By Vicky Sidler | Published 1 June 2025 at 12:00 GMT

Marketing in 2025 feels a bit like wandering through a giant buffet with one small plate. You can’t load it with everything—so what do you choose?

Spoiler: not Twitter, not brand awareness, and definitely not buying followers (yes, people are still doing that).

According to a recent article by Marketing Insider Group, the small businesses winning this year are the ones doing less, not more. They’re focused, they’re strategic, and they’re not wasting time trying to go viral on platforms that treat external links like dirty laundry.

If you’re short on time, team, or budget—good. This one’s for you.

The 80/20 Rule Is Your New Marketing Bible:

You’ve probably heard of the Pareto Principle: 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. The trick is knowing which 20% is actually working.

Hint: it’s usually not that daily tweet you forgot to hashtag.

Here’s what works best for small businesses in 2025:

✅ 1. Email Marketing (The Real Kind):

If your idea of email marketing is dumping contacts into Mailchimp and ghosting them for six months… we need to talk.

Done properly, email is your most profitable marketing tool. But only if:

• You send regular, helpful content.

• You nurture subscribers instead of spamming them.

• You build a sales funnel that turns interest into income.

No need to overcomplicate it. Even one good weekly email can keep you top of mind and drive consistent sales—especially if it’s built around a clear, helpful message.

✅ 2. Local SEO (Stop Sleeping on This):

You don’t need to out-rank Amazon. You just need to rank in your town.

Optimizing for local SEO means showing up when someone nearby searches for your service—“plumber in Portland” or “copywriter in Cape Town.”

Simple moves like claiming your Google Business Profile, encouraging reviews, and using location-based keywords on your website can make a massive difference.

Pro tip: skip the DIY if it gives you a headache. Local SEO is one of the easiest wins to outsource and see real results.

✅ 3. Track What Matters:

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. But here’s the kicker: not everything that’s measurable is meaningful.

Track your cost per lead, conversion rate, and customer lifetime value. Skip obsessing over every open rate or follower count—those won’t pay your bills.

Next up, here’s what’s not working for small businesses in 2025:

❌ 1. Posting on Twitter/X:

Unless you’re already a micro-celebrity on X, it’s not worth the effort. The algorithm is allergic to links, and your best-case scenario is shouting into the void.

❌ 2. Paying for Brand Awareness:

This one hurts a little—but unless you’ve got Coca-Cola money, don’t throw budget at “awareness” campaigns. Build awareness through results, not reach.

❌ 3. Buying Followers:

Fake fans don’t comment, buy, or refer you. They just make your real audience wonder why your 50,000 followers never seem to engage.

It’s the digital equivalent of padding your resume with a fake degree—except everyone can see it.

❌ 4. Micromanaging Your Analytics:

Yes, metrics matter. But refreshing your dashboard every hour doesn’t make the numbers move faster.

Micromanaging leads to impulsive decisions—like ditching a blog post before it ranks or killing an ad just before it takes off. Patience and perspective win here.

What to Do Instead:

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels, here’s a better way to spend your next hour:

1. Write one useful email to your list (even if it’s tiny).

2. Google “How to optimize my Google Business Profile” and take 10 minutes to do it.

3. Look at your top-performing lead source. Double down on it.

And if you’re still not sure where to start? Grab my free 5-Minute Marketing Fix. It’s a printable, one-page tool that helps you write a clear sentence about what you do and why it matters—without sounding like you’re trying too hard.

👉 Download it here.

Because real marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things—consistently, clearly, and without burning out.