Having an effective marketing plan is absolutely one of the most important and essential things any business—small or big should have. However, it can be a bit difficult as a small-business owner with little to no capital to work with for big budgeting advertising.
The good thing is, although you may be a small business with an even smaller budget, the internet is a resourceful tool in finding various online and offline channels that specialize in visibility and advertising for your company—without having to break the bank.
A few options for businesses with a small-budget may include publishing content, organizing contests and giveaways with your company’s custom logo on a t-shirt, social media posts, or partnering with your competitors, just to name a few.
Are you curious to know how these techniques can actually help you as a small-business owner? Well keep reading and find out just how easy advertising for a small-budget business can be.
5 Achievable Low Cost Advertising Strategies
Utilize Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of the most effective budget advertising strategies a business can use. Using the most-searched keywords is what a company can use when determining how their target audience finds new products and services when they are browsing the internet. Those who use content marketing are also targeting 47% of their audience who tends to read and research articles about how specific products may match their needs before deciding to contact the seller of the advertised product.
Organize a Contest or Giveaway
Who doesn’t love receiving free stuff?! This is an amazing tactic to utilize and attract the attention of your target audience to buy into your brand and company. If you are able to design an enticing giveaway campaign that is thrilling and exciting, it can instantly become one of the best budget advertising moves. Include things like how the participants could potentially be featured on the company’s social media pages, and have some kind of incentive that makes them want to be a part of this opportunity. Consider this tactic as a win-win strategy where both you and your company as well as your target audience will benefit.
Create a Social Media Presence
According to a study conducted by Statista, more than 77% of Americans use social media platforms on a regular basis. Whether that’s to update their status, find new products, or simply browse the internet—they spend a lot of time doing it. If you consider the amount of time users spend on Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter to name a few, your business cannot afford to not have a social media presence.
In this day and age, social media is absolutely everything, so why not take advantage of that?! Social media allows you to create company pages (free of charge) as well as advertisement assistance. These marketing tools are perfect for any small-budget business, and they are extremely affordable—most of them being completely free!
Establish Relationships with the Media
The media is here and isn’t going anywhere any time soon, so take advantage of that. Using the media for budget advertising through things such as organizing donation drives to support your community, can be used to your businesses’ advantage. Sending press releases out, and inviting media representatives for interviews is one way to establish these relationships.
If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them
Partnering with companies that offer the same kind of products as your business can be a huge saving grace. When you’re stuck with a limited amount of funds to use towards your marketing plan, partnering with a company that sells similar products or has a similar message as yours can truly be beneficial. Not only will you reduce the costs of everything in half, but two minds are essentially better than one, which will be extremely important when establishing a budget advertising campaign.
After reading these 5 achievable low cost advertising strategies, I’m sure you’ve realized you don’t need a large lump sum of money to invest into gaining exposure and visibility for your business—especially while it’s still in the startup phase. Be resourceful and utilize any and all affordable and free advertising strategies, and watch how far your company comes!