No matter your industry or size, marketing materials for business are the tools that help your brand make a memorable first (and lasting) impression. From digital assets like websites and email signatures to physical touchpoints like business cards and brochures, these materials are how you communicate your value, show up professionally and stay top-of-mind for customers.
But with so many options out there, it can be tricky to know which ones your small business actually needs to get started, or scale up. In this guide, we’ve broken down 14 essential marketing materials for small businesses. Whether you’re launching a side hustle or refreshing an established brand, this list will help you prioritize the materials that will have the biggest impact.
- You need a strong logo, brand book, press kit and press release to build brand identity.
- A website, blog, email signature and social media profiles are foundational digital tools. They help build your presence, boost credibility and keep your audience engaged online.
- Print materials like business cards, brochures, flyers and posters still drive real results. They offer tangible touchpoints that help your brand stay memorable and professional.
- QR codes are a powerful way to connect print materials with digital experiences. They make it easy for customers to scan and access your website, offers or contact details instantly.
- A consistent brand voice and visual identity improve recognition and trust. When your materials feel cohesive, customers are more likely to remember and believe in your brand.
- Measure your materials’ performance using QR scans, custom URLs and customer feedback. These insights help you double down on what’s working and refine what’s not.
Want to bring your brand to life? Learn how to show your small business’s aesthetics and values in our guide to marketing collateral.
14 essential marketing materials for businesses
Marketing materials are the bridge between your brand and your audience, they help you show up, stand out and stay consistent. But not all materials are created equal.
Marketing materials help small businesses with:
- Promotion: to showcase products or services
- Brand building: to establish and reinforce brand identity
- Engagement: to connect with customers and prospects
- Sales: to drive revenue and business growth
The key is knowing which tools to prioritise. Below, we’ve rounded up 14 essential marketing materials for small businesses, covering both digital and print, to help you build a strong, consistent brand presence from day one.
1. Logo
Picture your logo as the friendly face of your business, the one that shows up everywhere, from your website to your business cards and even on your stylish branded clothing. It’s one of the mightiest tools in your small business marketing arsenal!
Logo—a crucial marketing material for business of any kind
Now, here’s the scoop: not all logos are created equal. You can’t just whip up a run-of-the-mill, messy or amateurish logo and expect it to work wonders. If you want your logo to truly represent your brand, boost brand recognition and connect with your fabulous customers, you’ve got to go for a well-designed masterpiece.
Why is this so crucial to have this marketing material up your business sleeve? Having a solid logo is a vital step on the way to crafting an established brand identity. It’s the first impression folks get of your business, and it sets the stage for everything that follows.
So, unless you moonlight as a designer (hey, we can’t all be creative geniuses, right?), that means investing in a pro custom logo design. For instance, you can turn to 99designs by Vista services for help.
Alternatively, you can tap into the power of a Logomaker tool for some creative assistance. Even if the end result only leaves you somewhat satisfied, you’ll still have a solid foundation to build upon. This means you won’t have to grapple with the dreaded blank page dilemma.
Best for: Any small business aspiring to create a lasting brand.
2. Brand book
We’ve already touched on the importance of brand identity and the role of a logo in shaping it. Now, let’s talk about another thing that rules over all your marketing materials for business and ensures everything is on-brand.
The brand book. Also known as the brand style guide.
Here’s what it consists of:
- Logo usage: Guidelines for logo placement, size, spacing and variations.
- Color palette: Approved colors and their usage, including primary, secondary and accent colors.
- Typography: Specified fonts for headings, subheadings and body text.
- Visual elements: Icons, graphics and imagery guidelines.
- Brand voice: Tone, style and messaging guidelines for consistent communication.
- Mission and values: A concise statement of the company’s mission and core values.
- Target audience: Description of the ideal customer profiles.
- Brand story: Narrative explaining the brand’s history, purpose, and vision.
- Design examples: Practical design applications for various materials.
- Usage rules: Rules for consistent brand representation across all mediums.
A brand book (style guide) will help you build a cohesive brand identity
Once you have a well-developed brand book in place, you can use it to guide your business in projecting a professional, recognizable and cohesive brand identity. It helps to streamline processes, enhance brand equity and foster trust among your target audience
Best for: Any small business looking to ensure a cohesive brand identity.
3. Press kit
A press kit is a vital marketing material for small businesses looking to establish their presence in the media and gain exposure.
A press kit is essentially a packaged set of information and resources designed to make it easy for journalists, bloggers and influencers to write about your business. Some of the crucial elements of a press kit include:
- Company overview
- Executive bios
- High-resolution images
- Videos
- Product/service information
- Customer testimonials
- Past media coverage
- Contact information
- Brand assets
- Press release
Make sure you regularly update your press kit so that it always contains relevant information about your business and makes the journalists’ work easier (that’s how you build relationships with media and get plenty of press coverage).
