You want to grow your small business, but don't have the budget to do that? Don't worry! There are plenty of low cost (and free) marketing ideas that your business can use.
The digital environment offers endless channels and tactics that businesses can use to attract new customers. When properly executed, it can generate a lot of awareness and engagement about the business without spending a penny.
Below are some of the best channels and low-cost marketing strategies that SMEs can use.
Social Media Marketing
All businesses should be on social media. There is no need to cost anything to develop a strong social media presence and can have a major impact on your marketing efforts.
Create and maintain active profiles on popular social media platforms. Share engaging content and showcase your products and services using social profiles. You also need to use social media to interact with your audience and create an online community around your brand.
Content Marketing
Start a blog on your website and regularly publish high quality, relevant content that will provide value to your target audience. This doesn't have to cost anything, but it can help generate more traffic to your website and attract potential new customers.
You can share your blog posts on social media. If you have a basic understanding of SEO, apply this to your content. When done properly, SEO is one of the most powerful long-term marketing strategies for any business and can be free.
Content marketing also includes video content and podcasts. If this makes sense for your brand and you know how to create this content, then definitely give it a try.
Online Directory
The easiest way to develop a solid online presence is to list your business in related online directories, such as Google Business or Yelp. This is especially important if you have a local business. This doesn't cost anything, but it can make your business stand out more with search engines. Use as much up-to-date information as possible to optimize your profile and list.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most reliable and cost-effective marketing tactics for any business. In fact, you can implement email marketing without a budget. So it helps to achieve 4200% ROI.
You will need to create an email list for your interested customers and send newsletters, product updates and promotions. There are a variety of email marketing tools that can help you manage your email campaigns efficiently.
Referral Program
If you're looking for low-cost marketing tactics, one of the best things to do is to let your customers promote your business. Create referral campaigns that encourage existing customers to refer friends and family by providing discounts and rewards for successful referrals. This is a great way to produce highly value word-of-mouth referrals.
networking
Don't underestimate the power of networking to grow your business. You can participate in local business networking events, trade shows and community gatherings to connect with potential customers and partners. Build relationships within the industry to gain credibility and referrals. This doesn't have to cost you anything.
Collaboration and cross promotion
You can also partner with complementary businesses to mutually promote each other's products and services. This allows you to expand your reach and introduce your brand to new audiences.
Companies can pull this off by making them advantageous for both brands. For example, each business can host a social media partnership gift that contributes to 50% of the award. Both companies will promote a gift for their audience, allowing each business to effectively reach the front of a new pool of potential customers.
User-generated content
We encourage customers to share their experience with their products and services on social media. If you really want to generate UGC, you can incentivize this. Repost user-generated content on your own social channels to build trust and reliability. This will help make your business attractive to new customers.
Loyalty Program
Implement loyalty programs that reward repeat customers with discounts, exclusive offers, or giveaways. Loyalty programs help to retain existing customers and boost word-of-mouth referrals. All they cost is the discount or reward price you offer.
All of these marketing strategies are relatively easy to apply and can make a huge difference in business growth.
It is always a good idea to implement strategies like these to help you build sustainable organic marketing strategies. With the right approach, these tactics can have a major impact on business marketing without spending any money on you.
See: Marketing strategies for working small and medium-sized businesses
