Truth be told, marketing is hard. And for small businesses with a smaller budget, it can be even harder. But a small budget doesn't have to mean small marketing ideas.
Instead, market your business without breaking the bank with these 6 inexpensive ideas for small businesses.
1. Create a website for your business
Even if all your website does is present the who, what, where and why of your business, it gives you the opportunity to show up in local search results. This is important because if your customer is looking for a product or service that you provide, you want your web page to show among the search results. You can improve your website’s chances of showing up first in Google search results through SEO.
So, what makes a website effective? To keep it simple – a purpose. Your business information should be clear and easy to find and your website should communicate who you are, what you and the value your product or service provides.
Check out these 7 reasons to have a website for your small business.
2. Develop and implement a social media plan
Let’s be clear – this doesn’t mean you should go out and create a profile on every popular and trendy social media platform. What we mean is, evaluate your target audience and join the platforms your customers are actively on.
Having a social presence doesn’t imply merely posting some content, checking your messages and signing-off. Sure, community management is important but so is building community on your social platforms. The goal of social media isn’t to spam your audience with new products and deals but to build authentic connections and promote meaningful conversation.
The stronger the relationships, the more likely these connections are to share your brand with others and actively seek you out when looking for your product or service.
Check out our community building blog post for other social media marketing ideas for small businesses.
3. Create a blog for your business
Good content is necessary for every single aspect of your marketing efforts. Without it, everything you do will fall flat on its face. When done correctly, your blog can be a great way to expand the market for your product or service. The key here is to post regularly and make sure you have something of value to share.
Here are our five favorite types of content and where you can use them online.
4. Use video to build your brand
Maybe crafting professional brand overviews, testimonials and product videos are a little out of budget but that doesn’t mean video can’t still be included in your marketing mix. Between Facebook Live, IGTV and YouTube Live there are plenty of low-budget ways to get in front of your audience.
Here are a few video marketing ideas that you could start implementing today:
- Behind-the-scenes: This is a great opportunity to highlight specific team members and even do some employee spotlights and takeovers.
- Sneak peek: Who doesn’t love a good sneak peek at what’s new and the new products you’re working on?
- How-to/Instructional: Getting lots of questions on how to use your product and its specific features? Try making a tutorial video to walk your customers through how to use the product most efficiently.
5. Curate an email newsletter
Email marketing is alive and well and should still be a part of your marketing strategy. In the words of Erik Harbison, “if social media is the cocktail party, then email marketing is the ‘meet up for coffee’. The original 1 to 1 channel.”
An email newsletter is a great opportunity build brand awareness, deliver discounts to loyal customers, keep you present in your customers’ mind and stay in regular contact with your customers.
6. Invest in digital advertising
When considering advertising for small businesses most people make the assumption that it’s too costly when in fact, your initial investment into digital ads can be quite minimal.
Take search engines for example. There’s no fee associated with inserting a PPC advertisement. You are only charged when someone actually clicks on your ad.
Social media ads also have a low entry cost. You can get started for as little as $5. And for just about all digital ads, you can adjust your spending on-the-go as you analyze your efforts and see what’s working and what isn’t.
Need further proof? Take a look at the cost benefits to digital advertising.
As an experienced digital marketing agency, we’ve worked with a variety of small businesses from various industries. Think your small business could benefit from the help of an agency specialized in growing small businesses? We would love to talk and we will start by asking the right questions about your brand and digital marketing.
