Tag Archives: Small Business Marketing

The Metrics that matter – and what you can ignore!

Person reviewing analytics beside text: Which metric is the most IMPORTANT? Reach vs. Impressions – Does it matter? Stop stressing over Vanities! Am I looking at the right numbers? Engagement Rate: A key indicator? Followers are just numbers? How to prove ROI? Which one REAL success? Is CTR important? Save time: Track only vital stats Data overwhelm! Likes are vanities! Traffic to Followers are just numbers? Stop stressing over Vanities! Can I ignore SHARES?

One of the biggest problems with Facebook and Instagram insights is that there are so many numbers to look at. When you’re run off your feet, running your small business, there’s just not enough time in the day to look at every single one – and the good news is that you don’t have to!

You don’t have to be a social media data analyst as well as everything else! You simply need to understand enough about the numbers so you can make better marketing decisions.

There is no single most important figure!

There really isn’t – it all depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your social media posts.

  • If you’re trying to grow your audience, follower growth and reach may be useful.
  • If you’re trying to build engagement and community, comments, shares and saves become more important.
  • If you’re trying to drive people to your website, link clicks matter.
  • If you’re trying to generate enquiries, messages and website visits will be more important than likes.

So, the first question to ask yourself is ‘What am I trying to achieve?’ Then you know where to start.

Metric 1 – Reach

Reach is worth looking at as it tells you how many people your content was shown to. But don’t think that just because you have a higher reach, that it’s a better post. That’s not necessarily true. A post can reach thousands of people and generate absolutely no meaningful response.

A different post might reach a much smaller audience, but result in comments, shares, website visits or enquiries.

Reach tells you about visibility – it doesn’t tell you about value. 

Metric 2 – Shares  

For most businesses, shares are one of the most interesting things to keep an eye on, because they mean that someone has thought that your post is worth passing on to their followers.

Why might it be shared? It could be that it’s funny, inspirational, useful, relatable or because they think it might help their followers. Whatever the reason, the point is that it’s been shared – they didn’t just scroll past.

So, if you get shares, look at the post and see why – what made people want to share it? Then you can think of ways to create similar content with the same qualities.  

Metric 3 – Saves

Saves are another useful metric – it again shows that you stopped the scroll long enough for someone to read your post and think it’s worth saving for later. Saves are often the result of educational or inspirational content.

If you get a save on your posts, it’s worth looking at it and finding out why – again, you can then create similar posts in future.

Metric 4 – Comments

Comments – this is my favourite metric! It shows that your content has started a conversation, or someone might be asking a question or sharing their opinion of what you’ve written.

Comments give you useful information about what matters to your audience. Look at the type of comments you get…It’s inevitable, you’ll get the odd ‘love this’, ‘cute’, or just ‘have a good day’. But you’ll also get comments such as ‘I’ve been struggling with exactly this’, or you may get a question asking for more information or giving you an example of their experience.

These comments can help give you more ideas for future content and spark a two-way conversation – or both. Your audience is telling you what they like, dislike or what they could really use help with.

Metric 5 – Link clicks and website visits

If you want to achieve driving more traffic to your website, this is the metric to look at. You might post something that gets 50 likes – you might post something that only gets 10. But if the second post generates 8 website clicks and the first doesn’t generate any, which one is more useful to your business?

This is another reason why likes shouldn’t automatically be your measure of success.

Metric 6 – Profile visits

This tends to be more linked to Instagram – profile visits can tell you that your post has sparked curiosity. Someone saw it and thought that they need to check out your business – so they go to your profile to find out more.

BUT, if lots of people are visiting your profile, but very few are following you or contacting you, look at your profile.

Is it clear? Does it clearly explain who you are, what you do/sell, or what you help people with? Does your personality shine through. Is there a clear reason why someone should want to click on your website to find out more?

Sometimes your insights don’t just tell you what’s working – they also help you find out where you need to improve things.  

Metric 7 – Follower growth

Ok, so I know that I have said before that you don’t need to become obsessed with follower growth – and you don’t, but it does matter.

It matters in that it’s useful if your growing audience are potential customers. But 2,000 random followers aren’t necessarily better than 500, if those 500 genuinely like your business and want what you sell or offer.

Remember too, that net follower growth gives you a more realistic picture that simply looking at how many new followers you’ve gained. Look at this metric more as a trend than a daily score. Are you gradually attracting the right people?

Now – what can you ignore?

OK, maybe not so much ignore, but more you can stop being obsessed about!

Likes – they’re not meaningless as they are a useful indication that someone enjoyed your content. But they don’t tell you everything – and there are people who scroll through Facebook and Instagram and just stick a like by every post.  

Don’t be disappointed if your post doesn’t get lots of likes, it might still generate website visits, profile visits, enquiries or sales – and even shares and saves. You need to look at the bigger picture.

Impressions – This is a number that can be useful, but if you’re already thinking the analytics you already know about are a lot, you could discard this one. Impressions are useful if you’re trying to understand how often content is being shown. It only tracks visibility – let me give you an example. Your post shows it reached 100 people, but impressions say 300. Your reach is the actual number of people who were shown it – impressions are the number of times it was looked at, so could be multiple times from one person. It could be that on one particular day; your post appears in the same person’s feed every time they go into it. This will count as 1 reach, but multiple impressions. So, not really an accurate number.  

Don’t worry about…

  • The fact your engagement rate went from 4.2% to 3.9%. It will fluctuate every day.
  • Don’t worry if your reach dropped slightly from one week to the next.

Your audience behaves differently every day and from week to week. You know that there will be some weeks that you see businesses you follow in your feed – other times, you won’t see any that you know or follow. This all affects your numbers.

  • The algorithm changes
  • People go on holiday
  • School holidays happen
  • The weather changes
  • Life happens

All these things affect the numbers…surprisingly! My advice is to look for patterns, not tiny fluctuations. 

Don’t worry about your follower count from yesterday. You may have gained three followers; you may have lost six. Your follower count isn’t going to tell you much about how your marketing is performing.

This is one statement I always remember from some training I did early on about social media…

You’re building a business, not taking part in a popularity contest.

This is so true! I see businesses posting that they got an award from Facebook for starting conversations or for putting out engaging content. I’m going to share something now – I HAVE NEVER EVER had any of these in the whole 14 years I’ve been in business – NOT ONCE!

It used to really bother me – now it doesn’t – I’m happy for those of you who do, but I’m happy that my content is liked because my audience say so and react! That’s not to take away from those who do get these recognitions – I’m pleased that small businesses get noticed – and Facebook absolutely should do that!  But if, like me, you don’t get those accolades, don’t let it worry you!

