First Steps to Online Marketing

In the 21^st century, promoting your small business online has become more important than ever. However, many small business owners choose to go without marketing themselves online or just do the bare minimum because they are daunted by the prospect of getting started. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind as you begin to promote your location online:

Social Media

Social media can be a major asset to small businesses that want to improve their marketing strategies. Social media is an extremely cost-effective and relatively easy way to increase one’s brand awareness among a larger audience; however, many small businesses do not use social media to its full capabilities.

If you currently do not have any social media accounts tied to your business, we recommend starting with one platform such as Facebook or Instagram and focusing your energies on building your audience there before trying to run multiple social accounts at once. Once you have your social media account created, you can start to promote your business by posting content that is relevant to the audience you are trying to reach. Keep in mind that simply having a social media account will not lead to an increase in your location’s brand awareness, you need to post consistently (3-5 times a week) in order to achieve the desired results.

If you already have a social media account or accounts tied to your business but are unsure how to take it to the next level, look no further than your terminal operator, Accel Entertainment. Accel offers our partner locations a myriad of pre-made social graphics designed to be festive and to increase interest in gaming. You could also try running fun promotional giveaways on your social media, which could dramatically increase your location’s reach.

Website Reviews

Websites like Yelp and Tripadvisor are fantastic avenues for small businesses to market themselves online to potential customers. It is important to foster a positive experience within your venue in order to encourage your customers to leave good reviews. If you haven’t created a listing on a review website, it’s possible that someone has already created a listing for you. Either way, it is important to “own” your business’s listing in order to respond to reviews that patrons leave on your locations. These reviews can be very important for people who aren’t familiar with your business, as a negative review could cause them to never visit your location, while a positive review could turn them into a regular.

Delivery Services

You may not view third-party delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats as ways a small business can market themselves, but that is not the case. In a post-Covid world, many potential customers use delivery apps as means to familiarize themselves with new places. This means that these third-party delivery applications can introduce your location to an enormous consumer base that you typically would not have access to.

Getting started promoting your business online can be a daunting process, however, Accel Entertainment has a host of materials to help you get started! Visit https://www.accelentertainment.com/blog to see more ways you can market your business.