The goal of every small business owner is to have their business be a success by making a profit. In order to achieve this, the business must sell its products/services and create customer/client loyalty to ensure that it’ll continue making money. This is where marketing your brand— your company’s identity— can help you reach your business goals. Here are five ways to promote your company’s brand to drive sales and encourage customer loyalty.

1. Create a Powerful Brand Identity

Before you can market your brand, you must make sure that you have a strong brand identity. Your brand identity is not just how your business is recognized by your customers/clients, but also how they perceive your business. It’s the experience that sets you apart from your competitors. Here are a few examples of all the components that make up a unique brand identity:

• Customer service style
• Logo design
• Mission statement/motto
• Values

Your brand identity is essentially your company’s personality. A strong brand identity is one way to gain the trust of your customers/clients.

2. Influencer Marketing

75% of new small businesses use influencers to help promote their business and products/services. Influencers are already figures that many consumers trusts, and when a popular influencer promotes your product, those who trust that influencer is more likely to buy your product.

You can reach out to popular social media influencers that have millions of followers, or smaller influencers that still have a decent following— or both. Many companies create affiliate programs that allow their loyal customers to earn a small commission on each product they promote and sell through their customized affiliate link.

3. Promotional Marketing

When you’ve created a strong brand identity that really resonates with your customers, you can now consider selling or giving away promotional items with your company’s logo. Your logo should already be on business cards, storefront (if applicable), your website, and all across social media, and also on your products. Promotional items allow you to put your logo on a variety of things, such as:

• Aprons
• Bumper stickers
• Cell phone accessories
• Refrigerator magnets
• T-shirts
• Umbrellas

Keep in mind that whatever promotional item you decide to give away or sell alongside your products should be relevant to your company. For example, if you’re an electronics company you won’t really benefit from a promotional apron. However, lifestyle brands can benefit from almost any type of promotional item.

4. SEO Marketing: Website and Blog

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s the process of using the right keywords that people will type into a search that will lead them to your website— which is why having a company website is so important. First and foremost, your website is your landing page for all things related to your business— even if you don’t plan on selling any products online. Your website should include:

• Phone number, email address, and physical address
• Links to your (business) social media accounts
• Company name and logo
• Blog

A blog on your website (with topics relevant to your company) is also a great tool for SEO marketing. SEO professionals can help you determine the best keywords to use in your blog posts and on your website to help your website rank higher on the top search engines.

5. Social Media Marketing

Social media has become so much more than just a way to connect and keep in touch with friends— it’s also a great way to advertise.. In fact, many of the top social media platforms have business tools to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. The majority of people (from all backgrounds and all generations) use some form of social media, so having a strong presence on at least one platform can help with brand recognition. Some of the best platforms to join include:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Pinterest
• YouTube

It’s good to have a business page for each of the top social media platforms to help get your name out there, but you’ll want to put the majority of your efforts into one or two platforms. Some platforms are better suited for certain types of businesses, and you’ll discover the best platform for you based on your engagement.

Remember that no amount of marketing can replace having a good product to sell or service to provide. That’s another key part of your brand identity:  selling something that your customers/clients can trust. If you know that your product is something that people will spend money on, try these marketing tips to help drive sales and encourage loyalty.