Entrepreneurs know they need to hit the ground running once their small business officially opens its doors. Many, however, forget about or neglect their marketing plan as they work to get their new company off the ground. The fact of the matter is, without a marketing plan, the general public may not even know you have doors to open. Or, they won’t know exactly what you do, what you offer, or what sets you apart from other local businesses in your category. It may seem like money out the window at a time when every dollar counts, but advertising is essential to success. Here’s how to get started whether your resources are limited, or you’re ready to spend big bucks.

Make an Advertising Budget

You made a business plan, raising capital from any source available from angel investors to bad credit business loans. Ideally, you should start your marketing plan when you start your business plan. Even if you don’t, though you can still catch up. The first step is to figure out how much you can afford to spend on marketing and make a budget that spins out your whole year. Work backwards, and then break it down by quarter or month. 

Your goal should be to budget 7-12% of your targeted revenue on advertising and promotion. Your revenue targets should be in your business plan. If not, make determining them your first order of business before you move on.

Once you’ve crunched the numbers, you’ll know what sort of advertising you can afford. On the higher side, you may be able to hire an advertising agency that will strategize and place ads on your behalf or invest in broadcast. If you’re working with a little less cash, print or digital may be your best bets.

Increase Your Social Media Presence

Regardless of budget size, having a strong presence on social media will help. Just choose the platform most likely to appeal to your target customers. Organic posts can rise through the algorithms and show up on more feeds if you do two things: 1) engage with your followers through comments, and 2) include photos and videos. In a perfect world, you could allot some of your media budget to buying social ads. These will be highly targeted to reach the right people.

Learn about Search Engine Rankings

Like social, search engines can help you both organically, or through paid advertisements. The key is to understand what sort of content helps you rise in search rankings. Fresh content, with city names tagged on individual web pages on your site will help. However, just like social, your only true guarantee to jump to the top is to invest in paid ads. Luckily, this can be done effectively with nearly any sized-budget and should be able to deliver very specific demographic results.

Simply put: a small business can’t afford NOT to invest in marketing. These strategies should help you get started, and with proper execution, should show a return that is well worth the money.