Marketing: 10 Things You Can Do Yourself
Marketing your business doesn’t have to mean spending thousands of dollars every month.
For many small businesses, especially when you’re just starting out or trying to keep costs under control, a big marketing budget simply isn’t realistic. The good news is there are plenty of things you can do yourself that cost very little, or nothing at all.
The trick is knowing where to put your time.
Here are 10 practical things you can do to market your small business without blowing the budget.
1. Get your Google Business Profile sorted
If someone searches for the service you offer in their local area, you want your business to have a chance of showing up.
A Google Business Profile is free and can display your contact details, website, opening hours, photos, reviews and other useful information directly in Google Search and Maps.
If you already have one, don’t just set it up and forget about it. Make sure your information is current, add new photos regularly and keep an eye on your reviews.
2. Ask happy customers for reviews
Reviews can be incredibly valuable for a small business.
Think about your own behaviour when you're choosing a restaurant, tradesperson, accommodation or somewhere to buy from. Chances are, you check what other people have said.
Make asking for a review part of your normal process. You don't need to make it complicated. A quick email or message after you've completed the work can be enough.
And make it easy by giving your customer a direct link to where you'd like them to leave the review.
3. Check what comes up when you Google your services
Don't just Google your business name.
Search the way a potential customer might.
If you're an electrician in Auckland, for example, try searches such as "electrician Auckland", "electrician near me" or something more specific to the type of work you want.
Who appears?
What are those businesses doing differently?
Take a look at their websites, Google profiles and social media. This isn't about copying competitors. It's about understanding what your potential customers are seeing when they're looking for a business like yours.
4. Make your social media useful
One of the easiest traps to fall into is thinking you need to constantly promote your business.
Buy this. Book now. Contact us. Here's what we sell.
There needs to be some of that, of course, but give people a reason to follow you too.
Answer common questions. Share helpful tips. Show examples of your work. Explain something customers often misunderstand. Take people behind the scenes.
Useful content gives people a reason to pay attention, even when they're not ready to buy from you today.
5. Don't try to be everywhere
Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. TikTok. YouTube. Email. Google.
You don't have to do all of them.
If you're trying to manage every marketing channel while also running your business, chances are you'll end up doing none of them particularly well.
Think about where your customers are most likely to be and concentrate your effort there.
One or two channels done consistently can be far more effective than five that haven't been updated for months.
6. Look at your website through your customer's eyes
You know your business inside out. Your potential customer doesn't.
Visit your website and pretend you know absolutely nothing about the business.
Within a few seconds, can you tell:
What the business does?
Who it helps?
Where it operates?
Why someone should choose it?
What you want the visitor to do next?
If the answer to any of those is no, you've found something you can improve.
You don't necessarily need a brand-new website. Sometimes clearer wording, better photos and stronger calls to action can make a big difference.
7. Use the content you already have
You don't need to come up with a completely new idea every time you post something.
One blog can become several social media posts. A customer question can become a post. A great review can become content. A project you've completed can become a before-and-after story.
If you've spent time creating something useful, get more than one use out of it.
Working smarter with your content is particularly important when you're doing your own marketing.
8. Keep talking to your existing customers
Marketing isn't only about finding new people.
Your existing and previous customers already know your business, and keeping in touch with them can be much easier than constantly trying to reach a completely new audience.
Depending on your business, that might mean an occasional email, sharing something useful, letting customers know about a new service or simply reminding them that you're still there.
You don't need to bombard people. Just don't disappear.
9. Track where your enquiries are coming from
This sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly easy to overlook.
When someone contacts you, ask how they found you.
Was it Google? Facebook? A referral? Your website? An ad? Someone who had used you previously?
You don't need complicated reporting software to start with. Even a simple spreadsheet can help you spot patterns.
If you're spending time or money on marketing, you want some idea of what's actually bringing people through the door.
10. Be consistent
This is probably the least exciting tip on the list, but it might be the most important.
Marketing rarely works because of one brilliant Facebook post, one email or one update to your website.
It's what you do consistently over time that starts to build awareness and trust.
You don't need to spend hours on marketing every day. Set aside a realistic amount of time each week and concentrate on a few things you can actually maintain.
You don't have to do everything yourself forever
When you're working with a small marketing budget, doing some of your marketing yourself makes complete sense.
Start with the basics. See what works. Learn more about your customers and where your enquiries are coming from.
But there's also a point where doing everything yourself starts costing you something else: your time.
If marketing keeps falling to the bottom of your list, or you know what needs doing but simply don't have the time to do it, getting some outside help doesn't have to mean employing a full-time marketing person or signing up with a large agency.
That's exactly why we created Brightside Marketing.
We provide practical, flexible marketing support for small and medium-sized businesses. We can help with the things you don't have time for, from website content and blogs to social media, email marketing and general marketing support.
You keep doing what you're good at. We can help take care of the marketing.