Finally, here is a summary of what you should track… 

  • If your goal is visibility – look at Reach
  • If you goal is engagement – look at comments, shares and saves
  • If your goal is website traffic – look at link clicks and website visits and check you have those links in your profile or bio.
  • If you goal is audience growth – look at follower growth and net follower growth.
  • If your goal is enquiries – look at messages, profile visits and website clicks

Finally, if your goal is sales – you need to look beyond the metrics and look at your marketing and how it actually contributes to sales. For sales, marketing is the most important metric of all – your strategy, your content, and how it all fits together.

Remember – your aim isn’t to create one lucky post, it’s to understand your audience well enough to create more of the content they actually want to see – and that’s where your metrics help. 

If your goal is more sales, I can help you look at your marketing strategy and help you build a workable one, along with a content strategy and your customer journey – all in easy to follow, step by step instructions.

Message me if you want to get your marketing on track for more sales.

Marketing Made Simple. 

Bringing your Brand Identity to life

Desk with planner, pencil case with pens, coffee mug, plant, and open laptop

In my previous post, I looked at the basic foundations of your brand identity, and covered who you are, what you stand for, who you want to attract and what you want your business to be known for.

This post goes a bit further and brings it all together. Your customers need to be able to see, hear and experience your brand – and that’s where all those familiar branding elements come into play! 

Your business name

Your name is often one of the first things people encounter, so it’s worth giving it some thought. You might use your own name, particularly if you’re the face of your business or offer a personal service. I did this with my business, as I decided that with a marketing business, people are more likely to remember my name than some fancy marketing name!

There isn’t a right or wrong way to name your business – it’s just important that it feels appropriate for what you do, so your audience can recognise you and the brand you’re building.

Your business name doesn’t have to explain everything you do – you can use it to just create enough curiosity, then your website, online shop, bio and marketing on social media explains what you do in more detail.

Your visual identity

This is the part most people think about when they hear the word branding.

Your visual identity might include:

  • Your logo
  • Brand colours
  • Fonts
  • Photography or imagery
  • Graphic style
  • Patterns or illustrations
  • Packaging
  • Website design
  • Social media graphics

These elements should work together to create a recognisable look. Your branding should reflect your business, not whatever happens to be fashionable on social media this month.

For example, a vintage-inspired business might use completely different colours, fonts and imagery from a bright, contemporary jewellery brand.

Your tagline

I’ve talked about this recently on my social media pages. A good tagline can communicate something important about your business in just a few words.

Mine is Marketing made simple.

It’s short, but it tells you something about what I do and, more importantly, how I want to do it. I don’t want my audience to feel that marketing is complicated, intimidating or overwhelming. My tagline isn’t just a catchy phrase. It reinforces part of my brand positioning.

When you’re thinking about yours, don’t try to cram everything you do into one sentence. Instead ask yourself…What is the one thing I’d love people to remember about my business?

That’s a much better place to start.

Your tone of voice

Your brand also has a voice.

Are you:

  • Friendly and chatty?
  • Calm and reassuring?
  • Quirky and playful?
  • Straight-talking?
  • Inspirational?
  • Knowledgeable and professional?
  • Warm and nurturing?

Your tone of voice should feel natural. For example, there’s no point deciding your brand is fun and quirky if every social media post sounds like a formal business report!

Your voice should be consistent across your website, emails, social media, packaging and customer communications. That doesn’t mean every sentence has to sound identical. It just needs to have the same ‘feel’ about it – in other words, your brand personality!

What is your brand personality?

Here’s where branding gets particularly interesting. Imagine your business was a person. What would they be like? Would they be:

  • The colourful, energetic friend who is always suggesting something fun?
  • The calm, dependable friend everyone turns to for advice?
  • The sophisticated one who always knows what’s stylish?
  • The quirky one who sees things differently?
  • The warm, thoughtful person who makes everyone feel welcome?

These characteristics can help define your brand personality. And this is much more useful than simply choosing a few words or phrases because they sound nice.

Your personality can influence your photography, colours, language, social media content, packaging and even the way you interact with customers.

The very important customer experience!

This is the part that’s sometimes forgotten, but my goodness, it’s probably THE most important thing – in my opinion anyway!

You can have beautiful branding, a gorgeous website and a brilliant social media feed — but if your customer experience doesn’t match, your brand won’t feel authentic.

Think about every point where someone comes into contact with your business. These are called ‘touchpoints.

  • Your social media.
  • Your website.
  • Your packaging.
  • Your emails.
  • Your product descriptions.
  • Your checkout process.
  • Your thank-you message.
  • The way you deal with questions.
  • The way you handle a problem.

All these things contribute to how people experience your brand.

If your branding promises warmth and personal service, but a customer receives a cold, automated response to a problem, there’s a disconnect. Your brand needs to feel the same wherever people encounter it

Consistency – that old chestnut!

Consistency doesn’t mean boring, although I have heard it described that way! Some think that consistency means everything needs to look the same – it doesn’t!

Consistency doesn’t mean using the same template for every social media post or putting your logo on everything you produce. It means creating recognisable patterns, using:

  • The same general visual style.
  • A familiar tone of voice.
  • Similar values.
  • A consistent customer experience.
  • Enough repetition that people begin to recognise you.

That’s when your brand starts doing some of the marketing for you. Someone sees your colours, style or way of writing and immediately knows that it’s you.

Your brand identity checklist

Before you decide that your branding needs a complete makeover, take a look at what you already have.

Ask yourself:

  • Does my visual identity reflect my business?
  • Does my tone of voice sound like me?
  • Does my tagline communicate something meaningful?
  • Does my social media look and sound consistent with my website?
  • Does my customer experience match the promises I make?
  • Can someone recognise my content without seeing my name?

And finally:

  • Does my branding appeal to the people I actually want to attract?

If the answer to some of these is ‘no’ or ‘not really’, don’t panic! It doesn’t mean you need a complete rebrand. You just need to think about a few small changes that make everything fit together, so it’s more recognisable.

Conclusion

Your brand identity isn’t something you create once, upload to Canva and forget about. It’s something you build and reinforce every day. Think about your brand with:

  • Every post.
  • Every email.
  • Every photograph.
  • Every conversation.
  • Every package you send.
  • Every customer interaction.

And eventually, all those little pieces start to become familiar to your audience and start adding up to something much bigger – the way people recognise, remember and feel about your business.

And that’s when your brand starts to become much more than a logo.

If you’re feeling a bit stuck with your brand and need to talk it through to make it clearer in your own head, contact me and we can have a chat about how I can help.

