Expert / 22 August, 2017 / My Baba

How To Grow A Small Business Using Your Mum Community

If you are starting a new business with a limited budget, then creating a fancy marketing campaign from day one is just not an option. As a small business owner and busy mum, it couldn’t be more important to make people aware of your brand in the most time and cost effective way.

The growing online network of real life parents and social media influencers is becoming one of the most valuable and effective forms of marketing. Not only do you have the possibility to reach new customers, but you can also receive valuable feedback and engage with your following.

Here are my top tips on growing a small business using your online mum community:

Get social

One of the most cost effective ways to spread the word is to engage with an active online network, and there are few more active on social media than the mum community.

As we know, word of mouth and personal recommendation are still one of the best forms of advertising, especially between Mothers. So cultivating new friendships within the community will form part of a cost effective marketing tool to promote and grow your small business.

Instagram is my personal favourite social media platform, but whatever platform you use, when forging online friendships, keep it real! Like their posts, leave comments, ask questions, engage, but be genuine. It’s important that who you are online, is who you are offline, so when you actually come face to face with your online business friends, you’ve portrayed yourself honestly. Otherwise it can all get a bit cringe!

Instead of using every Instagram square or all of your 140 characters on Twitter as a place to push your products or services, think of it as a way to present yourself, the person behind the brand, your style, your personality. This way, you will find people will want to engage with you, to find out more about you.

Utilise business communities

We are aware how important social media is as a form of marketing, but it has another huge benefit to small business growth, which is the impact of connecting with a business related community. I feel the secret to successfully growing your small business online, is to grow new business friendships and joining a business community, is an easy way to meet people and a great place to start. With inflexible working hours pushing more and more mothers to become entrepreneurs, there is increasing support networks arising for mothers in business.

By forging new relationships, whether online or in person with other business owners, you will feel the benefits of becoming part of a business network, or community of people that have a similar outlook or focus. Particularly if you share the same target audience and have a mutual understanding of your market. As a small business owner, or freelancer, it can feel quite lonely working from home or cafes. So a business community also offers support, motivation and best of all promotion.

Reach out to influencers

Promoting your business depends on knowing who your customer is, and how they are influenced to shop. Social media influencer mums have gained huge popularity sharing honest opinions on products and engaging with their following on a relatable and personal level. Know which influences your key customer is likely to follow, they’re likely to trust their opinion on brand recommendations. Pitch and work with these influencers to reach your target market, grow your following and drive sales. The investment will be worth it and will come back to you in the end.

Use the talent pool

The mother community is brimming with valuable professional talent looking for flexible working opportunities. From highly experienced HR managers to photographers and copywriters bringing on freelance mums can help you grow your business and support the mother community.

About Mama Tribe

Within the Mama Tribe community there is a great deal of support and loads of opportunities to grow your business. As the community host and Mama Tribe chief, my role is to promote each business through the directories. Through my social media platforms, I engage with the tribe, chat, motivate and support them in Motherhood and in business.

Through Mama Tribe, new relationships have been formed and great opportunities have arisen. We don’t compete, we collaborate and promote what everyone is doing. As well as offering friendly banter and cajoling each other through each week, the Mama Tribe community can help each other by offering advice, skill swaps, cross promotion, shout outs and personal recommendations.

As Mama Tribe grows, so does the network of women in business, the community of Mothers and the opportunity for your new business to grow as you connect with new potential customers.