, like no-deposit bonuses, while others offer a boost of usually 100 percent to the new player’s first deposit. Both ways allow for additional time to experience the platform without cost. At the very least, such offers and similar ones, like discounts for first-time customers, get them in the door.
Brand awareness is a big deal
Perhaps more than in any other market, brand awareness is a huge part of marketing. People need to and want to trust brands, especially when they get to choose between goliath mega-companies and small business owners. Marketing needs to heavily lean into the branding of a small business. This means emphasizing that it’s a small business, that it’s local, and that it specializes in a select group of products and services.
Having an easy-to-identify and memorable angle for your branding, from color to message, will greatly increase the potency of any marketing efforts. Regardless of if a business wants to try some classic freebies or go all-out on a social media presence, it’s key to get the name and brand out there first and foremost.
