Working with a small team doesn’t always have to be hard. People get the impression that having fewer employees means taking on a heavier workload and juggling multiple roles. Yes, it means you probably won’t have an employee who works solely on marketing.
But, if you know how to manage and use your limited resources efficiently, you’ll be able to expand your marketing efforts and grow your business as well as other larger firms. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of tips on how you can develop your business’s marketing efforts despite having fewer employees and resources.
Once you’re done, the only thing left to do is to generate online pay stubs. Read on to find out more!
1. Create a culture that encourages referrals
First things first, you want to establish a good working culture. Your employees are your greatest assets. When they enjoy working for you and believe in your business’s vision, they’ll be more than willing to share their work experience with their family and friends. The best testament for any business are employees who love their job. So, ensure to create a culture that promotes referrals.
Using marketing automation tools, you can motivate your marketing team to work better and faster. For example, Adplorer.com is an all-in-one marketing software that allows your team to professionally and easily manage any marketing campaign.
2. Strategically Consolidate Your Team Roles
When working with a small team, you may not have the luxury of dividing the workload amongst several people. To ensure that work gets done effectively and efficiently, consolidate your team roles. Assign projects based on your employee’s expertise. If you have to run a campaign, it may not be the best choice to get a new hire to shoulder all the research and planning.
Instead, get employees with experience to help out. When your team roles are strategically consolidated, you’ll be able to produce quality work that rivals that of larger agencies.
3. Focus on one channel at a time
One pitfall that many smaller businesses fall into is overextending their resources by trying to manage multiple channels. Doing so increases your chances of failing to properly support and maintain all your channels. This causes more harm than good to your company. As such, focus your efforts on a single channel. Once your team gets used to it, you can consider expanding your efforts and adding an additional channel.
4. Create a content calendar
The best way to optimize content sharing and creation is to plan a year-long content calendar. Planning an entire year’s worth of work requires a lot of initial effort but, it’ll definitely pay off in the long run. Having a calendar will ensure that your employees are on task and will also help them in meeting deadlines.
5. Develop and optimize standard operating procedures
Having standard operating procedures is also another handy tip for small teams looking to expand their marketing efforts. Look for steps that can be automated such as customer outreach and acquisition. Having software do the work for you not only reduces your workload but also boosts the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing strategy.
6. Repurpose your content pieces
Not all marketing efforts need to be brand new. Look for old newsletters, blog posts, and articles that can be repurposed for social media or video advertisements. Of course, you need to remember to format your content differently as each marketing platform has its own requirements. For video content, you can use a free online video editor with pre-made templates specifically tailored for each platform.
7. Add a chatbot to your website
You don’t need to have a whole team of employees working on customer help and support. Make use of chatbots that can process simple customer requests such as resetting passwords, or booking appointments. When you automate processes like these, you lessen your employees’ workload. Furthermore, they’ll be able to focus their attention and effort on other important projects that require their skills and expertise.
8. Stay focused on daily activities
Larger agencies may be able to work on multiple projects at once and plan campaigns months in advance. However, with smaller firms, your focus should be on completing daily tasks in order to generate sales and increase profits. Advance your marketing efforts by prioritizing campaigns and delegating work on a daily basis.
9. Develop a podcast
Not many companies utilize podcasts in their marketing strategy. Developing a podcast that expands your customer outreach and increases your business prospects is something you should think about if you’re working with a small team. What’s more, most podcasts include guest segments. Getting prominent industry figures to speak during your podcast is a great way to elevate your company’s presence.
10. Work with a marketing agency
Don’t be afraid of outsourcing. Partner with an external agency if you need extra marketing support. Working with marketing agencies is a much better option than hiring new employees because they contribute much more in terms of skills, connections, and technology.
11. Hire freelancers to fill in the gaps
Similar to our previous point, you don’t always need to hire new employees if you’re short on manpower. Imagine this, you have a huge campaign coming up and your existing team is already stretched thin. However, the campaign is a one-off stint and doesn’t warrant hiring an additional full-time employee. This is where marketing freelancers come in.
Most freelancers do project-based work though some do work under contracts. Whatever the case, getting a freelancer to handle the additional workload is a cost-effective method than hiring a new employee. In fact, many small business owners grew their businesses by starting with virtual assistants and freelancers.
12. Leverage influencer marketing
Last but not least, don’t underestimate the power of social media. Social media marketing is one of the most common marketing strategies in today’s day and age and it’s for a good reason. Influencers play a huge role in building a brand’s recognition and demand for a company’s product.
Many brands send freebies and new products for influences to promote and review on their social media accounts. As such, considering establishing partnerships with influences instead of investing all your efforts into traditional marketing strategies.
Conclusion
By following the tips listed in this article, you’ll be well on your way to expanding your marketing efforts. Remember, having a small team and limited resources doesn’t put you at a disadvantage compared to larger agencies. You just need to know your to streamline your workflow and manage your resources effectively.