Feature image generated by AI

Why small businesses still need humans in the age of AI

Bookseller handing a book to a customer with AI inventory tablet on desk

Over the last year, I’ve seen so many businesses switching to AI to create images and posts and, more recently, I’ve seen a flood of promises on social media about “AI clones” and how they can fully automate businesses.

We are told AI can:

  • write all your content
  • create your ads
  • make your videos
  • build your courses
  • answer your customers
  • practically run your business while you sleep

For many of us creative business owners, this messaging feels unsettling. So, I thought I’d investigate this and find out more.

If AI can supposedly do everything, where does that leave creativity? Personality? Connection? The human element that makes small businesses special?

As someone who uses AI within my marketing business for research, and to sometimes get something straight in my head, I want to offer a more balanced perspective…because while AI is an incredibly useful tool, there is a real danger in relying on it too heavily.

And ironically, the businesses that will stand out most in the future are likely to be the ones that remain deeply human, as posts and images start to look very similar.

AI is a tool – it’s not a personality!

Let’s be honest – AI can save time.

It can help brainstorm ideas, organise thoughts, repurpose content, improve workflows, and support productivity in ways many small businesses could only dream of a few years ago.

Used properly, AI can be a fantastic assistant. And to me, this is the most important word – assistant!

But an assistant is not the same thing as a business owner, artist, maker, or creative thinker.

AI does not:

  • understand your customers on a personal level
  • know the story behind your products
  • feel passion for your craft
  • build genuine relationships
  • or care about the people it serves

It predicts language based on patterns.

That is very different from human creativity, experience, intuition, and emotional connection.

The risk of overusing AI

The biggest risk right now is not that AI will take over every small business.

The real risk is that businesses begin to sound exactly the same.

We are already seeing:

  • generic captions
  • repetitive blog posts
  • videos with a similar format
  • emotionless websites
  • and content that feels polished but empty

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware when something feels mass-produced or inauthentic.

And for creative businesses especially, authenticity matters.

People do not buy handmade products simply because they need an object.

They buy because:

  • they value the artistic craftsmanship
  • they connect with the maker
  • they appreciate the story
  • they want something personal
  • and they want to support real people

That human connection cannot be automated.

Human-led businesses do still matter

In many ways, the rise of AI is making human-led brands even more valuable.

As the internet becomes saturated with AI-generated content, people are craving:

  • personality
  • honesty
  • behind-the-scenes insight
  • real expertise
  • and genuine interaction

This is where small creative businesses have an enormous advantage.

You already have what AI cannot replicate:

  • your perspective
  • your journey
  • your imperfections
  • your creative process
  • your voice
  • and your relationships with customers

No algorithm can truly duplicate that.

How I Use AI in my business

I use AI in my business every week.

But I do not use it to replace human connection.

I use it to support the parts of business that can otherwise become overwhelming or time-consuming.

AI helps me:

  • organise ideas
  • streamline admin
  • draft starting points
  • improve efficiency
  • and free up more time for strategy, creativity, and client relationships

But every important decision still involves human thinking. I might get the ideas or expand on my own ideas using AI, but the writing part – the part where I talk to my audience (in only the way I can as I know them), is down to me…and yes, it is still time consuming, but I prefer it that way.

Good marketing is not just about producing more content.

It is about:

  • understanding people
  • building trust
  • communicating clearly
  • and creating meaningful connection

Those things need the human element – the empathy, experience, judgment, and emotional intelligence.

So, is the future ‘Human vs AI’?

In my opinion, the future is not about humans competing against AI.

The strongest businesses will likely be the ones that combine:

  • smart systems
  • efficient tools
  • genuine, authentic human relationships

AI can absolutely enhance your creativity, BUT it should never replace it.

It should never turn your business into a faceless automation, producing endless generic content.

It should be to use technology wisely while protecting the heart of your brand. I can’t stress how important this is to small handmade and creative businesses, because people are not just buying your products or services.

They are buying:

  • meaning
  • identity
  • emotion
  • craftsmanship
  • and really importantly, that human connection

In fact, all these things are inherently human!  

Conclusion

If you are feeling anxious about the rise of AI, you are not alone. It’s very worrying to businesses like mine, where the people to whom I offer my services can simply go into AI and produce a post or image. But I maintain that those that use it constantly will soon start to see their audience pull back, because the content will look the same as everyone else’s who use AI.  

Remember – the value of your business and the value of having a real person posting, chatting and being imperfectly perfect doesn’t disappear just because new tools exist.

I believe that businesses who stay their ground, being absolutely authentic, show their genuine creativity and have those genuine human interactions are going to be much more important than AI in the months and years ahead.

So, my advice is – use AI where it helps without taking over your voice.

Save time where you can – that’s something we can all use help with.

But please…don’t lose the very thing that makes your business memorable in the first place…YOU!

As always, if you want to learn new marketing skills from a coach who understands creative businesses, drop me a message or email and we can have a chat.

Contact me for a free consultation

What is digital marketing and how does it work in 2026?

Home office desk with laptop showing analytics dashboard, smartphone on stand, notebook with notes, coffee mug, and small plant.

A Simple Guide for Small Businesses on a Budget

Running a small business in 2026 means one thing is almost impossible to ignore… digital marketing.

The good news is that you don’t need a massive budget, a marketing agency, or mega technical skills to make digital marketing work for your business.

Most small businesses can grow faster by using simple, low-cost online marketing strategies consistently. So, what are they and how can they work for you?

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the process of promoting your business online.

Instead of using traditional advertising like newspapers, flyers, or billboards, digital marketing helps businesses reach customers through:

  • Search engines like Google
  • Social media platforms
  • Email marketing
  • Websites and blogs
  • Online videos
  • Paid online ads
  • Messaging apps

The goal is simple. Help more people discover your business, trust your brand, and become paying customers!

How Does it work?

Right now, digital marketing is more automated, more personalised, and more focused on helpful content for your audience.

Customers expect businesses to:

  • Be easy to find online
  • Respond quickly
  • Share useful information
  • Have a professional website or social media presence
  • Offer smooth online experiences

If you really struggle with creating posts, writing captions, writing emails etc, AI can help. But for me, the key word here is ‘help’. I wouldn’t advocate using it all the time as it can be really obvious if you’ve used AI to write for you – and you need to still keep your tone of voice and your personality. Whilst AI can kind of replicate that, it’s not quite you, so make sure if you do use AI, you check all facts (it can often be wrong) and ensure it sounds like you.

