Small businesses don’t often have the time or budget to spend on extravagant marketing services to help them grow so it’s vital that their strategies give them the best ROI without going overboard.
Here are 10 cheaper marketing tips that will help expand your business:
Valuable Content
First things first: content is king. It may seem so easy and borderline generic to have this included but valuable content really does work.
High quality content will be shared by readers through word of mouth, email and social media so its effectiveness should never be underestimated.
There are plenty of freelancers that can create good content for reasonable prices but if you can write them yourself, it won’t cost a penny.
Publish articles, focussing on ‘how to’ guides and ‘top tips’ for your niche as these provide great value to the readers and tend to the most read.
Freshen Up Old Content
If you have been producing content for a little while, chances are some of it has lost its magic and not bringing in the leads it used to.
So why not start promoting it again? Update the content so that all the figures and data are from the latest sources and add some internal links to some of your newer posts.
If you’re doing this, you’d may as well start adding some internal links in your newer posts back to the updated one.
Guest posting
Staying on the theme of content creation, writing articles for another website can work well for your own marketing campaign.
Sure, you may not be getting all the traffic but by inserting links back to your own content or webpage, you’ll at least get some of it diverting to your business.
This technique is used by professional link building services; they discovered that backlinks create authority in the field and help to increase rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Reach out to sites that accept guest post requests (try and find ones that do it for free) and pitch an idea that would work well on their site but with link opportunities for your own.
Social Media
Like content writing, signing up to a social media website doesn’t cost a penny but will let you connect with a whole host of people.
You should be signing up and creating pages for your business on the giants, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Social media marketing is all about publishing and sharing your content to stimulate interaction between you and the customers.
You will be able to also see what your competitors are sharing. If there is a lot of feedback saying that they’re forgotten about X, Y or Z , you can take advantage and promote it as part of your solution.
Referrals
Alongside content creation, referrals are the best form of inbound marketing. Most businesses are always looking for ways to earn a referral from a client or hope that it happens.
If this is the case for you, have you ever thought about just asking for one?
When your work is completed, chances are that your client isn’t automatically thinking about how they can spread the word about your service.
It’s not that they don’t want to help you, it’s just not at the top of their priorities list.
Guerrilla Marketing
If you’re familiar with the term ‘guerrilla’, you’ll know that it’s all about springing a surprise. Translating that to digital marketing space, guerrilla tactics ensure that your business brand appears where the customer will not expect.
For a more unique take, have a look into using reverse graffiti. This is a method of creating temporary images or logos on walls, floors and surfaces by removing dirt from the area.
There is also the option of implementing a pop-up booth in the high-street – who would expect an online business marketer to walk the streets? It’s not likely, but that’s the beauty of guerrilla marketing.
For example, eCommerce websites would greatly benefit from guerrilla tactics if they’re not using an Amazon marketing agency to help promote products.
Guest speaking
It doesn’t cost a whole lot, if anything, to attend a meetup event or talk. Putting yourself and your business in the spotlight is a great way to stamp your authority in the field.
By presenting your own ideas on a particular subject, you’ll be seen as a leader, making more people seek you out for your services. Talk as if you were having a casual conversation to keep their attention.
It helps if you discuss topics that will directly benefit people in the room because they’re more likely to listen. Would you be bothered to hear Cadbury’s talk about their latest creation if you don’t like chocolate?
Trade Shows
If prepared for correctly, trade shows can be an extremely cost-effective marketing technique for small businesses.
Ensure that you’re setting clear goals for what you want to get out of attending the show – are you aiming to build up a contact list or promote a new launching product?
Do a bit of background research on the show itself, find out what its own objectives are and make a note on the audience it attracts.
Planning is key when it comes to trade shows but when done right, they are extremely useful.
Email Marketing
This is a method that will let you engage with potential customers as well as keeping existing clients satisfied and loyal to the brand.
Your email marketing efforts should include latest pieces of content that an individual would be interested in. Tailored emails that contain personalised content will be well received by both new and old recipients.
Newsletters and latest offers work particularly well so find the balance between the two for the best results. Feed the newer subscribers with regular and high-quality content and they’ll quickly become a paying customer.
Cold Calling
If you already own a phone, you’d may as well put it to use for your business. Cold calling businesses for work isn’t a new concept but the fact it’s still being used now is a testament to its ability to win work.
Businesses need to be using outbound sales tactics combined with inbound content marketing to increase the number of leads they generate.
Unfortunately, many businesses tend to put off cold calling because they won’t want to seem intrusive or earn a bad reputation. In reality, if you want to earn business, you can’t rely on them coming to you.