Leverage: to use something that you already have in order to achieve something new or better.
Marketing a small business can be really tough. Most of the time you feel like you're pushing a rock uphill. That's why it's important to find leverage wherever you can. Doing more with the resources you already have means you can get to the top of the hill faster and easier.
Your special advantages will be unique to you or your business. These could be industry knowledge, connections, or experiences. Spend some time thinking about how to use those as leverage. However, there are also many ways to create leverage that any business owner to take advantage of.
The quickest way to grow your own audience is to get in front of an audience that someone else has already built. This can be done through a variety of techniques. I'll list a few here to give you some ideas:
In most cases, these types of engagements are win-win. You get to leverage someone else's audience, and they get to provide fresh content to their audience.
Content creation takes a lot of effort. Whether you're writing, podcasting, or recording videos, it's time and energy consuming. Get the most mileage from your content by reusing it in creative ways.
Try to find at least 3 ways to use every piece of content. As you build a library of content over time, you can pull from pieces you've already created to build new content, too.
Most business owners put all of their marketing focus on attracting new customers to grow the business. But don't forget about your repeat customers. It's far cheaper and easier to sell to a repeat customer than to acquire a new customer. Put in place systems that incentivize repeat purchases.
Keep people coming back for more, and telling their friends about you. Leveraging your current customer base can have a huge impact on your overall business.
As mentioned above, creating content is big commitment. You can save a lot of time if you can get other people to create content for you. When your customers are enthusiastic supporters of your business, they'll be happy to provide content for you. Some examples of user generated content are:
As an added bonus, potential customers love to see this type of content. It creates social proof that your business is trustworthy.
Start with what you have, and improve over time. Marketing is an on-going, never-ending process. Spend time on a regular basis to make minor improvements.
Marketing is all about experimenting to see what works best. Start with your strategy first, then build on top of that.
