The continued advancement in technology has reshaped how marketers reach out to and interact with their potential customers. Small businesses that are not setting or adopting new trends in digital marketing can easily find their campaigns losing traction in their marketplace. Fortunately, there are government small business grants available to help small businesses find the proper resources and choose the right marketing activities to help their businesses thrive.
Small Business Grants for Online Marketing Activities
Among traditional fields of business, few have seen as much change as the marketing department. However, the increased focus on social and online sales tactics has created positions dedicated solely to online marketing. This opens up a tremendous opportunity for small businesses to compete for top talent in order to help develop a strong web presence and allow them to compete with rival firms. CareerConnect small business grants for hiring recent grads offers up to $16,000 to support the hiring of recent graduates for a term of less than 8 months.
Canadian Small Business Grants for Hiring
Canadian government funding supports positions that include but are not limited to the following:
- Graphic and Web Design
- Web Communications Manager
- Online Marketing Manager
- E-commerce Manager
Ontario Small Business Grants for Tradeshows & Exhibitions
Export Market Access is an Ontario funding for small business program that offers up to $30,000 or 50% of eligible expenses and can be applied to as many as twice per year. This business funding grant program is often leveraged by exporters that frequent trade shows and exhibitions. Eligible costs covered by the program include but are not limited to:
- Travel expenses
- Booth rentals
- Marketing brochures, etc.
Canadian Small Business Grants for Online Marketing Projects
The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) offers Canadian small business grants for any company committed to internal R&D. One such program is called IRAP Accelerated Review Process (ARP), which covers as much as $50,000 towards a wide array of different projects so long as they are aimed at solving an internal technical challenge. Examples related to online marketing include competitive market research, global marketing strategies, online market presence strategy creation and adoption, software implementation and more. Here are a couple additional highlights of this program:
- IRAP funding covers up to 80% of direct labor or 50% of sub-contractor fees
- Funding for this program is released annually on April 1 and project can run until March 31 of the following year
Ontario Business Grants for Hiring Experienced Export Managers
The Ontario Exporters Fund exists to help small and medium-sized enterprises that have between $1 million and $20 million in sales, with 10%-50% of total sales from export, and having between 5 and 500 employees. Eligible businesses can qualify for small business grants of $40,000 annually for 2 years to cover as much as 50% of the salary of an experienced export manager. Qualified applicants must have also been registered federally or provincially as a business for at least 2 years and be operating in one of the following priority sectors:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Aerospace
- Building products and construction
- Clean Technology
- Exportable professional services (such as: engineering, architecture, urban planning)
- ICT including digital media
- Life sciences
More on Ontario Exporters Fund
Small Business Grants Canada for Agricultural Programs
AgriMarketing small business grants for marketing are designed for businesses with less than 250 employees and cover as much as 50% of eligible project costs up to a maximum of $50,000 per qualified applicant. Eligible projects include but are not limited to:
- Market development and branding strategies
- Industry-wide branding, promotion and advertising
- Incoming and outgoing exploratory missions
- Market research
- Technical training for buyers about Canadian products
- Export capacity building
More on AgriMarketing Canadian Grants
Learn More about Small Business Grants and Loans for Marketing from Mentor Works
In order to find out more about any of the above Canadian small business grants programs click on the name of the program to access additional articles featuring overview blogs, eligibility and application process details, and the latest updates on funding releases and timelines. You can also sign up to receive our Canadian government funding weekly e-newsletter and Mentor Works on LinkedIn.