Best for: Boosting your odds of securing media attention.
4. Press release
Above, we mentioned a press release in your press kit pack. What is a press release? Let’s dive in.
The first thing you need to know is that you aren’t limited to just one press release. You can have as many as you want (and need) to reflect on the most recent or significant developments about your business from product launch to special events.
A press release is a statement or announcement about your business that you deliver to news organizations.
Just make sure all your press releases are concise, straight-to-the-point, adaptable and newsworthy. That way, you can make your document alluring to journalists looking to cover your business and its developments online.
Now that you’ve got the basics covered and are ready to dive deeper into building your collection of essential marketing materials for your small business, let’s explore five digital marketing materials and five print marketing materials that are absolutely crucial when launching a business.
Best for: Sharing your company news and latest developments with the target audience and media.
5. Business website
Most people turn to the internet when they want to find out more about a business. So, a well-designed website is an absolute must. Not only does a website lend your business credibility, but it’s a great way to share information about your offerings, build trust with clients and customers and show them why you’re the one they want to do business with.
As more people use the internet to find products and services, a strong online presence is crucial. Search engines like Google favor well-structured, well-designed websites, resulting in higher rankings and more traffic.— Moran Shadzunsky, Design Lead at Wix.com
Like your logo, your website is a marketing material that’s going to get a lot of exposure—so it’s important to nail the design. Unless you have a background in web design, you should plan to use professional website design services or a website builder to ensure your final site gets you the results you’re looking for.
While an effective website design will depend on your business and your customers, here are a few universal elements you should incorporate:
- Your branding: For your website to be an effective marketing tool, people need to be able to recognize that it’s a website for your business. Make sure to leverage your brand’s color palette and include your logo on each page.
- Contact information: Just like your business card, you’ll want to include your contact information (including your email, phone number and address) on your website.
- ‘About us’ section: Your website offers a great opportunity to tell potential customers who you are—and an “About us” section, which tells the story of your business, is a perfect way to do it.
- Product and service information: In addition to telling your customers who you are, your website should also tell customers what you do—which means including information about the products or services you offer. (Depending on your business model, this may include selling those products and services directly on your website.)
- Hours of operation: If you own a brick-and-mortar business, your customers need to know when you’re open. Include your hours of operation on your website in an easy-to-find spot.
- Social media handles: Include links to your social profiles on your website so customers can easily connect with you.
A well-designed site communicates a company’s mission, leaves a strong first impression and boosts customer engagement, trust and brand loyalty.— Moran Shadzunsky, Design Lead at Wix.com
Your website is the face of your business online
Best for: Every small business aiming to establish an online presence and get traffic from search engines.
6. Social media profiles
In the previous section, we talked about the importance of placing all your social media handles on your business website. But the thing is, to be able to do that, you need to get a hold of your social media profiles first.
Why is social media presence important for a small business? Simply put, it’s where your customers are. According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Consumer Trends Report, 40% of Gen Z have discovered new products on social media in the past three months, and 41% say it’s their preferred channel for discovering new products.
As digital behavior continues to shift, social media has become a vital marketing material for small businesses, especially when it comes to brand visibility, community building and customer engagement. By setting up business profiles on the right platforms and maintaining a consistent presence, you give your brand the best chance to connect with your target audience in the spaces they spend time every day.
Here are a few tips on how to choose the right social media for your business and align it with your brand:
- Start by identifying the social media platforms that align with your target audience and business goals. Focus on platforms where your potential customers are most active.
- Before setting up profiles, develop a clear social media strategy. Define your goals, target audience, content strategy and posting schedule. This will provide direction and purpose for your social media presence.
- Use a high-quality version of your logo or a representative image as your profile picture.
- Complete all profile fields, including a compelling bio that succinctly describes your business, what you offer and why users should follow you. Include keywords relevant to your industry.
- Select a username (handle) that is consistent with your brand and easy to remember. If possible, make it the same across all platforms for consistency. Customize your URL to match your business name if allowed.
- Establish guidelines for the type of content you’ll share, including visuals, tone of voice and messaging. Ensure that it aligns with your brand’s identity and values.
- Create a content calendar outlining what you’ll post and when. Plan content that engages your audience, such as educational posts, promotions, behind-the-scenes content and user-generated content.
- Outline how you’ll interact with your audience. Respond promptly to comments and messages, encourage user engagement and consider running contests or surveys.
- Maintain a consistent posting schedule. Consistency builds trust with your audience and keeps your brand top-of-mind.
