We began 2021 with a pandemic and uncertain economy. And, it looks like we’ll end 2021 the same way. Nevertheless, despite it all, we saw that opportunities were plentiful. With a strategic focus, flexibility, and creativity, 2021 proved to be a great year to launch and scale your small business. Venture capital and seed funding, though challenging to reach, continued to flow to mission-driven startups. We learned how to thrive in the open-close-open-close marketplace and how to up our game in the digital world.
As we come to the end of 2021, we’ve decided to take a look back to highlight some of the great discussions we’ve had here on this blog.
2021 Top Tips for Small Business Success
Improving Website Performance
#1. Focus on user experience to improve website traffic: intrigue them, inform them, entice them to learn more.
#2. Blogs drive traffic to your website and keep your visitors there longer. Additionally, informative, helpful blog articles related to your product or service can be a powerful way to establish long-term relationships with your consumers.
Expanding Brand Reach
#3. Podcasts allow you to reach new segments of your potential customer audience.
#4. SMS marketing is a powerful tool to maximize your brand reach without investing a lot of money.
#5. Establishing yourself as a thought leader helps you build brand visibility and credibility.
Apps Come and Go
#6. 2021 was the year for Clubhouse. High-profile celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, and Jay Shetty were on it. You needed an invitation to join. The app cooled over the year. Let’s see what 2022 brings.
#7. Oh, and then there was the Robinhood GameStop story. It provided us with a real-life example of responding to a crisis to protect your brand image.
2021 Realities Taught Us We Need to Change the Way We Think About Engagement
#8. “Instead of thinking outside the box, get rid of the box.” Deepak Chopra
#9. “Engagement is creating deep connections with customers that drive purchase decisions, interactions and participation over time.” Forrester Consulting
Email is Not Dead
#10. Email is the most reliable channel for nurturing and converting leads.
Venture Capital and Angel Funding
#11. Finding angel funding and seed capital for your startup is challenging but not impossible. And if you missed this article, you’ll want to check it out, especially the link to an exhaustive resource list published by Ventures Founder LLC.
Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity
#12. #75% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a company that recognizes them by name, knows their purchase history, and recommends products based on previous purchases. Consumers are driving digital transformation.
#13. Many small business owners, especially solopreneurs, ignore cybersecurity, thinking they’ll never be a target. But, with the rise of SaaS, if you’re not thinking about how to protect your IT infrastructure, you could find yourself shut down and your reputation ruined.
Social Media Marketing
#14. LinkedIn marketing is not just for B2B companies. LinkedIn is one of the most trusted social platforms, with a growing userbase. Statista projects worldwide users will grow to more than 1 billion by 2025.
#15. Maintaining a healthy cash flow is your top priority if you’re a small business or startup. But, you want to grow your brand too, and you have to do it in this digital-first economy. Fortunately, there are ways to market your small business cheaply, and we talked about ten ways to do it.
#16. Start your social media campaign as soon as you launch your business. Your consumer audience will not find you if you don’t have an online presence.
Thriving in the New Normal
And we finished with a deep dive into the future, with tips on how to implement an effective marketing strategy in the “new normal.” Think metaverse, virtual reality, live stream, and augmented reality.
Bottom Line
We’re looking forward to sharing an incredible year of success in 2022 with you. It promises to be an exciting year for small business growth. We’ll continue to talk about cybercrime, as well as delve into NFTs, artificial intelligence, influencer marketing, and yes, the metaverse. But we’ll also cover the basics—payment apps and cryptocurrency, how to grow your reach on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and take advantage of third-party blog platforms such as Quora, Substack, Medium, and LinkedIn to establish thought leadership.
Thank you to everyone who has joined us this year and to those of you who have stayed with us. This is our last article for 2021. We wish you a safe, happy, and sweet holiday season.
See you next year!