Types of Digital Marketing

There are five main types of digital marketing. They are:

Social Media Marketing

Social media involves using your content to attract and engage your potential customers. This might be through…

  • Product photos
  • Short videos
  • Tips and tutorials
  • Customer reviews
  • Behind-the-scenes content
  • Special offers

People spend hours every day on social media. Good content helps your business stay visible and build trust. But, don’t spread yourself too thin – you only need to choose one or two platforms, where you know your customers hang out.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO helps your business appear in Google search results.

For example, if someone searches:

  • “best bakery near me”
  • “affordable plumber in London”
  • “dog grooming services”

SEO helps your business show up.

Google looks for websites that are helpful, fast to load, easy to navigate, trustworthy and relevant to their search.

Simple SEO Tips that will help your small business

  • Create a Google Business Profile
  • Use clear page titles
  • Add your location to your website
  • Write helpful blog posts
  • Ask customers for reviews
  • Make your website mobile-friendly

SEO takes time, but it can bring free traffic for years.

Content Marketing

Content marketing means creating useful information that helps potential customers.

This could include:

  • Blog articles
  • Videos
  • Guides
  • FAQs
  • Tutorials
  • Email newsletters

Content is the thing that really matters. Customers don’t want to see you constantly selling to them, they want to be educated about your products or services, see behind the scenes, find out more about you as a person – people trust businesses that have a mix of different type of content instead of constantly selling.

Helpful content builds credibility and improves SEO at the same time.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is still one of the cheapest and most effective digital marketing methods.

You collect customer email addresses and send:

  • Newsletters
  • Promotions
  • Updates
  • Helpful tips
  • Event announcements

Email still works well, because unlike social media, you OWN your email list. I know I’ve said this before and it is so true!

With your own email, algorithms can’t suddenly reduce your visibility and your account can’t suddenly be restricted or shut down. People sign up to your newsletter BECAUSE THEY WANT TO. They want to hear from you and find out more about you, your business and what you can offer.

Many email tools offer free plans for small businesses, such as MailChimp or Mailerlite, until you reach a certain number of subscribers, which really helps.

Paid Advertising

Paid ads can help businesses reach people quickly. You can choose from:

  • Google Ads
  • Facebook Ads
  • Instagram Ads
  • TikTok Ads
  • YouTube Ads

You pay to show your business to targeted audiences, for example, people in your local area, customers interested in your services or people searching for specific products.

If you decide to go this route, start small. You can pay as little as £5 – £10 a day, which can help you test what works for your business.

I personally don’t use ads, as I’ve found I don’t have to, but I know a lot of businesses do use them and it works well for them. Is this something you’ve tried? Let me know in the comments how you found it?

What Has Changed in Digital Marketing

There are a few trends that have changed over the past year. Here are some examples of the newer trends that you might want to look at.

AI is everywhere!

AI is the obvious one – you can’t miss it! You can’t go on any social media platform without seeing AI content. Some of it is so obviously fake, but if you use AI, you want it to still look and feel like you and your business, so you must be careful how you use it.

Most advice floating around about AI is to use it as a helper and NOT a replacement for real human connections. I use it for research, but I always check the facts and ensure that anything it finds for me is written in my own tone of voice. It can be useful for:

  • Researching content
  • Writing content
  • Creating images
  • Answering customer questions
  • Scheduling marketing campaigns
  • Analysing customer data

It’s up to you how you use it but always remember: Customers still value authenticity.

And that’s all I’m going to say!  

Short Videos Perform Best

Short-form video continues to grab attention on social media platforms.

Quick videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts often reach more people than traditional posts.

You don’t need expensive equipment. You can usually get a short video done quickly and efficiently using just a smartphone and good lighting. That could be via a ring light or natural light from a big window, or film outside!

Local marketing still works

Many customers prefer supporting nearby businesses. That might be for many reasons but could include no postage costs, if they can pick your product up in person, or just that they prefer to support local businesses.

For a small business, this means that…

  • Local SEO matters more
  • Customer reviews matter more
  • Google Maps visibility matters more

For small businesses, local digital marketing can often perform better than national campaigns by big businesses.

Digital marketing on a limited budget

Digital marketing doesn’t have to be expensive – in fact, there are many free tools out there that can help you. The key is to keep it simple.

Online presence

The minimum you should have should be…

  • A simple website
  • A Google Business Profile
  • One active social media page

Your website should clearly explain:

  • What you offer
  • Who you help
  • How customers can contact you

Focus on Helpful Content

Have a mix of content to keep your audience’s attention.

Simple content ideas include:

  • Tips
  • Tutorials
  • FAQs
  • Customer reviews/photo/success stories
  • Product demonstrations
  • Short videos – packing or unpacking a product/ talking to camera about your business or introducing yourself.

I always bang on about 80% of content being entertaining, engaging, inspirational and only 20% selling.  

Having a mix of content helps people get to know you and your business and builds rapport and trust.

Reviews

We all know how lovely it is to get reviews and recommendations – it’s happy dance time! Positive online reviews help build credibility quickly, so never be afraid to ask your customers to put a review on your social media page, or on your Google profile. It all helps build that trust and most people will look at a review before they buy, so they’re really important..

Use Free or Low-Cost Tools

There are lots of free tools you can use. Here are just a few:

  • Canva for graphics
  • Mailchimp/Mailerlite for email marketing
  • ChatGPT for brainstorming content ideas
  • And you can use Meta Business Suite on Facebook to schedule your posts for Facebook and Instagram.

Don’t forget your analytics

Regularly check up on how your posts/emails/website is performing by looking at the insights or analytics.

Pay attention to:

  • Website visits
  • Phone calls
  • Messages
  • Sales
  • Email signups
  • Social media engagement

This will help you see what works and what doesn’t. Then you can repurpose popular posts and you get to know exactly what your audience likes.

Common mistakes that we all make

The biggest mistake that most small businesses make is to spread themselves too thin by trying to be on too many platforms or taking on too much all at once. This can quickly lead to overwhelm and burnout. And none of us want that.

Start small!

Here are some other examples of mistakes that small businesses make…

Posting without a plan -Random posting usually produces weak results.  It’s a good idea to know what you want to post – create a simple weekly schedule – maybe have a weekly theme. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Selling too much – This is my age-old advice – 80% helpful content and only 20% selling. Your audience follow you because they like what you do – but they don’t want to constantly see you selling to them. They want to know more about you, your business and how your products or services can help them. If you just sell non-stop, you’ll lose followers and people will scroll by your posts.

Ignoring mobile users – Most customers now browse on smartphones. Make sure that your website and content, such as blogs and emails work well on mobile devices. Most hosting platforms will have a button you can press to check this before you publish.

