Simple, Affordable, and Effective Business Marketing

Small businesses may have small budgets, but that doesn’t mean you can only afford to market to a small audience. With so many digital tools now available, the possibilities for affordable and effective marketing are endless. Consider these 4 simple marketing tips to get the word out about your small business.

1. Social Media

Building relationships, networking, and word of mouth used to only be able to happen in face-to-face situations, but social media has taken this to a whole new level.

• Create accounts in all of the big social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. to give your business presence.

• Networking is still one of the strongest ways to market your brand. Expand your network through a profile on LinkedIn.

• Don’t overdo it right away. A big mistake entrepreneurs make is oversaturation, posting too much too soon which causes potential customers to keep scrolling or block information from their feed.

• Create a meme about the business you do for easy sharing among your fanbase.

• Consider buying some promo ad space on social networking sites for simple ads at much lower prices than traditional advertising routes.

• Check for coupons. Some social media sites offer coupons and free ad space.

• Target small media channels in pivotal locations that could be helpful to your endeavors and use messaging within those groups that is closely related to their ethics and values.

• Join and support local groups on social media and in person. Leverage your local presence to get the word out about your business while giving back to your community by sponsoring events.

2. Give Free Stuff

Free stuff goes a long way with building a customer base.

• Ask customers visiting your store or website to provide an email address to which you can send special coupons for discounts.

• Give free samples. If you have a great product, people will want more after one trial which means giving the first one for free is a great incentive.

• Offer a rewards program. Offer free and discounted merchandise or even mini shopping sprees for referrals.

• Give away other free items like cash, gift cards, etc. Giveaways other than products for sharing your business website or shopping at your store creates good publicity.

3. Create a Web Presence

The technology of the web allows for a greater reach with simple marketing techniques.

• Make Youtube your friend. Video content is extremely user friendly and can be cheaply made when you do it yourself via a smartphone, or  you can enlist local college communications majors to record.

• Publish clever, fun, and informational content. Beef up on your business blog with entertaining articles that appeal to certain niches and lead back to your business.

• Start a podcast. Record episodes offering business tips or interviews with other successful business owners. This is a great opportunity to network while you market.

• Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out and become a reputable resource.

• Send weekly emails to your customers. Create a theme with your emails whether it be advice, transformation stories, etc. and tie it to the values of your organization. This gives your customers something to look forward to and shows your commitment to them.

• Play your hand at Reddit. This social networking site contains extremely savvy, narrow niche audiences that can accel your marketing outreaches if you are strategic with your content.

• Try StumbleUpon. Garner clicks with visual and humorous material through this paid discovery advertising. This site can be much cheaper than comparable social media sites.

4. Data - Use Your Greatest Asset

Don’t just collect data, learn how to interpret the data you collect and use it to make educated marketing decisions about your business.

• Keep it protected. Information like preferences and contact information is private and a breach could lead to loss of trust in your company. Use a cloud backup service to keep information and secure small business insurance to keep your business protected.

• Invest time into getting to know the trends and preferences of your customers. If you know their likes and needs, you know what you need to provide.

• Use customer data to make more targeted email marketing campaigns. Something as small as inputting a customer’s first name can improve effectiveness.

• Identify patterns to understand complaints. Recognize potential issues with your business and make efforts to improve.

No matter your budget, save money for your small business by using alternative marketing techniques with the help of trending technology. When finding ways to grow and protect your endeavors, don't forget to insure your business. For information on how we can help you setup your business with needed insurance, contact us today.