Many small businesses have limited marketing budgets, making it challenging to promote your business. There are many ways to market your business to customers without spending much money.
We understand you are busy as a business owner and need more time to find these marketing ideas.
This post will show you a lot of low-cost and free ways to market your company.
Marketing ideas that are quick and easy
These strategies are completely free and do not require any time or resources (because we all know that time is money).
Get a Google My Business account for free
A Google Business Profile is a great free marketing strategy for local businesses. This essential piece of marketing collateral will allow your business to appear on Google Maps.
However, to make your Business Profile appear higher in Google Maps and local results, you must optimize it. To do this, you will need to verify ownership through your Google My Business account.
Use social media to post (and engage)
It’s a great way to increase social media engagement and build a community online. You can create business accounts and join the major social media platform -Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Twitter. YouTube. This can be done whenever you have some spare time.
Promote your blog posts to drive traffic to your website.
To express your brand voice, engage with your followers and gain more engagement, you can directly dialogue with them.
You can take excerpts from long-form content and make quick, informative posts that are easier for people to understand.
No matter what your motivation is, you must be active and proactive in the social media accounts that you create. Consider community, collaboration, commitment, and consistency.
Use social media to tag brands and people
Tagging loyal customers, brand ambassadors, neighboring vendors, and other businesses on social media can increase your organic reach to new audiences, grow your audience, and possibly even help you get more clients. Encourage your followers to tag your social media handle and your business location in any posts. Learn more about user-generated material here.
Use hashtags
A free marketing tactic to increase your reach is to include hashtags in your social media posts on Instagram and Twitter. This works well for Facebook and LinkedIn.
While trending hashtags are great for strengthening your brand identity, they shouldn’t be the only ones you use. For providing advice or resources, more specific hashtags are better (sort of like long tail keywords). If you are a local business, location-based hashtags will be a must. Don’t forget to include custom hashtags. Use a variety of hashtags in your posts to ensure they reach the right people.
LinkedIn is your best friend
LinkedIn is a popular social media platform that is often overlooked. Do not just sign up for LinkedIn and then close the door. Instead, engage in dialogue with your connections, share blog posts and offers, and join forums to share quality content.
You can help other professionals grow and educate your customers. This will build your brand and increase trust in your industry. Encourage your employees to join the platform!
Marketing ideas that are free but require more effort
Although these strategies are free, they require some effort and time investment. The good news is that the strategy will be more successful if it takes more effort.
Local SEO
Google’s algorithm is the best because it is designed to provide relevant, accurate, and high-quality content for every search query. It doesn’t pay to play so small businesses can compete with larger competitors for page one real property.
SEO is free but can take time. So start now and continue working. The benefits can be enormous. Here are some must-dos for local SEO:
Include location-based keywords in the titles, headings, and body content of the pages of your main website.
Register in online directories to ensure that your information is consistent across all platforms.
Create pages and blog posts that are specific to the areas you serve.
Create an email marketing strategy
Email marketing can be a great way for new customers to become engaged with your company, and also maintain good relationships with existing customers. Email marketing isn’t new, but it is still one of the most reliable ways to get a strong return on marketing investment. Here are some ways to make sure that happens:
Your subject lines should reflect your creativity and thinking.
Every email should contain an offer that encourages readers to take the next step.
To see which offers and copy resonate best with your audience, track your performance and conduct A/B testing.
Here are some more email marketing tips:
You can encourage new visitors to your website to sign up by offering a bonus content piece, or a coupon/discount when subscribing.
Keep your subscribers informed by email, and they will eventually become paying customers.
Get started with promotional emails using a free email marketing service such as MailChimp.
Create data-rich infographics
Infographics can be extremely powerful marketing tools. Infographics are visual eye candy and are easy to understand. They can also be shared to increase referral traffic and link popularity.
A designer can be expensive so it is worth looking into the free options. Are you unsure where to begin? For inspiration, visit Visual.ly. You can browse through both beginner and advanced examples.
You can use existing data to create infographics if you don’t have original or proprietary data. Data.gov and The Census Bureau are good sources of government data. You can find global statistics through UNICEF or the World Health Organization. There are tons of data available!
Claim free ad promo credits
Although large ad campaigns might not be within your small-business budget there are discounts and coupons available for Facebook Ads. As part of their membership packages, some web hosting companies offer discounts for advertising. Find out if yours offers discount codes for advertising. Although receiving the promotion is simple, you will need to improve your PPC skills in order to get the best results. If you are ready to get started, check out Growth Academy’s training materials.
Apply for Business Awards
Many industries offer business awards that you can win. This gives you an online badge you could place on your site. These badges can increase credibility and, in turn, sales. These are some tips to help you market and maximize your award.
Host your own awards if there aren’t any for your industry! Your award will be noticed by other businesses in your industry, who may want to submit for it. This will result in more potential future collaborations.
Are you feeling brave? Give guerilla marketing a try
Guerilla marketing places emphasis on creativity and budget. Strategies are often inexpensive and simple to implement, particularly when they are localized. You can broadcast your Twitter handle using sidewalk chalk or use an abandoned storefront to create street art. Or, you can stick custom stickers on urban decor that will make people stop and think twice.
