Whether you are running a Fortune 500 company or are performing a service out of your home office as a solopreneur, you have one main goal for your business; to make money. Now maybe you see your primary goal as providing a solution for consumers or other businesses and that priority brings you enough purpose to feel satisfied. But at the end of the day, you are executing your daily tasks to earn an income and grow your brand.

Executing a marketing plan is all about getting your business’ name and influence out there. After all, it is impossible to make money if no one ever hears about your product or service because no one will pay for it.

When you are running operations for your business, it can be intimidating when trying to decide what marketing channels to pursue to increase brand awareness and conversions. Here are some simple ideas to get you started with a marketing plan.

Maximize your social media presence

What this does NOT mean is opening as many social media accounts as possible. You want quality over quantity. An effective social media campaign targets the niche where your ideal audience lives and focuses on the most effective social media platforms for that group. If your product caters more to business owners and other professionals, then platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook would be better for your plan. If you are going after younger generations of consumers, then Instagram and even TikTok make far more sense for spreading the word about your brand.

Conduct as much research as you can about your target audiences, such as what types of content they interact with, what platforms they spend the most time on, what time of the day sees the most traffic, and other statistics that can guide your content plan. The more you resonate with your audiences, the more awareness and trust you will earn for your business.

Engage your current network

Yes, it can feel embarrassing or even intrusive to reach out to your network as a business owner. But this group is likely full of people who are cheering for you and want to see you be successful. Often, there are connections that you didn’t know existed that will come from this network, whether they are friends of friends or a former coworker that your family member had who would be a great potential customer. Swallow your pride and engage your network to get your brand name out to the public as much as possible.

Don’t neglect promotional materials

Finding ways to represent your brand to the world is a critical part of any marketing campaign. One particularly useful avenue for this is acquiring promotional materials. You should display your business as much as possible using items that people can wear or carry with them. This strategy creates visibility for your company and can take the form of many types of products, including baseball caps, t-shirts, pens, bags, and even golf towels. If you are serious about increasing brand awareness, then ordering promotional materials to sell or give away at events or through an online store will allow others to do the work for you when they use those products in public.

Create content

Growing brand awareness and trust means informing people about what your company offers and that you know what you are doing. Most consumer decisions are made because they have researched a product or service and believe that it will effectively do what it is supposed to. But that trust has to be earned, and one way to do so is with a content marketing plan.

Creating content is the perfect method to demonstrate your expertise and the fact that you understand your target audience’s needs. Maybe you write a few blog posts to update your website regularly and share on social media. You could create some guest posts for other websites that link back to your own. The rising popularity of podcasts can also pay dividends for your brand by appearing as a guest on certain shows or even starting your own podcast. Whatever form your content takes, make sure it caters to your potential customers and demonstrates expertise in your field.

Be bold with your marketing

It takes a substantial investment of both time and resources to successfully grow a business, no matter your starting point. The largest companies spend millions of dollars marketing their products/services, while solopreneurs who are just starting may only be spending several hundred to begin.

No matter the scope, marketing is a necessity for every business to grow brand awareness and compete with others in the same niche. You will have to make bold choices about which marketing channels to pursue and you may need assistance from an agency that knows the best strategies. Your journey toward company growth and a larger income will depend on your marketing efforts, so be bold and get your name out there.