Conclusion

Digital marketing doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. A simple strategy would be to…

  1. Build a simple website
  2. Set up your Google Business Profile
  3. Choose one social media platform
  4. Post helpful content at least three times per week, every day if you can
  5. Collect customer reviews
  6. Build an email list
  7. Track results monthly

If you have a budget, you could think about small ads to test if they work.

For small businesses, success often comes from doing the basics consistently:

  • Showing up online
  • Creating useful content
  • Building trust
  • Staying visible
  • Connecting with customers

The businesses that win are not always the ones with the biggest budgets.

They are usually the ones that stay consistent, helpful, and easy to find online. Start small, learn as you go and you’ll get there.

If you want help with any aspects of your digital marketing, drop me a message or email and we can have an informal chat. I offer a free 30-minute consultation.

Artificial intelligence – what it is and how it’s used

Although most of us won’t be aware, Artificial Intelligence or AI has been used in day-to-day life for years. Virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa are great examples of AI in practice, supporting humans and making things more convenient.

But when ChatGPT launched, it made AI available to everyone and that’s when people started talking about machine learning and the ethics that brought up. 

This article looks at the basics and throws up quite a few questions!    

What is it?

I’m sure a lot of us have seen futuristic sci-fi films that show AI as sinister robots who become obsessed with getting rid of humanity! It makes for good viewing but isn’t what AI actually is.

AI refers to a machine or computer system’s ability to perform tasks that would normally need human intelligence. It is still guided by humans in that it needs programming for the systems to analyse data, learn by experiences and make smart decisions.

AI has great potential by enabling machines to solve complex problems and think intuitively, which takes it beyond automation.

The ethical question

AI is very powerful as it has the ability to act on vast amounts of data in seconds, but it’s vitally important that it is implemented responsibly – and that’s down to the programming. If AI were trained using date that hadn’t been properly checked and validated, it could replicate harmful biases about race, religion, upbringing, or other human characteristics. This could have disastrous results if that were then used in health, recruitment, or law for example! 

One of the key ethical concerns is around privacy and data protection. AI systems automatically collect data from databases across the world and there is a need to ensure that any personal information is protected and used responsibly. For example, facial recognition technology – often used on our phones or on social media platforms, raises questions about consent and potential misuse.  

Machine learning

Machine learning is about the ability of a computer system to learn from data without being explicitly programmed. A good example is spam filtering in emails – the email platforms can learn which messages are useful and which one could be potential harmful or useless.

Machine learning is all about algorithms, which are trained on massive amounts of data, which they learn to analyse to identify patterns, relationships, and trends. The one you’ll be most familiar with is the social media algorithms, which help the various platforms to push the right kind of ads to the right people, recognise things that go against community standards and ultimately can ban or restrict accounts. As we all know, they don’t always get it right and it can be very frustrating. 

Is AI a good thing?

AI has its place, as it can be used to teach machines to do mundane, boring jobs, such as assembling cars for example. They can do the job more quickly than humans, don’t need to take breaks or have a holiday and as they have no emotion (yet!) they don’t get bored or tired.

The downside is that companies and governments want to use it for lots of other tasks, mainly because it’s cheaper than paying a person, which brings up the ‘machines are going to take over our jobs’ scenario.

The future

It’s inevitable that technology will only advance and it’s increasingly likely that AI will be used in many different fields. But it’s important that it works flawlessly without threatening humans and their fundamental rights.

If we go back to the algorithm example, it’s important that humans still audit them properly to ensure that AI is functioning properly and not learning errors, which often happens with social media.

 It’s likely that AI will take over more tasks in the health and care sector, in education and in business. In my opinion, it just needs to be very closely monitored to ensure that it doesn’t take over peoples’ jobs and livelihoods. And the ethical side definitely needs to have plenty of built in controls to ensure that personal data and privacy is maintained to the highest level.

Ethical marketing – why it matters!

In today’s changing climate, it’s important to keep on top of marketing trends. Ethical marketing is nothing new but has been emerging as a powerful tool for businesses who want to connect with more transparency with their potential customers.

Consumers are much more savvy than they ever were and strong marketing ethics help you build long term trust and loyalty with your customers. Ethical marketing enhances the customer experience and that experience keeps customers coming back time and time again.  

What is ethical marketing?

Ethical marketing is a strategy where businesses promote honesty, transparency, responsibility and fair practices within their marketing activity, showing respect for customer boundaries. As part of this transparency, businesses communicate their ethics in their marketing materials, so they reach their target audience with similar values.

Be transparent

This is so important – it means being clear about your marketing practices, including:

  • How you collect and use customer data, using easy to understand language to explain.
  • Being upfront about your pricing, products/services limitations and terms and conditions.
  • Disclosing any sponsored content and affiliate relationships.
  • Making privacy polices accessible and understandable.

Most of these points should be covered on your website within your terms and conditions or your privacy or cookie policies, which are legal requirements. But it’s also worth sometimes talking about these things in posts.

Although transparency is about being compliant with legal policies, it’s also about treating your customers with respect and being honest.

Honesty

This is all about being truthful in your communications, such as email, blog posts, podcasts or social media posts. Specifically, it should be about:

  • Avoiding misleading claims or information about your products or services
  • Making sure any statistics or research your do is truthful and not manipulated for your own gain.
  • Ensuring that any ads or marketing materials you create represent your products or services accurately and not exaggerated.
  • Acknowledging any mistakes you make and taking responsibility if anything does go wrong.  

 

Social responsibility

This is about how your brand has an impact on society as a whole and how your customers view you and your brand. For example:

  • Considering the environmental impacts of marketing campaigns and business practices.
  • Promoting diversity and inclusion.
  • If you support social causes, do so authentically rather than a ‘tick box’ exercise.
  • Ensure that your marketing activities don’t promote harmful stereotypes or behaviours.

Respect for individual rights

This is about respecting privacy, which I mentioned above. Consumers have the right to control their personal data and decide how it is used by businesses. You must be transparent about this in your privacy policies and other policies on your website – this is a legal requirement of GDPR (General Data Protections Regulations).

You can see a list of my policies at the bottom of my website, if you want to see examples, which gives comprehensive details. It takes a while to get this right, as you can’t copy from anyone else – it’s all bespoke to you and your business and how you do things.

Respect for human dignity

This means avoiding tactics that exploit or manipulate consumers, such as intentional deception. An example could be influencer marketing – some influencers have been criticised for promoting products that they don’t actually use – or for promoting products that could be harmful or unethical. This is seen as a violation of respect for human dignity.

