Marketing is the core of any business. In order to grow your business, you have to get the word out about what you have to offer. Any business, from high tech startups to the online casino for Australia, demands that you set aside a portion of your resources to promote what you want to sell.
If you’re a small business you probably don’t have the mega-bucks that big companies have. But even without a marketing department, marketing staffers and a huge marketing budget, you CAN market!
Here are our recommended low budget marketing ideas for small businesses.
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Ad Promo Credits
Big Internet sites like Google and Facebook give coupons for businesses to use to create paid ads. You must have an account with each of these sites to access the discounts that they offer for advertising on their platforms.
Both Google and Facebook allow you to create ad campaigns that meet your personal budget so you don’t have to commit to anything that your budget won’t support. You can run a campaign in which you target exactly the population that you believe would be interested in your product or service based on keywords and other direct marketing data.
Once you set up your campaign with Facebook or Google you will be asked to choose a payment method. On that page, you’ll find your ad coupon (Google calls them “credits”) which you then apply to your ad.
Reddit is a bit confusing but if you get the hang of it you can maximize its platform to promote your business. However, you’ll have to be clever about how you present your product or service so that you don’t get booted off. Reddit users don’t like marketing!
Not all content does well on Reddit. Some of the subjects that appeal most to Reddit users include heartwarming stories, unique, interesting or little known information, art and photography, politics (especially “progressive” politics), religion, science, music, comics, food, fitness, technology, and video games.
You won’t do well if you simply post your website or lurk. You need to become part of a community, post regularly, provide feedback and comment on others’ posts on a regular basis.
As you develop a following you’ll find that increasing numbers of people are prepared to check out your content and your product/service.
Blog
Blogging offers you unparalleled opportunities to promote your business without paying anything. When you blog you establish your business as an industry leader by delivering content that is valuable to the readers. Your expert information allows your potential customers to see the knowledge and experience that you have in your field which then leads to inquiries and conversions.
One goal of any business is to develop and strengthen relationships with existing and potential customers. Blogging fulfills that goal by allowing you to connect in a conversational way. The most powerful section of the blog is the comments section which allows you to respond directly to your readers’ comments so that you build trust between you and the reader.
Don’t forget that, through your blog, you will also build your SEO so that your website can be found more easily through organic Internet searches.
Videos
Creating videos is another powerful way for you to build your reputation as an expert in your field. You can create instructional videos or share information in a way that allows viewers to see you and develop a feeling of connection with you.
Trust is the foundation of any commercial relationship and it drives conversions and sales. Videos give you the opportunity to let the people come to you because of the interesting and useful information that you provide. Video content is likely to engage the audience and foster trust. When you present your product or service in a conversational form you’re able to create a sense of individual approach and confidence.
Social Media
Everyone knows that social media marketing is a good marketing strategy but not everyone understands why that’s so. Once again, the name of the game is trust – when potential clients or customers feel that they “know” you, they’re more likely to engage and turn that engagement into a conversion.
Through social media, you can build awareness of your product or service simply by making it visible. When your audience sees your company engaging on a regular basis, regardless of whether you post about your business or not, they feel that they “know” you and the relationship of trust builds.
You have the opportunity to communicate your authority and expertise on your subject through social media via posts, comments on others’ posts and submissions of additional content. Your audience wants to see that you’re a real person and that your team includes people that they can trust.
Social platforms give you the chance to break down barriers between your company and potential customers. Marketers suggest that you develop your reputation as a responsive and caring brand on your social platform with quick responses to questions and comments, honest responses to criticisms and a forum for online reviews.
Interactive Infographics
Infographics are a popular marketing tool which displays data in an easy-to-understand visual fashion. Infographics drive up links and referral traffic by targeting the viewer’s natural visual processing inclination. Infographics capture attention and increase engagement through interactivity.
The interactive infographics use less text than a static infographic. Both types of infographics combine images and text to allow the viewer to visualize data and connect to the story. However, interactive infographics create a more participatory environment as readers are invited to click on or interact with the infographics in order to expand on the information presented with additional data.
Building an infographic can be challenging but if you learn to do it successfully you’ll establish yourself as a knowledgeable leader in your field – which is exactly what potential clients want.
Guerilla Marketing
Guerilla marketing involves marketing campaigns that emphasize creativity over budget. Guerilla strategies tend to be cheap and easy to implement. Basically, this type of advertising involves any action that will get your product or service noticed.
Some examples of Guerilla Marketing include storefront or street art displays, pop-up events, flash mobs, skywriting, photo-bombing, etc. The message here is that you don’t need a big budget to get noticed.
Events
Host an event or a class, either live or online. You’ll get a lot of notice as you publicize the event and then, once the event takes place, you can use the event to demonstrate that you, a leader in your field, are sharing information and advancing knowledge.
There are additional ways to market at little or no cost – online contests, attendance at trade fairs, email marketing campaigns, industry partnerships for joint projects and more. Your goals should include positioning your company as an industry leader and advancing recognition of your brand.
