Marketing is a must, yet small businesses everywhere often fail to develop an effective strategy out of a fear that they might inadvertently run out of money.
This does not have to be the case, and while long-winded marketing campaigns can be bewilderingly expensive, there are some fantastically effective, low-cost methods worth taking a look at.
The ability to successfully manage finances can be a make-or-break factor in the early days of business, but this might not necessarily mean you need to sacrifice quality.
SMS Marketing
Email marketing is all well and good, sometimes, but for those of you wishing to relish in larger customer engagement figures, SMS marketing might be a surprisingly cost-effective addition to your marketing toolkit.
SMS marketing boasts an extremely high open rate, vastly higher than that of the traditional email offering. This alone might may make it worth the price, especially if you are looking to try a different, more personable approach.
For a great example of how SMS marketing is used effectively to convey an important message to a wide audience, you might want to take a look at this political SMS marketing platform. This can give you some greater insight into how best to integrate the channel into your own business.
Local News
Reaching out to local newspapers and broadcasters can be a great way to promote your business to your domestic audience. Plus, if your business has affected the surrounding area for the best, such as boosting the economy, providing jobs, supporting local communities, there is a good chance you can get your story published for free.
Other options include hosting charity events in your local area and throwing networking parties in your company name. Again, this can be done fairly cheaply and might inspire some good old word-of-mouth marketing.
Social Media
When done right, social media marketing can be incredibly effective. However, it is difficult to master, perhaps even more so than ever, considering the rise of influencer marketing and sponsored advertising opportunities.
Although it might make it hard to stand out, putting time into working with video can pay off. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are fantastic for this, being highly visual mediums, and great videos can be made right from your smartphone!
By ensuring that you build your presence and remain active on social media, you can hopefully keep your audience aware of your brand’s existence, provided you access them on the platform that most applies to them as a demographic.
Talk to Your Customers
Engaging your customers is a good way to build a trustworthy brand image, and it helps drive organic marketing.
You can do this by encouraging feedback whenever possible. Delivering personalized replies, or at least replies that look like they are personalized, can make all the difference between a perceived brand as caring and not.
Leafleting
Why not go back to basics and start leafleting? When solved, leaving a riddle that directs viewers to a competition on your social media page or website could be an enigmatic approach.
If you can make your marketing unique, you can stand tall among your competitors.