I spent a few minutes on Facebook today. In that time, I counted four ads for every one legitimate post by a friend or a page that I follow. After a few minutes of that, I felt like I had just read the yellow pages. Could the fact that Facebook is intentionally flooding our feeds with advertising be why business owners are commenting to me that Facebook and social media advertising does not seem as effective as it used to be? Are people simply numb to the advertising?

If Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X or any of the other social sites out there went away tomorrow, could a small business effectively market themselves to their customers? Absolutely, yes. Maybe it is time for some old-fashioned ways of advertising to be the very thing to give your small business a competitive advantage.

I put my memory to the test and came up with a list of ten old-school marketing techniques that could work today as they did twenty-five years ago.

# 10: Yard Signs

Back in the day, when a service company completed a project at a home, they would put a sign in the yard. This was true for window companies, roofers, painters, and just about any other company that would work on the house. Homeowner Associations popped up in the 90s and started clamping down on things like this claiming that yard signs deterred from the attractiveness of the neighborhood. This led a lot of companies to just stop doing it completely. Yard signs are still allowed in some places, and even in areas where a generic sign is disallowed, could a sign that you put out while working on the job notifying passers-by that this is an active job site be allowed? Learn the rules and use them to your advantage. Be creative. Ask some questions and reap the benefits of this free advertising.

# 9: Participate in a Parade

Does your community have a parade on Memorial Day or Independence Day? Sponsor it. Build a float, drive a truck, donate cash, or do whatever you can do to get the attention of the hundreds of local potential customers who line the parade route. Not only will they appreciate whatever fun you bring to the parade, they will appreciate your support of their community.

# 8: Sponsor a Sports Team

Who can remember when the Little League teams were known by the company that sponsored their team? This still happens in some towns. Find out what your local sports teams need and offer to help. They are usually more than willing to provide opportunities for you to get your name in front of their spectators in exchange for uniforms, sporting equipment, or cash.

# 7: Host a Drive

Are you located in a highly visible part of town? Host a food drive, a diaper drive, or a toy drive at your office. If you are a little less visibly located, partner with a centrally located business and do it together. Let your customers know about it. Provide promotional material about your company to the benefitting non-profit organization. They would love to share it.

# 6: Host Educational Seminars

Exactly what you talk about will vary based on what service you provide but open your office to the community and offer “lunch-and-learn” seminars throughout the year on topics that benefit your company, your community, and other businesses with which you might want to partner. If you are a landscaping company, offer some lessons on the best types of plants for your area. A heating and cooling company may offer a seminar on indoor air quality. A plumbing company may offer a seminar on the latest advancements in water heating technology. The possibilities are endless. The best way to approach this is to be informative but not pushy. If there is interest, the attendees will let you know.

# 5: Sponsor a Small Business

This old-school technique works well if you know the owner of a local restaurant or bakery. Ask to set up a manned table in the restaurant or bakery in exchange for paying 10% of everyone’s bill all day. The customer gets 10% off their bill, and you get the opportunity to talk to them briefly or at least show them your name. The restaurant or bakery will know what their sales tend to be on a given day so you can easily budget how much this may cost you. You might be surprised at how many people you can get yourself in front of for not that much money.

# 4: Partner with a Non-Profit

This concept is known as affinity marketing. Partner with a church or non-profit to generate leads. Offer a percentage of the revenue generated by the leads back to the non-profit. A church, for example, could promote your maintenance program to its congregants. The church would then in turn get money back from you that might help support their ministry.

# 3: Print Media

Print is dead. You’ll hear this said a lot, but the truth is that print is not dead. It is just a lot different now than it used to be. Be willing to look at print media, just don’t fall for every sales tactic. Think about how the print is distributed. Think about who will be advertising in this print with you. Think about who will be reading the print. Does the reader fit your customer profile? Do other companies like yours use similar means of advertising? There is a conversation to be had here. Don’t dismiss it without some thought. If everyone else is dropping print media, you might be able to slide in and get some great rates and stand out from the crowd.

# 2: Host a Community Event

This can be anything from a chicken barbeque fundraiser for a local non-profit to an Easter Egg Hunt or Haunted House in your parking lot. Big holiday light shows are popular along with walk through holiday themed giant inflatable displays. Be creative and own it. Do it year-over-year and make it bigger and better each year. You will soon be known as the “Guys who do . . . “. Even if some other company already does something nearby, do something different. Make it your own.

# 1: Word of Mouth Advertising

True word-of-mouth advertising goes beyond Google reviews. It involves your customers literally telling their friends and neighbors about your services. First, do you work in such a way that people leave happy? If so, encourage them to tell their friends and neighbors. Maybe you can give them “friends and family” discount coupons or even pay a referral fee. This kind of relationship building is priceless.