- Use social media analytics tools to track the performance of your posts and overall account growth. Adjust your strategy based on what works best for your audience.
To learn more about growing your business on social media, check out our collection of social media tips for small business.
Best for: Enhancing brand recognition, fostering online interaction, driving web traffic and gaining access to paid social features.
7. Email signature
As your business scales up, you’ll come to realize that, despite the ever-increasing popularity of social media platforms, email remains an exceptionally effective marketing channel. So, it’s almost given that you’ll consider email marketing, and you will need high-quality marketing emails in your marketing materials arsenal.
However, during the initial stages of your entrepreneurial journey, you need not concern yourself with email marketing best practices just yet. At this point, the only email-related marketing material you should focus on is creating a professional email signature.
No matter the size of your company and the industry you operate in, it’s likely that you’ll use email a lot from the first day of your business’ life. You’ll reach out to media, leads, potential partners, suppliers and others. To make sure your email looks professional and polished and helps you to build brand awareness, you need to spice it up with a well-designed email signature.
You can use it as a space to share your:
- Contact information
- Website URL
- Logo or photo
- Social media links
- Promotional content
Best for: Raising brand awareness and brand recognition, distributing promotional content.
8. Blog
Maintaining a blog is among the most cost-effective marketing materials for business, regardless of its size or industry.
Blogs serve as a cornerstone of content marketing by bolstering your expertise and credibility while offering numerous opportunities for SEO improvement.
Most website builders offer user-friendly blog page integration with just a few clicks, or you can craft one from the ground up.
To make your blog a traffic magnet, ensure it has a user-friendly design, looks clean and on-brand, easy to navigate and offers high-quality, exclusive content.
Best for: Enhancing SEO and launching content marketing initiatives.
9. QR codes
QR codes are a versatile, cost-effective and user-friendly marketing material that allows small businesses to seamlessly connect their physical marketing materials with digital content. They facilitate engagement, provide valuable insights and contribute to an enhanced customer experience, making them a valuable asset in the marketing toolkit of small businesses.
A creative way to use a QR code to promote a business
Indeed, QR codes serve as a bridge between the digital and physical realms. Typically found on stickers, branded merchandise, posters, flyers or business cards, QR codes offer a direct connection to a business’s digital hub, which could include the website, blog, newsletter or social media profiles, when scanned by potential customers.
These can’t exist in isolation from each other, so… Let’s move to the must-have print marketing materials for business.
Best for: Connecting physical marketing materials with digital content.
10. Business cards
Business cards are an incredibly versatile small business marketing tool—you can use them to:
- Connect with clients and customers. The most traditional way to use business cards is also one of the most effective. When you meet a potential client or partner, give them a card to let them know about your business and how to get in touch with you.
- Build visibility in your community. Many small businesses rely on marketing in their local community—and business cards can be a great way to do that. You might post your business card on bulletin boards in local coffee shops or introduce yourself to other local business owners and ask to leave a stack of cards behind. The more business cards you get out into the community, the more visibility your business will have—and the more successful your marketing will be.
- Market on the fly. Opportunities to market your business can hit when you least expect—and keeping business cards on hand ensures you’re ready for anything. For example, you might meet an interested investor in line at the grocery store or a potential client while on vacation. If you’re prepared with a business card, you can take advantage of those chance encounters to market and grow your business on the fly.
When it comes to designing your card, you need to start with the basic business information (like your logo and contact information) and choose the right business card dimensions. From there, you can design your card, then start using it to make connections and get the word out about your business.
Learn more about how to design a business card in our step-by-step guide.
Best for: Connecting with target audience, building visibility in your community, marketing on the fly.
11. Postcards and flyers
Postcards and flyers are some of the most versatile marketing materials for small business, especially for events or local marketing.
They’re larger than a business card, so you can include more information about your business, along with interesting visuals or even a promotional offer.
Just like business cards, postcards and flyers are highly portable. You can leave a stack of postcards with other local business owners to reach new customers, or you can try posting flyers on local message boards to boost brand visibility. You can also slip postcards and flyers into shopping bags and packaged orders to encourage return customers. Postcards also work extremely well for mail marketing. Because of their size and finish, they tend to stand out from other types of mail—making it easy to grab your customers’ attention.
Postcards and flyers come in a variety of styles, finishes and paperweights, and what you’re marketing will determine how many you should plan to order. For example, you’ll want to order a large stack for more ‘evergreen’ postcards and flyers, while you won’t need as many for limited-time promotional offers.
Best for: Increasing brand awareness, promoting special offers.
12. Posters
Business posters serve as effective tools for drawing attention to specific things, be it an upcoming event, daily specials or the introduction of a new product or sale item.
