For small to mid-size businesses, creating an effective marketing strategy can be a challenge. Smaller companies must make do with smaller budgets, even when competing against industry giants. That means they must be smarter in the way they allocate their resources and time.
If you are facing the challenge of running a small or mid-size business, below are some ways you can create a more effective online marketing strategy. 
1. Provide content.
Small to mid-size businesses can publish blog posts just as often as the big boys—it just might take a bigger percentage of your marketing budget to do so. But it’s a manageable expense and a worthwhile investment. Surveys have shown that regular blogging provides many benefits, including a positive ROI, and that the number of leads generated is directly related to the number of landing pages on your site. You’re not going to directly compete with the giants on buying Super Bowl commercial spots, but you can compete with them directly on content marketing.
2. Be a thought leader.
Being smaller likely means that your company is more innovative, not less. Use your content marketing to show that you are ahead of the curve, and are pushing the envelope within your industry.
3. Experiment.
The online realm is an ideal place to experiment with different marketing approaches, as you can easily measure results to see what works best and quickly change anything that isn't working. Larger, more visible companies have more to lose, and are more likely to take the safe route--which gives smaller businesses the advantage.
4. Choose the right keywords.
With fewer resources, it is unlikely that you will be able to compete for the top search ranking on popular keywords. A small florist isn't going to rank highly on Google for "flowers," for instance. However, they can rank for a multitude of long-tail keywords, such as "Houston Mother's Day flowers." By focusing on attainable keywords, you can attract the people who are looking for your specific product or service, and not just doing general research for a school paper.
5. Go local.
Similarly, small or mid-size businesses that focus on local SEO can often dominate the only market that really matters to them.
6. Be social.
Large companies can struggle with social media marketing, since it is harder to feel personally connected to a faceless corporation. Smaller companies can excel at being more social, more personable and more responsive to online followers and fans.
7. Call visitors to action.
When marketing a small or mid-size business, you want to make the most of every opportunity. When people visit your site, you want to convert them to leads right away; if they leave and later decide to buy, they are likely to find a larger and more visible supplier to purchase from. Including effective calls to action on your landing pages can make each visit more valuable to your bottom line.
8. Respond quickly.
Research shows that one-third to one-half of all sales go to the company that responds first to a prospect's inquiry. Being smaller and more nimble can therefore be a big advantage when it comes to actually closing the sale. Though you still have to make sure that you get found by consumers when they go looking, you can then outdo larger competitors by simply being quick to reply.
9. Nurture leads.
Once you do have leads, have a program in place to nurture those leads and guide them through the decision-making process. Lead nurturing allows you to be both present and patient, building a relationship with the prospect so that they know who to call on when they are ready to make a purchase.
The quality of your marketing strategy can make or break a small to mid-size business. By creating an effective online marketing strategy which plays to your company's strengths, you can not only survive, but thrive.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
