One of the oldest and most efficient methods of marketing is promotional product marketing, which is still widely in use today. Because of changes in the economy and the business world, marketing has moved forward at an astounding rate, which has caused new strategies to develop each day.

Small businesses, in particular, have to adapt to numerous changes which can prove difficult for them to actively engage and reap the benefits of these new marketing efforts and trends. Thankfully, small businesses struggling to acclimatize with these changing trends can still rely on the oldest form of marketing, which is the use of promotional products.  This is not the flashiest of strategies to implement, but it works and is a great option for small business.

Here are 5 benefits of using promotional products for your small business:

They are affordable
While investing capital on promotional merchandise might seem like a huge gamble, investing in promotional products is a lot cheaper than relying on traditional methods of advertising and marketing. For promotional advertising to work, it is imperative that a business knows its clientele and target market inside and out to be able to offer merchandise that works in the company’s favor.

They help to increase brand recognition
The goal of every business large and small is to attain brand recognition. Promotional products allow a business to stand out from the competition and they allow customers to forge a personal connection with a brand. By customizing an item or piece of merchandise, customers can constantly be reminded of the brand through its various promotional items.

High reach at a very low price
Small businesses often have to deal with tight budgets, which can make it hard for business or start-ups to determine exactly which marketing efforts can work for the business. Promotional products leave a large but lasting impact and are a great value for investment. A simple giveaway can do a lot to increase customer loyalty.

They serve as alternative business cards
While business cards will always remain a valuable business staple, promotional products allow small businesses to get their name out there in a fun and creative way. Since most promotional items showcase the brand’s contact information and logo, they are great for advertising and spreading vital company information among the masses.

They are tactile
One of the things to remember when running a marketing strategy is the possibility of repeat exposure. Promotional products allow businesses to consistently remain visible in front of customers without investing a lot of money. Businesses must think about which items the customers want to keep around for the promotional items to remain valuable and effective.

As search engines become smarter, more intelligent and more efficient, the process of ranking high is becoming more complex than ever before. Now, it takes a lot more than just posting quality content to get to the top; nowadays, optimizing your photos before posting them online is just as important. Image optimization has long been considered a vital element of on-site optimization, particularly for businesses and websites that rely heavily on images as part of their content strategy. Image use is important because it makes content more engaging, however, when the images are not optimized, it can make SEO efforts more challenging.

Here are 5 benefits of optimizing your photos before posting online:

To show up on related image searches
When photos are formatted and titled correctly with phrasing that is appropriate to the content of each respective image, they stand a higher chance of showing up on the search engine as a related image. Google image searches can help to redirect new visitors to your website, therefore increasing site traffic.

To increase visibility
When your images are optimized correctly, they can aid to increase the visibility of your brand and traffic when they are listed frequently in Google image searches. For your brand’s visibility to increase, you must also have stellar content that can make a difference in the number of people that you attract to your website. When SEO is applied to your entire stock of images, there is also a possibility of creating brand loyalty.

It helps with long loading times
One of the best ways to optimize your images is by using the Alt tag, which stands for the alternate tag. This tag is displayed in place of an image if it takes too long to load on a website.  Most of the search engines are text based, which means that they cannot read on images and videos. As such, during long loading times, the location of your images appears like an empty space, which is generally bad for your SEO. Alt tags notify search engines that there is an image placed and it also informs about the topic of the image.

To improve site speed
Images are much larger than written content and all the space taken up can interfere with the speed of your site. Optimizing images allows you to improve the site speed by formatting and tagging the images properly, therefore eliminating any issues that may compromise the user experience.

To make them more appealing
Images are vital to the success of any website, blog or business. Optimizing the images also means making them more appealing so that they can fit the narrative. This may involve changing image brightness, image size, and even the descriptions to allow them to fit your site perfectly.

Marketing is becoming increasingly more demanding in these contemporary times. Marketers today have to be concerned about more productivity leads, sales, and effectiveness particularly as digital marketing starts to take on an increased role in business.  If your business is struggling to keep up with its marketing needs, it may be time to consider hiring a local marketing company. Marketing is a crucial component for business growth and success as it makes a difference in whether or not customers will seek your services or the competitors. So when it comes to marketing, there should not be any room for failure of mediocrity.  Here are the 5 benefits of hiring a local marketing agency:

To save money
Outsourcing your marketing efforts to a local marketing agency can allow you to save money. Working with an agency allows you to discuss your business needs and goals with the agency, which will have to work according to your budget. In the end, the contract that you receive will be based on a fixed cost that will enable you to know what you are spending before you sign on.

To work with experts
Marketing is a deceivingly broad term that involves a lot more including social media marketing, copywriting, graphic design work and sound work, depending on what your needs are. All of the professionals that work on marketing campaigns are skilled, professional and are dedicated to delivering quality work. These professionals are also instrumental in giving an outside perspective on your business, which will impact your operations positively.