Conclusion

I think that most of the points I’ve talked about in this article are pretty obvious in the great scheme of things. When you market your business most would ensure they don’t harm people or society. And most also know that they are responsible to making sure that their products or services are safe and reliable. But there are businesses out there who don’t do this – sometimes it can be simply they’re not aware of their responsibilities, but it’s up to us all to ensure that our businesses are ethical and promote ethical practices.

Ethical marketing is crucial for building trust and long-term relationships with our customers and potential customers. Businesses and brand that make honesty, transparency and respect for individual rights will not only meet their customer expectations but also set themselves apart from competitors.

Technology is constantly changing. Tools like AI and automation mean that businesses can use technology to maximise customer engagement, craft compelling campaigns and social media posts, blogs etc, and help drive their own business growth. But the rise of these types of technology could be opening the door for unethical practices and behaviour. It’s vitally important for businesses to understand the risks of technology to ensure they don’t fall foul of ethical standards. But I think this might be for another blog post!  

I hope you’ve found this helpful, and as usual, if you need any help with your marketing, feel free to contact me for a free consultation.

The pros and cons of neuromarketing

In my last blog, I talked about neuromarketing, what it is and how it works. So, we know that neuromarketing helps brands to improve customer engagement and enables businesses to personalise experiences and to predict how successful certain marketing campaigns will be. But there are also risks and limitations attached to neuromarketing – obviously, its high cost, but also interpreting the data can be very complicated and there are certain ethical concerns. So, this blog looks at the pros and cons of neuromarketing.  

Everyone tends to focus on the pros, but I wanted to look at both sides of the coin.

The pros of neuromarketing

There are several gaps in traditional marketing and neuromarketing tools can help to cover those, giving a better understanding of consumer behaviour, as well as great insights into why consumers decide to buy one product over another.

Observational research

Neuromarketing data doesn’t just come from information that customers provide via surveys etc, it also provides information from observation, such as facial expressions, eye movements, shifts of the mouse etc. Most of this data comes from the subconscious reactions of the people taking part in the research. Some argue that neuromarketing tells you more about consumers’ true desires and attitudes as opposed to controlled answers to questionnaires.

Emotional measurement

Neuromarketing measures physiological reactions, often related to emotional responses. This gives valuable data about consumer reactions to particular parts of an advertisement or video – and which part provokes a positive reaction or a negative reaction. Then advertising can be tweaked accordingly.

Reliable results

As neuromarketing research reaches the unconscious part of a consumer’s mind, the data provides a better understanding of the process behind automatic reactions. This helps researchers determine more reliable results as their analysis looks more comprehensively at consumers’ decision-making patterns.

Let me explain this a bit simpler – we can all lie consciously, but our brains can’t because we can’t control our subconscious minds. As neuromarketing accesses the unconscious mind, the data is more reliable as they are based on true reactions to products or websites/packaging for example. This information can then be used to improve things to give a better customer experience.  

Conclusion

The advantages of neuromarketing gives:

  • An enhanced understanding of consumers – how people think and feel during decision-making.
  • More customer engagement – More emotionally relevant content creates stronger connections.
  • Better personalisation of products – the insights that neuromarketing gives, help marketers tailor products, services, and content to individual preferences.
  • Helps predict successful marketing campaigns – knowing what makes consumers react positively means that marketers can use that data to ensure that their marketing campaigns perform better.
  • Reduces speculative marketing – more relevant marketing cuts through the general marketing noise so it reaches the right people more quickly.    

The cons of neuromarketing

Concerns about ethics

I think this is the one that bothers me the most. It’s about the ethical question – is neuromarketing getting inside the brain of customers…and is that a good thing?

Some would argue that neuromarketing does things that a good psychologist does – it simply ‘learns’ the behaviour patterns of consumers and the data gives smart outcomes.

Specific skills are needed

Now, no matter how much high-quality data and knowledge you can gain from neuromarketing tools, it’s necessary for someone with a scientific background to help the machines and tools to understand the data.

Technology can be taught to interpret the brainwaves and graphs, but someone still needs to make sense of the statistics and what they mean to specific market research.

Expensive equipment

Neuromarketing equipment used to be expensive, but as technology is developed, it has become more attainable to smaller companies – not quite the tens of thousands it used to cost. However, it’s still a lot of money to have to spend. This must be a consideration.  

Privacy and GDPR

Privacy policies and the General Data Protection Regulations must be considered. Businesses, no matter how big or small have responsibilities around customer data and the more technology you rely on, the higher the risk for leakage of data.

Technology must be robust enough for customers to be able to trust that their personal data is protected, but ultimately, there will be people out there who will attempt to get inside the data (and brains of customers) which interferes with their right to privacy. I know this sounds a little far-fetched, but it’s got to be a consideration.

Conclusion

The disadvantages of neuromarketing does come with its own limitations and strategic risks.

  • The cost – specialised neuromarketing tools and experts make it expensive to run.
  • Ethical concerns – Using brain data brings up issues around privacy and customer manipulation.
  • Complicated analysis – whilst machines can be programmed to look at data, interpreting brain signals still needs advanced knowledge and tools.
  • Not always relevant – results from lab settings don’t always apply to all everyday situations.

So, although neuromarketing is going to become increasingly commonplace, there are still quite a few issues to be ironed out, and it won’t be easily available for all businesses. It can be a very powerful took, but it comes with challenges related to cost, ethics, and interpretation of data.

What do you think?

Neuromarketing and how it works!

Neuromarketing is about using neuroscience to help understand consumer behaviour by studying brain activity, physiological responses and subconscious decision making.

Have you ever wondered what makes you choose one brand over another – even when they seem to be identical? Or why one particular ad you see on TV, on social media, or hear on the radio sticks in your mind for days? The answer to this is about your subconscious thought and subconscious reactions of your brain.

Neuromarketing is a fascinating subject, which attempts to understand how consumers respond to advertising and products. It’s not just about asking people what they think, it about looking directly at brain activity and physiological responses to see what really attracts attention and triggers an emotional connection.

IT’S NOT ABOUT – mind control or finding a magical ‘buy now’ button in your brain. It’s not about manipulating people, but about gaining a clearer understanding about what they really want or need. By scientifically measuring non-conscious responses, brands can build better products, create clearer messaging and design more enjoyable customer experiences.

How does neuromarketing work?

In order to find out how the brain and body reacts when a person is exposed to marketing materials, several studies have been done. The most common method involves volunteer test subjects – and uses electroencephalography (EEG) to measure electrical activity in the brain, which helps identify moments of excitement, focus or even frustration.

Observing facial expressions for emotional responses and biometrics to measure changes in the heart rate or skin response are also tools that are used. Software then helps to analyse the data so that researchers can pinpoint exactly which elements of an ad or product are most impactful.