They offer versatility, whether you’re using a poster within your store to promote a new service to existing customers or employing public signage to attract new ones.
Learn more about the different types of signs a small business can add to its arsenal of marketing materials.
Best for: Attracting attention of new customers, promoting content, events or special offers
13. Brochures
Sometimes, you need to share a lot of marketing information with your customers—but you need to deliver that information in a compact to-go format. That’s where brochures come in handy.
Brochures can help you market your business in a variety of ways. For example, you can use a brochure to tell the story of your business, similar to the “About Us” section on your website. You can use a brochure to share in-depth information about a particular product or service, to promote an upcoming event or to pitch potential investors.
Learn everything you need to know about making a brochure in our step-by-step guide.
Best for: Sharing more in-depth information about your company, product or service.
14. Printed ads
Print ads are vital for small businesses because they offer local targeting, credibility and tangibility. They reach a niche audience effectively and can enhance brand recognition. In some markets, there is less competition in print advertising, allowing your business to stand out more easily.
Print publications often cater to specific demographics or interests, enabling precise targeting of potential customers. Additionally, print materials, such as brochures or direct mail, can have a longer lifespan than digital ads, creating lasting impressions. Combining print and digital advertising can create a comprehensive marketing strategy, reaching customers through multiple touchpoints.
Best for: Local targeting, increasing credibility, reaching niche audiences.
How to make your marketing materials for business work harder
You’ve now got the full list of essential marketing materials for small business success, but creating them isn’t just about ticking boxes. To really make them work for you, it helps to understand the strategy behind them.
Here’s what to think about next:
Designing effective marketing materials
Creating impactful marketing materials for small businesses isn’t just about pretty pictures, it’s about purpose. Here’s how to make sure your designs do the heavy lifting:
- Know your audience: Every message, design and format should be aligned with who you’re speaking to.
- Maintain consistency: Use your brand book to ensure a unified visual identity across materials.
- Keep messaging clear: Whether it’s a postcard or a blog, clarity beats cleverness.
- Use design tools: Online tools like VistaPrint’s templates can simplify the process.
Content strategy for marketing materials
Strong marketing materials start with great content. It’s not just about what you say, it’s how and where you say it. To build trust and stand out:
- Tell your brand story with clarity and heart.
- Balance visuals with concise, compelling copy.
- Repurpose content across print and digital channels.
Want your message to look as cohesive as it sounds? Check out our guide on how to keep your brand cohesive.
Distribution channels
You’ve created beautiful marketing materials, now it’s time to get them out into the world. The best strategies use both online and offline channels to reach more people:
- Offline: Hand out business cards, flyers and brochures at events, in stores or by mail.
- Online: Share materials through email, social media, your website or as downloadable content.
The best marketing materials for small businesses are the ones your customers actually see, so think strategically about how to reach them.
Measuring effectiveness of marketing materials
Not all marketing materials are created equal, so how do you know what’s actually working? Keep an eye on performance by:
- Tracking QR code scans, UTM links and custom URLs.
- Asking customers how they found you.
- Monitoring engagement, response rates and conversions.
Marketing materials for business should evolve with your insights. If something works, do more of it!
Trends in marketing materials for business
Marketing is always changing, and your materials should evolve with it. These trends are reshaping how small businesses show up in the world:
- Interactive print: Use scannable content and augmented reality to boost engagement.
- Sustainable design: Minimal, eco-conscious materials are resonating with customers.
- AI-powered customization: Leverage tools that let you personalize marketing materials efficiently, whether you’re creating one flyer or 500, you can tailor content to your audience without starting from scratch each time.
Stay ahead of the curve by exploring the power of print-on-demand products in your small business strategy.
Create marketing materials for your business today
There’s a lot here, but there’s no need to be overwhelmed or do everything at once, just start with the essentials. Pick the materials that make the most sense for your goals, your audience and your budget, then build from there.
Ready to print your marketing toolkit? Design and order everything from business cards to brochures at VistaPrint’s marketing materials hub.
FAQs about marketing materials for business
How often should I update my marketing materials?
Review your materials quarterly or whenever you make major changes, like a rebrand, product launch or service update. Keeping things current helps maintain credibility and trust.
What’s the most cost-effective marketing material for new businesses?
Business cards, digital flyers and social media templates are low-cost, high-impact tools. A simple but well-designed website also gives you long-term value.
How can I make sure all my materials feel consistent?
Use your brand book to guide visual and messaging choices across all materials. If you don’t have one, start with consistent use of colors, fonts and tone of voice.
What’s the best way to test if my marketing materials are working?
Start small and measure results. Use QR codes, UTM links or promo codes to track engagement. Ask new customers how they found you, and monitor changes in traffic or conversions after distributing materials.
