14 Marketing Ideas for Businesses on a Budget
Effective marketing tactics are a key element for businesses to stand out and reach their audience, but they may seem out of reach to some. In this guide we offer various marketing tactics that can help businesses on a budget harness the power of social media, influencer marketing, SEO tactics and more, to increase their brand awareness and get more conversions. By incorporating these strategies into your marketing plan, you can effectively promote your products or services, connect with your audience, and achieve growth for your business while saving on your budget.
Get Yourself Out There
Social Media: Harness the power of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with your target audience. Find communities with frequent posts and a high degree of interaction to participate in. Create compelling content, frequently engage with your followers, and leverage relevant hashtags to increase your visibility. Encouraging user-generated content has a positive effect on engagement and spreads the word about your business. Tagging your best followers and other businesses, as well as running social media exclusive events like flash sales, will drive engagement and generate organic buzz about your brand.
Business Awards: Participating in business awards or contests can provide valuable exposure and valid social proof for your brand. They can provide earned media (free) if your business’s name appears in the news. Research and apply for relevant awards in your industry to gain recognition and enhance your credibility, and proudly display these awards on your website. Share these milestones if they are new through social media posts, emails, and any other relevant channels. If you cannot find relevant awards, consider starting one up yourself!
Influencer Marketing: There have always been influencers, people with followings, but not in the sense of the word today. Online influencers can affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience. Identify influencers within your niche and collaborate with them to promote your products or services. Influencers have established audiences who trust their recommendations, making it an effective way to reach a wider target market. Studies show that influencer marketing can have a 650% return on ad spend when working with highly engaged influencers. This is the fastest growing online customer-acquisition channel as well, so any mutually beneficial relationship with an influencer could provide an edge to your business. From macro-influencer to micro-influencer, there is a wide range of personalities and niches out there, and you can find one to begin working with that fits your budget.
Networking: Join local networking groups or industry-specific communities to expand your professional network and attend things like mixers and trade shows. Actively participate in discussions, share insights, and build relationships with potential customers and partners; unexpected marketing and collaboration opportunities can be found at events like these. Sponsor or host an event yourself, even create a class or run a webinar with free information; anything that establishes your business as an authority in your field will help your marketing.
Visual Media
Visual Content: Visual content is highly engaging and shareable; focus on entertaining or informing your audience with your visuals. Images drive engagement, so place images wherever you can without increasing load times or creating a jumbled design for your site. Utilize platforms like YouTube and Instagram to create and share videos related to your business. Showcase product demonstrations, behind-the-scenes footage, or customer testimonials to captivate your audience and earn credibility. Informative videos can be picked up by search algorithms to answer people’s questions, and even if they aren’t direct marketing materials, place your business info at the end of the video, people can show their gratitude and drive engagement in more ways than one.
Infographics: If you have valuable data to display, create visually appealing infographics that present complex information in a compelling and easy-to-understand format. Share these infographics on your website, blog, and social media channels to educate your audience and increase brand awareness. Images with useful information perform better and are shared more often than plain images, and infographics can be shown to increase sales by up to 80%.
Business Cards: Don't underestimate the power of traditional marketing materials, a good business card can keep you front-of-mind for potential customers. Design eye-catching business cards that reflect your brand identity and provide contact information. Be creative, try to distinguish your business card with a unique concept that’s memorable. Distribute them at events, conferences, and community gatherings to make a lasting impression; every handshake and introduction should be met with a business card.
SEO Tactics
Keywords: When it comes to Search Engine Optimization, keywords are critical. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases related to your business and incorporate these keywords naturally into your website content, blog posts, and social media updates to improve your search engine rankings. Focus on local SEO if you have a physical location by including location information in your keywords. It’s important to remember that Google prefers pages that have relevant information that will answer user questions, and do not solely drive traffic based on keywords; user satisfaction is still key.
Check Listings/ Directories: Ensure your business is listed accurately in local directories, review sites, and search engine listings. Claim your business profile on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and Foursquare to improve your online visibility and attract local customers. Ensure that all your information is correct on Google and update it regularly. Upload photos, fill out every field, and encourage reviews, they are great for social proof. Respond to reviews, both good and bad, to demonstrate your interaction with the customer.
Digital Ad Space: There’s a whole spectrum of purchased advertising space, and while some businesses may spend tens of thousands of dollars, ad space does not have to break the bank. Google pay-per-click ads can cost a few cents per click, and you can customize your ad budget to your limitations. The more specific your niche, the more effective these can be. The same can be said for Bing, which has a 33% lower average cost-per-click. Plenty of websites like Facebook and Reddit offer ad space that can be made to fit your budget and are worth exploring. Free credit promos can be found for these services at times as well.
Marketing Principles
Craft Your Pitch: Craft a compelling “elevator pitch” that succinctly conveys what makes your business unique, it should be something that can be performed in 60-90 seconds. Anticipate the questions your audience may have and practice delivering it confidently, utilizing it in networking events, conferences, or even in an elevator! Have this pitch prepared for whenever you have an opportunity to introduce your business. Make sure the value of your product or service is clearly communicated, the listener should understand what the benefit would be to them. Don’t focus on making any one sale, your driving motivation should be to inform people about your business and get the word out there.
Referrals: Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful and cost-effective methods of marketing. Simply encouraging your satisfied customers to refer your business to their friends and colleagues can increase your sales by a large factor; 92% of individuals trust referrals from people that they know. You can also incentivize referrals by offering rewards or discounts for successful conversions. Gamifying your referral programs with refer-a-friend sweepstakes or contests are great ways to drive engagement with a fun experience.
Email & Mail Marketing: When it comes to deliverable media like mail and email marketing, it’s always important to remember the goal is to provide value to the potential customer and incentivize them to take further action. Email marketing campaigns can be set up for free or a few dollars a month with software services like Mailchimp. Traditional mail marketing materials can be printed for cents on the dollar and still offer a generous ROI when compared to digital ad space and other alternatives. The physical interactivity that traditional mail provides can distinguish your business in people’s minds. Both email and mail are great spaces to offer specials, sales, and other events to encourage action. A/B testing can be implemented to test the effectiveness of these materials.
Guerilla Marketing: Guerilla marketing involves unconventional and low-cost tactics out in public to create maximum impact. Creativity is key here, it’s best to show people something that they’ve never seen before to make them stop and think. Consider using street art, flash mobs, or unique promotional stunts to grab attention and generate buzz around your brand. People appreciate the subtle effort these marketing efforts take, and it gives them a story to tell about your brand when they get home that day.
In our connected world, a big budget isn’t the only solution to successful marketing, you can effectively incorporate these money-saving strategies into your plan. Your customers are your life force, providing them with valuable information and ample engagement in any form is sure to bring you more conversions. To reiterate, when it comes to running a business on a budget, creativity is key; don’t limit yourself to the suggestions in this guide, you and your business are unique, and your marketing ideas should reflect that.
For further assistance with your businesses marketing plan, schedule a free discovery call with Doukas Media today!