Access to the latest technology
Most local marketing agencies have access to compatible marketing technologies that help to make the process easier and more effective. A local firm which is performance based can provide you with the right guidance as well as an implementation service and support that can aid your marketing efforts. Marketing tools and technologies help to drive productivity and improve performance. However, for their effectiveness to be realized, professional is needed that can interpret data and make smart decisions that can attain results.

To save time
The work of the marketing agency is to produce results which consist of driving quality sales leads, increase web traffic and build subscribers. Businesses that hire local marketing agencies do not need to train them, which saves time, allowing businesses to concentrate on other vital areas.

An outside perspective
Local marketing agencies are valuable because they provide an outside perspective. In house marketers often lose sight of the big picture as they tend to be immersed in snumerous day to day activities. Collaborating with a local marketing agency can supply businesses with new and better ways of doing things, which can help improve productivity.

Instagram is a great and powerful platform that allows businesses to create visual content that is related to a business. Instagram has more than 300 million active users, which is why businesses are increasingly turning to the social media platform as a way of promoting their companies and as a way of reaping the benefits of Instagram for business. The use of visual elements for business is a great way to capture and sustain the audience’s attention. This shift towards the increased use of visual elements continues to allow businesses to leverage the power of Instagram for advanced business growth.

Here are the 5 key benefits of using Instagram for business:

To increase audience engagement
Depending on the nature and quality of a post, interesting and captivating content can attain a high level of engagement, which is sometimes difficult to achieve with other social media platforms such as Twitter; Instagram content generates 58 times more engagement per user than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter.

To build trust and personality
One of the key benefits of Instagram for business is that it helps to build trust among audiences, as well as a personality. Visual images on Instagram help businesses create an emotional connection with audiences, which is instrumental owing to a large number of similar businesses contained within a niche. Instagram provides the perfect platform for brands to share daily experiences of a business in an informal and casual way.

To drive traffic
Instagram is a powerful platform for increasing traffic. With higher levels of engagement compared to Facebook and Twitter posts, creating engaging and funny posts can be hugely beneficial for the visibility of small businesses.  The traffic that comes from Instagram photos is super engaged, which increases the chance of bringing customers back for purchases. When people buy from a brand on Instagram, they are likely to see their products on a regular basis, which means repeat business.

To boost your marketing efforts
Instagram pictures are by very nature user generated. This means that they have been created by followers themselves as a way of sharing their day to day life experiences. With permission, businesses can use these images for their own promotional efforts.  

To learn what customers want
Most businesses do not realize it but audience members could already be sharing company photos and talking about a business without a business realizing it. This happens to businesses that have a brick and mortar location such as retail stores and restaurants.  When customers tag their location, their posts can be seen by other people and followers. This is a great way for a business to see what people like about the brand and the services or products on offer.

Guerilla marketing has become popular in the past few years; it has become a popular marketing strategy for startups and brands looking to change their image. In principle, Guerilla marketing sounds cool, however, it has to be done effectively for it to prove beneficial for a business.  Guerilla marketing is all about investing time and money into an ongoing inbound marketing strategy.

Rather than injecting money into a traditional advertising campaign, guerilla marketers typically pool their resources to pull a publicity stunt that can increase a brand’s visibility and reputation. Guerilla marketing requires an extraordinary amount of creativity and energy as the focus is primarily to attract the audience’s attention on an unforgettable and personal level. The purpose of any guerrilla marketing is to create social buzz by taking people by surprise. Here are the 5 benefits of Gorilla marketing:

Perfect for a low budget
The purpose of guerilla marketing is the use of unconventional methods of promoting a brand or business with the aim of engaging customers in new and captivating ways. Many guerilla campaigns are interactive and can take place in unexpected locations and unexpected times, which supplies a cost effective way of creating brand awareness.

They go viral
This world is shaped by technology and viral content. Most consumers and brand followers document their experiences online, which is why brands are tapping into guerilla marketing effectively. Fascinating campaigns have a high likelihood of going viral because of millions of views.

Are perfect for building partnerships
Guerilla marketing relies on day to day real life situations for maximum effectiveness. As such, guerilla marketers often collaborate with local businesses, charities and organizations to produce a campaign and to create buzz and reach. Guerilla marketers commonly collaborate with universities and hotel chains as a way of targeting the ideal audience more easily.

Guerilla campaigns are memorable
A successful guerilla marketing strategy can draw out powerful emotions from consumers and potential customers by tapping into different experimental advertising techniques that create an unforgettable experience. Some guerilla tactics have been known to go as far as shocking people as a way of achieving the desired effect.

Guerilla marketing works
Many aspects of guerilla marketing are fun, which allows a campaign to be successful. As long as proper research is conducted and the campaign is planned properly, businesses and brands are more likely to end up with an enhanced and profitable business. In the process of executing and maintaining a Guerilla marketing campaign, it is also possible for businesses to network with new allies and prospective customers.