Traditional market research includes things like focus groups and surveys – these are of course, valuable, BUT they rely on the participants accurately giving their own feelings or intentions. Our decisions are often made based on pre-conceived ideas about certain products – or influenced by friends, family or subconscious emotions or biases.

Neuromarketing captures the reactions that people can’t or don’t consciously articulate. A survey can tell you that a customer LIKED your ad, but neuromarketing can show WHICH SPECIFIC PART of an ad sparked the most emotional engagement. So, gives a deeper understanding.

The ethics

Neuromarketing certainly has many benefits, but the ethics shouldn’t be overlooked. Although there is nothing that currently offers comprehensive neuromarketing regulations, there are ethical guidelines for those that conduct this research.

  • Participants must give their informed consent – which means they must fully understand the purpose of any study they take part in, including the risks and benefits.
  • Privacy and data security is key – participants personal data etc must be completely secure to protect the privacy of participants and compliance with date protection regulations such as the relevant GDPR regulation and other associated laws and regulations according to the country conducting the research.
  • Disclosure and transparency – I find this a bit worrying – while is it not mandatory to disclose specific neuromarketing techniques, such as eye-tracking on a website (I wasn’t aware this was a thing!) the principle of transparency is an ethical one. Brands must consider disclosing to consumers their data collection and research methods, to ensure transparency regarding the purpose and impact of the research. Then consumers can make an informed decision about participation. This means it is important to READ PRIVACY POLICIES on websites, if you suspect that neuromarketing techniques may be used.

This thought suddenly struck me – a lot of our personal devices – phones and tablets – ask for eye recognition. Does that mean that when you look at ads on that device, your responses could be recorded for research purposes? Or am I being paranoid?

Maybe I’m overthinking here! This is the extreme end of neuromarketing, and small businesses obviously would not be able to either afford or manage this kind of research.

So, how can you harness the power of neuromarketing without having a state-of-the-art research techniques and equipment?

Neuromarketing for small businesses

Neuromarketing has thrown up six basic human needs that can help with strategies for businesses.

Certainty – Consumers want to know that they can trust a brand or business. Customers like the assurance of knowing that a particular business delivers on its promises, has transparent messaging and are consistent on caring for its customers.

Variety – They say that variety is the spice of life and consumers like a bit of variety or something unpredictable. Consumers these days go from Facebook to Instagram to TikTok and engage with social media and SMS texting. Using different platforms as a small business gives your customers that variety- you can offer limited time promotions, discounts or deals when they least expect it. It might be you do this on stories only – or on Instagram only. These unexpected things excite and captivate your audience and keep them wanting more.

Significance – I’ve said this loads of times, but your customers – in fact not just customers, all of us, want to feel valued. Several small businesses have specific groups on social media to help make customers feel special, and they help by giving exclusive ‘sneak a peeks’ or offers. You can also make customers feel special by personalising brand stories and rewarding loyal customers with exclusive benefits. It’s this making them feel valued and special that can make your brand stand out in the crowd and lift your brand from good to unforgettable.

Connection – I know – I bang on about this a lot too – but connecting with your audience in a genuine way is what helps a business to thrive and grow. It’s about being transparent, authentic, and sowing that you genuinely care about them Engage with your followers through social media, responding to comments and messages and listen to any suggestions and opinions – or even ask for suggestions and opinions as this also helps them feel valued.   

Growth -Show how your products or services help your customers. You can provide educational content to help customers expand their knowledge and skills or give suggestions for how your products can be used in their homes.

Contribution – This is about how your business is conscious of its footprint in the world and that it matters to you. It might be about your eco-friendly initiatives or how you get involved in a community or charity initiative. Consumers are more likely to support businesses that align with their personal values and what matters to them.   

Conclusion

In my opinion, these are the gentler, more people-friendly ways for small businesses to use neuromarketing. It’s not about manipulating your customers, it’s more about understanding consumer behaviour and what makes people tick. This is a basic marketing strategy, but using some of the research results from more in-depth neuromarketing research can help us understand what and why consumers want to buy. Connecting with customers on an emotional level is key to building lasting brand loyalty and knowing what resonates with them helps them come back for more and give you repeat business

Contact me if you need help with your marketing.

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Into the hashtag void – the shift to social SEO

I’ve been seeing this title ‘Hashtags are dead’ for a while now. It’s not strictly true. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, has said that hashtags no longer have an impact on your reach. But they do still help to categorise your posts so you can use them to find like minded businesses, peers or competitors (e.g. #marketing coach in my case). But, they no longer push your posts to increase your reach and no longer drive social growth like they used to. They don’t boost discovery…they now function more like a label. They help platforms and algorithms categorise your content and give it context, making it more discoverable in search results. 

It’s now more about prioritising SEO (search engine optimization.) I know…this makes many people immediately switch off, but bear with me and I’ll try and make this much easier to understand. 

Why bother to use hashtags in 2026

Categorise your content

Hashtags still help platforms categorise your posts and tell the algorithm what your content says….e.g. This post is about marketing tips for small businesses, or This post is giving Easter gift ideas. 

SEO – hashtags as keywords

Hashtags are now acting more like searchable keywords, so this is worth thinking about. Focus on what your audience is searching for. For example, someone might be looking for a special gift for a relative who likes gardening. So, they type in ‘gift ideas for gardeners’ 

Your post appears because you used #giftsforgardeners and #gardeninggifts. 

Your hashtag strategy needs to focus on what your audience is searching for! It’s also worth including a couple of hashtags within your actual caption, as well as a couple at the bottom. 

Target your audience

As per my previous point, you want your hashtags to reach your target audience. You want to reach those that are interested in and care about your products or services. 

If you’re not sure what your audience search for, ask them! Publish a post asking what people would search for if looking for your type of product or service. You can then type this into a search engine, such as Google, and you will get loads more suggestions that people also search for. 

You can also ask AI, by typing in ‘I am a (what you do), I help (target audience), with (their problems or pain points). What SEO keywords should I use on Instagram? You can ask the same question for other platforms such as Facebook, TikTok etc. 

Then it’s about finding which ones work best for you. 

Longevity 

If you use the right hashtags that are relevant to your content and your audience, your posts stay searchable for longer. A well optimised post can appear in searches for weeks or even months, giving your content long lasting results. 

Hashtags by platform

Instagram

Instagram likes to see hashtags for engagement.

  • Use up to five, including location (if a local business), your business, industry specific and content specific.
  • Put a couple in your caption as part of the wording.

Instagram wants more than hashtags. It wants strong hooks, saves, shares and consistent posting. If your content is weak, hashtags won’t help at all. 

