In an effort to share some of our expertise and lessons, we like to leverage the STEEM blockchain to share. As with Facebook social media in the context of marketing, it is optimal to post once a day on your STEEM blog. Other platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, you can post more and not overwhelm your followers.

The point to post consistently like this is for brand repetition/recognition, to stay top of mind without being overly chatty, and to add some value in small ways. We will be working to post daily with the help of sharing our Tip of the Day.

Symbiotic Marketing

For our real-world clients, we are helping to tell their stories in the effort to raise awareness, and, ultimately, increase revenue. In a small city, there is often a limited budget for small businesses to reach that limited audience. It is just the reality of the market and we have to plan carefully to ensure investments in marketing are made efficiently.

A benefit to being in a smaller market is that many of the business owners know each other. We meet each other at family, community and business events. There is a familiarity which can be turned into a loyalty and partnership when it comes to marketing. This is what we like to call Symbiotic Marketing.

NOT Affiliate Marketing

This video explains Affiliate Marketing which is actually a great strategy for well-known bloggers and those wishing to monetize their online efforts. It is broken down in this video into plain language and has the standard free offer and sales pitch at the end like all good business owners will include. It is a neat strategy to learn but is not quite what we mean when we talk about Symbiotic Marketing

Small Town Symbiotic Marketing

Source: study.com

Rather than concentrating on affiliate rewards (commission,) we endorse combining marketing efforts with complementary businesses and owners. One example would be a restaurant teaming up with a brewery. We have seen this in our small town as a restaurant like https://revival.house will work with one of its suppliers like https://blackswanbrewing.ca/ to promote events like beer dinners, specials or product launches. Rob and Ryan will leverage social media and marketing channels to raise awareness of related products and services, create a call to action, and attract the market to attend and enjoy an event. The result is a win/win/win as the restaurant has a well attended and profitable event, the brewery will sell more and have new people sampling their product, and the public can find a new restaurant AND beverage they enjoy. From there, the story will proliferate of that experience....and take on a viral effect if marketing is done effectively ;)

As small business owners ourselves, we encourage you to find some allies with complementary businesses/markets, and combine efforts for mutual benefits. Create a new story and help each other out while containing marketing budget.

It is these personal connections that make for a rich local tapestry of strong, vibrant and growing small business in your community. Symbiosis is a powerful, natural phenomenon and Symbiotic Marketing is an exciting organic strategy to help your business not only survive, but flourish.

Let us know in comments what you think and how we can help your small business!