
Small Business Marketing Ideas | 6 Affordable Marketing Ideas
Small Business Marketing Ideas | 6 Affordable Marketing Ideas
Truth be told, marketing is tough. And for small businesses with a small budget, it can be even more difficult. But a small budget does not necessarily 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 appear in local search results. This is important because if your customer is searching for a product or service that you offer, you want your web page to appear among the search results. You can improve your website’s chances of appearing first in Google search results through SEO.
So, what makes a website effective? To keep it simple – purpose. Your business information should be clear and easy to find and your website should convey who you are, what about 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 – that doesn’t mean you have to go out and create a profile on every popular and trendy social media platform. What we mean is to evaluate your target audience and join the platforms that your customers are actively working on.
Being social isn’t just about posting some content, checking your messages, and logging out. Community management is certainly important, as is building a community on your social platforms. Social media isn’t about spamming your audience with new products and deals, it’s about building real connections and fostering a meaningful conversation.
The stronger the relationships, the more likely you are to share these connections to your brand with others and to actively search for you when searching 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 essential to every aspect of your marketing efforts. Without it, everything you do will fall on his face. When done right, 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
Crafting professional brand overviews, testimonials, and product videos might be a little off-budget but that doesn’t mean that video can still be included in your marketing mix. Between Facebook Live, IGTV, and YouTube Live, there are plenty of low-budget ways to appear in front of your audience.
Here are some video marketing ideas you can start implementing today:
- Behind the scenes: This is a great opportunity to highlight specific team members and even do some employee spotlights and acquisitions.
- Peek: Who doesn’t love getting a sneak peek at new features and new products you’re working on?
- How-to / Instructional: Do you get a lot of questions about how to use your product and its specific features? Try creating a video tutorial to guide your customers on how to use the product more efficiently.
5. Organize an email newsletter
Email marketing is alive and well and should remain a part of your marketing strategy. In the words of Eric Harbison , “If social media is a cocktail party, email marketing is a ‘meet for coffee.’ The original channel 1 to 1.”
An email newsletter is a great opportunity to build brand awareness, offer discounts to loyal customers, keep yourself in the minds of your customers and stay in regular contact with your customers.
6. Invest in digital advertising
When considering small business advertising, most people assume that it is very expensive when in reality, your initial investment in digital advertising can be minimal.
Take search engines for example. There are no fees associated with listing a PPC ad. You are only charged when someone actually clicks on your ad.
Social media ads also have a low cost of entry. You can get started for just $5. And for almost all digital advertising, you can adjust your spending on the go as you analyze your efforts and see what works and what doesn’t.
Do you need more proof? Take a look at the cost benefits of digital advertising.
As an experienced digital marketing agency, we have worked with a variety of small businesses from various industries. Do you think your small business could benefit from the help of a specialized small business development agency? We’d love to talk and we’ll start asking the right questions about your brand and digital marketing.