Facebook 

Facebook doesn’t advise more than five hashtags, but the very latest I’ve seen is a maximum of three! I’ve just found this information whilst researching this article! 

  • Use a maximum of three hashtags
  • Use content related hashtags, location tag (if a local business), your own brand hashtags, or industry hashtag.
  • Mix and match the hashtags dependent on your content. 
  • Include in caption and/or at the bottom of post.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn hashtags are mainly for topic classification. 

  • Use two to three hashtags
  • Use one broad topic and one of two more niche or relevant hashtags 
  • Put hashtags at the end of the post

B2B brand hashtags help align your content with conversations already happening on the platform. Reach is driven by relevance and engagement, not hashtag volume.

TikTok

TikTok’s algorithm is largely based on behaviour. It prioritises watch behaviour, such as how long someone watches a video, if it’s watched to the end or just a second or two. Hashtags help confirm what the video is about, but it’s the video itself that is more important.n

  • Use two to four hashtags
  • Avoid chasing trends unless it aligns with your brand
  • Mix up content topics 

X (formerly Twitter)

It’s more about readability. Too many hashtags reduce engagement. 

  • Only use one or two hashtags
  • Keep them relevant and intentional or don’t bother! 

YouTube

Hashtags should be minimal. Titles, thumbnails and watch time have far more impact on reach than hashtags.

  • Use one to three hashtags.
  • Add them in the description, not the title or at the end.

In conclusion, hashtags haven’t disappeared and aren’t dead, but they aren’t working in the way many of us expect them to.

The old mindset of packing in as many as you can is no longer relevant. In 2026, they play a much quieter role. They help the algorithm recognise your brand helping it get discovered and categorises your content. But they no longer drive growth or expand your reach. It’s more about using hashtags strategically for SEO and keywords. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you need help with your SEO or hashtag strategy, contact me for a free initial consultation. 

8 reasons why you need a marketing plan

A marketing plan helps you develop your products and services that will meet the needs and wants of your target market. Marketing helps your customers see and understand why your products/services are better than or different from those offered by your competitors.

Having a marketing plan helps you:

  • define your target market and why they need your product or service
  • decide on the messages, channels, tools and activities you’ll use to reach your target customers
  • set goals and time frames for marketing activities
  • set up a marketing budget
  • evaluate if your marketing activities were successful.
  1. Why do you need marketing?

Marketing is what builds the relationship between you, your business and your customers. If you are a small business, it is vital to build a sound relationship of trust and understanding with your customer. This makes them loyal to you and your brand and loyal customers will not only give you repeat business, they will have enough confidence in you to try out new products or services. They will also recommend you to their friends and family.

Marketing also massively increases the visibility of your brand, so you are more easily recognisable.

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  1. Identify your target market

How do you identify your target market? Take a look at your existing regular customers. Who are they? What are they interested in? What are their problems that you can solve? What other needs do they have?

For example, if you sell baby products, your target market will be parents, parents to be, grandparents etc. You could also target baby shower events and children’s events; childminders; nurseries; soft-play areas; local Mum and baby groups; exercise classes for Mums to be or Mum and baby classes. The list is endless.

Have a look at your competitors – how do they meet the needs of your target market? How can you do it better?

  1. Conduct a SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities and Threats. Pulling together a SWOT analysis can help you analyse where your business, its products/services, fit within the market and looks at your unique selling position. It can also help you find out how you can improve your business; what you’re really good at and what other businesses do.

Strengths – what do you do well in your business? What do you do better than your competitors?

Weaknesses – What do you need to improve on to remain competitive? What do your competitors do better than you? What is holding you back?

Opportunities – What current trends could lead your business to have increased sales? What can you use to your best advantage?

Threats – What could harm your business? What are the advantages that your competitors have over your business?

I have a FREE worksheet that you can download to help you…Conduct a SWOT Analysis 

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  1. Look at your competitors

List your competitors – who are they? If you analyse your competitors, you can find out how they work, what they do and compare them to your business.

What products or services do they sell?

Do they offer a similar product or service to you?

What do they offer their customers?

What do they do to engage with their customers?

Where are they? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

How do they market their products/services…e.g. social media, advertising etc.

The more information you can get about your competitors, the more chance you have of identifying where you fit into the market place and what opportunities are available to you.

  1. Decide on your goals

Once you know where your business stands in the market place and who your competitors are, you can decide what goals you want to set for your business. What do you want to achieve over the next 12 months?

Make your goals specific – instead of saying, ‘I want to sell more products’, look at your products and decide exactly how much more you want to sell. They might come under different categories. Go back to the baby product scenario…you might sell baby massage products, so a goal could be ‘Increase sales of baby massage products by 20% compared to last year’. You then have a definite goal to aim for…and it’s easier to review every few months because you calculate if you are on track to achieve your goal.

Aim for 4-6 short term goals – things that are fairly easy to achieve. You can always add more throughout the year if you achieve them.

Aim for 2-4 long term goals – things that are a bit more challenging. If you find that one of these goals is too challenging part way through the year, you can always break it down into smaller, more achievable chunks. 

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  1. Set your marketing strategies

Once you have set your goals, you can start looking at the short term goals in more detail. What activity is going to help you achieve that goal? What price or process will help you achieve your goals?

When you are trying to decide on which activities to use, choose those that best suit your business and your customers. For example, an advert in a local magazine or newspaper won’t necessarily reach your target market if they are primarily young adults, who generally don’t read this kind of thing. It’s a good idea to go for a few activities that complement each other. For example if your products/services can be for any age, you might go for an advert in a magazine, but also use social media or maybe local radio. You might sell your products at a market or craft fayre, so advertise the event on social media and do links to your products.

  1. Set your budget

It’s important to know how much you can afford to spend on marketing as not all marketing is free. You need to think hard about how best to spend that budget so you get the maximum benefit. Only spend on your current marketing goals, so that budget is used to help you achieve those goals. Advertising on Facebook, Instagram or in magazines all come at a cost, but if you are reaching your target customers, it will be worth it.     

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  1. Ensure your marketing plan is kept up to date

Reviewing your marketing plan on a regular basis is very important so that you not only know if you are on track to achieve your goals, you might also identify new trends in the market that means you have to tweak a particular goal.

It also serves the purpose of scrapping anything that you know isn’t working or changing a goal if you need to.

Looking at your plan helps you to measure how you’re doing against your plan and whether you will be successful.

Now you know why it’s so important to have a marketing plan, it’s time to jump into action!

If you find planning your marketing overwhelming, I can help you. Simply message me for a free 30 minute consultation.

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