What are the Best Marketing Tools for a Small Business?

Marketing is an essential aspect of any business. However, small businesses often don’t have the budget to fund extravagant marketing campaigns like big businesses. Fortunately, there are marketing tools out there for businesses on any budget. We compiled a list of 7 of the best marketing tools out there for a small business on a budget. 

This blog post may contain affiliate links which means we get commissions for purchases made through links in this post at no extra cost to you.

1. MailerLite 

There is no doubt that small businesses need to invest in an email marketing service. As a matter of fact, according to HubSpot, 64% of small business owners use email to reach customers. 

Email marketing is a great way to grow your business without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for a reliable and cost effective email marketing system, we recommend MailerLite. 

She Boss Talk has been using MailerLite for years and we absolutely love its features. With MailerLite you can: 

• Create stunning emails and newsletters 
• Monetize your audience by integrating ecommerce tools such as Stripe
• View easy to understand analytics so you can access what’s working and what isn’t
• Segment your audience so you can deliver the right value to the right people

Now, let’s talk about pricing. 

Mailerlite does have a free plan that is perfect for a small business just starting their email list. The free plan allows you to send 12,000 emails per month, make landing pages to collect email addresses, create automations and more. 

However, their paid plans go up to $21 per month and include unlimited emails, auto resend campaigns and other useful features. 

Sounds good? You can use our link and sign up for MailerLite here. 

2. Canva

There is a reason Canva has over 75 million active monthly users. Canva is an excellent tool for small business owners to create beautiful and compelling graphics for their business. 

People are visual, so they are much more likely to pay attention if you create graphics that look professionally done and catch their eye. 

Thankfully, you can use Canva to create eye-catching graphics for your business with little design experience.

You can use Canva to create:

• Flyers
• Social media posts
• Designs for physical products
• Infographics
• Business cards
• Invoices
• Presentations
• And so much more

Canva is one of the best marketing tools for a small business on a budget because they have a free plan. However, there are limitations to the free plan. With the free plan, you have a limited amount of templates, stock photos, and elements. With Canva Pro, you have access to all Canva offers for less than $60 per year. 

If you don’t have a Canva account, consider this our official invitation. You’ll love this tool as much as we do. 

3. Buffer

We recommend investing in an easy-to-use and reliable social media tool such as Buffer if you’re posting on social media. Buffer markets itself as the “all you need social media toolkit for small businesses.” 

With Buffer, you can:

• Schedule and publish social media content on your various social media platforms
• Analytics from your social media as well as reports
• Engage with your followers on social media
• Create landing pages

Buffer is an excellent tool for small business owners on a budget because a free plan is available. However, the free plan is limited. With the free plan, you can publish on only 3 of your social media platforms and build landing pages. In addition to the free plan, there are several other plans, such as a $6 per month per social media channel plan. With that plan, you have access to engagement and analytic tools.

Sometimes you have to use different tools to find out whether or not  they work for you and your business. Buffer is not the only scheduling and pushing tool. You can also try out Hootsuite, Later and others. 

4. Social Media Platforms 

Our list wouldn’t be complete without talking about social media platforms. Social media platforms are one of the best marketing tools for a small business. If you’re not using social media platforms as part of your inbound marketing strategy, it’s time to!

You can sell your products on social media platforms both directly and incorrectly. However, to sell successfully, you have to be strategic.

The best individual social media platform for your business is dependent on your business. When considering which social media platforms to market your business on, you have to consider who your audience is. 

For example, if Millennials are your target audience, Instagram and YouTube would be great places to advertise your business. 

In addition to that, remember, you don’t have to be on all platforms. Find the one or two where your target audience is and where you can consistently post and engage with your audience. If you’re a small business owner without a team dedicated to social media, you can quickly burn yourself out creating content and trying to be on every platform. 

We know social media can be hard to understand. In addition to that, it can be time-consuming creating content that isn’t getting you the results you want. As a matter of fact, there are many social media mistakes small business owners make that is COSTING them money instead of earning them money. 

We recommend the Attraction Marketing Masterclass that helps entrepreneurs leverage social media to attract their ideal clients. You’ll learn how to create valuable content that engages your audience and strategies for targeting the right people on social media. If you refer a friend, you’ll get 20% off, and they’ll get 20% off once they purchase!

5. Google Tools

Google has many free tools that you can use to market your business and help you with search engine optimization (SEO). 

Some of our favorites are:

• Google Analytics for website insights and measuring your website return on investment (ROI).
• Google My Business for local SEO and, therefore, increased visibility.
• Think With Google for marketing trends and insights 
• Google Search Console for website indexing information, search traffic, and performance which can help your SEO efforts.
• Google Keyword Planner for keyword research and help with ads.

We also want to highlight Google Workspace. While Google Workspace isn’t free, it’s still affordable with its cheapest package at $6 per month. With Google Workspace, you can get:

• A custom and secure business email
• Meetings
• Access to Google docs, Google forms and other resources (these are free anyway)
• Security and management controls

6. Be.Live

Using videos as part of your marketing plan is essential for small business owners. Did you know that 54% of consumers want to see video content from brands they support? One of our favorite video tools is Be.Live. 

Be.Live is helpful if you love going live on your social media platforms. It allows you to:

• Do cloud-based streaming so you can avoid downloading bulky software to stream
• Stream on multiple platforms at the same time
• Include your branding essentials on your streams
• Invite guests on air
• Send clickable sale links to your audience to boost sales

We think this is a great marketing tool for small business owners. Be.Live has several plans you can choose from, including a free option and plans less than $40. Of course, the paid plans have more features and benefits than the free plan. You can sign up here and take your live videos to a new level. 

7. WordPress

Out of the 2.1 billion websites on the internet, 455 million of them are hosted on WordPress and there’s a reason for that. 

Business owners trust WordPress with their brand and business for several reasons, such as:

• Price- WordPress is cost-effective for even small business owners to set up their own website, sales pages, etc.
• SEO Friendly- If you invest in your SEO, you can get more website visits and increase your chance of making more sales. WordPress is designed with SEO in mind, and with available plugins to help you navigate, it’s worth the investment.
• Easy to Use- You can make a great WordPress website if you’re on a small budget and have little design experience. 

WordPress is one of the best marketing tools for small business owners.

If you don’t have your own business website, you can set one up today with WordPress. As a small business owner, you need a website. Fit Small Business says, about 71% of small businesses have a website. Websites help to increase trust and brand awareness. In addition to that, you can use your website for blogging to generate leads and sales. Fit Small Business says businesses that blog get 67% more leads per month.

Your website doesn’t have to be extravagant; it just needs to be clutter-free and communicate your value clearly. However, the design does matter. According to Fit Small Business, 38% of people will stop interacting with a poorly designed site.

You can also quickly move your existing site to WordPress if you wish to reap the benefits. 

Conclusion

The best marketing tools for small businesses will vary based on which business owner you ask. However, we love these tools and recommend them to other small businesses like us. What marketing tools do you use for your small business? Let us know in the comments below.