6 Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Small Business
Managing a small business is a daunting task for most. The good news is that a tight budget does not necessarily mean a poor and inefficient marketing strategy. Even with limited resources, small businesses have a range of different marketing options to choose from that are not only easy on the pocket but also effective.
Let’s explore how to promote your small business through these 6 low-cost marketing strategies.
1. Make the most of social media
Social media is arguably the most powerful marketing tool available for free today. Engaging with customers on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook is one of the best ways to get the word about your brand and your offerings out there.
Most social media platforms also offer paid promotions at reasonable rates that you may consider to maximise your reach and influence.
2. Work on your local SEO
Local SEO is an online marketing strategy that lets you optimise your website to rank high on local search engine results. Implementing local SEO brings your small business closer to local customers and eventually increases your online and foot traffic.
Fortunately, doing local SEO is free. Here’s some of the work involved:
- List your business in online directories like Google My Business and Yelp.
- Optimise location-specific keywords to the title, headings and body of your website content.
- Ensure that your web design displays well on different screen sizes.
3. Pay attention to networking
While digital marketing is excellent for all businesses, small businesses cannot ignore the benefits of old-fashioned networking.
By attending community gatherings, industry-related conferences and other similar events, you’ll be able to meet a lot of people, build connections and let them know about your business. Don’t forget to bring your business cards with you.
You may also engage your employees, family members and friends, to help promote your business in their personal circles. You could even sponsor a local sports team or a community drive in your locality to generate goodwill among your target audience. For this, you’ll need an attractive logo to make a good and unique impression.
4. Leverage email marketing
Email marketing is not a new strategy by any standard and has been around for decades. But there’s a reason why it is still popular in marketing circles. Email marketing allows you to reach out to new customers and strengthen relationships with the existing ones through personalised messages.
Although you can achieve it with little to no cost, it also pays to invest in email marketing automation. Email automation is a tool that lets you send out the right messages and offers to the right audience nurturing leads and generating sales effectively.
5. Start your own blog
One of the best ways to improve your online visibility and strengthen your SEO strategy is to start your very own blog. By creating valuable and web-friendly content, you’ll be able to reach and engage your target audience. They’re also useful in providing backlinks to your product landing pages, which will, in turn, drive up traffic and conversions.
For increased customer engagement, you may consider organising webinars, free tutorials or online lectures on industry-related topics. These are just some of the avenues through which you can create appealing content and all of them are accessible and inexpensive.
6. Get creative with referral schemes and giveaways
Your customers can play a key role in your marketing campaigns. You can come up with referral schemes that encourage customers to act as brand ambassadors and promote your products or services in their personal and professional circles.
Another unique and fun way to engage potential customers is to run contests or giveaways. Encourage individuals to engage with your website or social media accounts in return for an opportunity to win an exciting prize.
Conclusion
A restricted marketing budget doesn’t necessarily spell doom if you’re running a small business. Being resourceful and creative with the above-listed marketing options will help you improve your reach and return on investment without needing to pump a lot of money into your marketing strategy.
SOURCE: Crazy Domains
