15 Marketing Ideas for Your Small Businesses (+ Free Checklist)

Your small business doesn’t need a huge budget to get noticed.

In 2025, the most effective marketing doesn’t come from expensive ad campaigns or complicated funnels.

It comes from authentic content that connects with your audience.

Take Edeles Candles, for example.

This handmade candle brand has nearly 90K TikTok followers and 500K likes.

How did a small business get this kind of exposure?

By posting simple behind-the-scenes videos of candle-making.

No fancy production or big teams. Just engaging content that reaches thousands of potential customers every week.

And TikTok is just one path.

In this article, you’ll find 15 marketing ideas for small businesses that drive real results.

Each one is broken down by effort, impact, and budget. So, you can choose the ones that fit your resources and goals.

Bonus: Many of the ideas are free or low-cost.

Let’s start with one of the top tactics for small businesses — video.

1. Grab Attention with Short-Form Videos

Short-form video is hands down the best marketing idea for small business owners in 2025.

Especially if you want to increase brand awareness.

Why?

Because platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are specifically designed to push your content to people who don’t follow you.

This gives you a chance to get discovered even if you don’t have an existing audience.

For example, Toasted Mallow, a gourmet marshmallow shop, got over 1 million views on TikTok.

And they did it by sharing a no-frills look at how they make their treats: