Most small and medium-sized businesses are familiar with the value of building a brand. Getting to know customers and making connections with the surrounding community can go a long way toward ensuring long-term success — no matter the industry.

While some business owners may have success pouring tons of capital into a multi-faceted brand building campaign, such an expenditure is not always possible, especially if you've recently opened a new business. If you're building a brand on a budget, here are three quick tips to help you get started.

There are still a couple weeks left in 2017, but marketers are already looking toward next year and the new marketing trends they should factor into their budgets. While it's impossible to know specifically what challenges the new year will bring, a few 2018 marketing trends are already forming.

Invest in Video Ads, Especially on Facebook

Streaming video on social media was one of the biggest growth drivers in 2017, so it comes as no great surprise that the trend will continue into next year. Recode reported that video ad spending is expected to grow 49 percent (to roughly $18 billion) in 2018.

As streaming on laptops and other large-display devices further declines, mobile streaming will continue to dominate other devices. Although mobile video has spread across the web, the most views in 2018 will still come from social media — specifically Facebook — making spending on this platform essential in the new year for even the most budget-conscious marketers.

It's no secret that film and television content is migrating to the internet at a rapid pace. When's the last time you logged on to Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Sling TV, CBS All Access or Hulu? Yesterday? An hour ago?

For the past few years, the marketing world has largely prioritized millennials, a group dubbed by Digiday as "the most studied generation in history." But there's another group that may prove even more important to reach: Generation Z.

According to The New York Times, this generation includes people born between 1996 and 2010. Though most Gen Zers are still relatively young, The Huffington Post reported that by 2020, this group will account for 40 percent of all customers.

So, how will marketers reach this generation? Here are six strategies you can use to connect with the customers of the future.

Marketing and communications teams have the ability to track an endless number of actions — from email opens, to link clicks and even time spent on specific pages. However, the volume of data relating to potential customers can often seem overwhelming.

The sheer quantity of available information might have marketers wondering exactly how data-driven marketing can be turned into customer action and increased conversions. Here are a few ways to get started.

Create Buyer Personas

One of the biggest opportunities created by data-driven marketing is the ability to take data and turn it into audience personas. Understanding your current customer base and using data points about them can help you predict your best future customer. Building a persona helps center your marketing around the customer and their expectations. From there you can target your media and your messaging and you're further along in developing a data informed marketing strategy.

Brand reputation management is often conflated with crisis management. Many small and local businesses don't consider this critical component of their online presence until there's an emergency. However, there are real benefits to taking a proactive stance when it comes to online perception of your brand. Don't wait to get a plan in place to help manage your online brand reputation.

A Positive Review Can Make a Big Impact

According to the Pew Research Center, 32 percent of Americans surveyed in 2016 said that they highly value the ability to look up online reviews of a product or service before making a purchase.

Customers want custom experiences, but personalization can quickly turn creepy if it crosses a line of comfort with its audience. There's just one problem: Where exactly is that line?

No brand knows for sure, and different customers will have different thresholds of tolerance for these experiences. The best way for an organization to avoid any blowback for these efforts is to establish a strategy for developing, testing and tweaking the methods it uses to offer custom content for individual users.

Here are some tips that companies can use to stay smart and safe while driving innovation.

Even if you're not familiar with the term "data-driven marketing," there's a good chance you've used this strategy before.

The practice of using customer information to develop targeted advertising has sparked a new age of online marketing — helping marketers connect customers with products and services like never before. Market Thunder estimated that $20 billion is spent annually on this type of marketing. In recent years, that money has caused seismic shifts in the digital marketing world, which affect both how we reach customers today and how we will in the future.

It can be tempting to play it safe with a marketing strategy, sticking with a well-established audience that is already familiar with your product or service. However, new data suggests that marketers who don't reach out to one very specific demographic in the next few years could be missing out. Big time.

According to MarketingLand, there are 59 million Hispanic-Americans living in the United States, and more than 40 percent of that total population falls into the millennial demographic. And not only are Hispanic millennials extremely well-connected — a report from Viant found that the group spends 25 percent more time on their smartphones than their peers — they also make up a significant percentage of the $1.5 trillion purchasing power of U.S. Hispanics.

Every autumn, customers wait anxiously as the retail world stares down the single most profitable day of the year. According to Entrepreneur, one in three Americans plan to make a purchase on Black Friday.

That means new buyers and loyal customers alike will be browsing your mobile site, apps and website for a deal. Your special offers and sales are ready to go, but is your digital presence prepared for the seasonal excitement? Can it efficiently handle the influx of holiday online shoppers?

Test Website Responsiveness

A frustrating website experience can encourage customers to turn to your competitors. Before the autumn sales begin, take time to test your desktop and mobile sites for download speed, branding consistency, ease of use and responsiveness to customers' needs. Are you making customized product suggestions? Are subscription forms easy to complete and submit?