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Marketing ideas that are both free and low-cost are not always the easiest to find.
However, there are some good options out there for small businesses.
Most smaller business owners start with a low budget. Advertising your own position in the Online market is more difficult than ever and most of your competition has already transitioned themselves online. So to help you compete, here are several low-cost or no-cost alternatives to advertise your business to your target market.
In this ReviewMents, I want to give you strategies to advertise your business for a fraction of the cost or at least inform you why some services are worth the purchase.
Once you understand that not all marketing tools are made for you and your Business. You will have a better Idea what is and then you can have a clear view of what needs to be done. I hope I can give you some insight on what marketing tools you can use and for what type of businesses they would apply.
Advertising your small business in 2022 [an update!]
Online marketing is just another way of saying, “Advertising your business.” Depending on the type of business that you operate will depend on the type of advertising method that you should use. And considering at what stage ( Startup, Few years in, or 25 years in business)
Knowing at what stage of the process for advertising your business is currently will help decide which of these options are right for your business.
Quick example: a Pizza place that has more than 12 years in business, would be better off collecting email and phone numbers from current and neighboring customers, rather than spreading on google ads and facebook ads. I’ll explain more later under email marketing.
- Marketing is all about getting your business to the market.
- Finding a publication that targets your audience has never been easier.
- Finding a place in the radio can be done for local businesses.
- Getting your brand on the billboard to create Value is a good investment if you are in it for the long haul.
- Using magnets for advertising to be displayed in your cars or refrigerator is your personal way of keeping your customer to always remember you.
- Getting some newspaper ads online or on paper is still an option.
- Use a sidewalk sign for promotions of your specials.
- Place your own ads at relevant web sites.
- Use adverts at the local cable television station.
- Buying advertisements for your site with all the online social media options are easy to set up .
Solidify your brand
The first step of growing your business is making sure that your audience can identify, “what you do.” The first thing that you do when looking for a service or product, is how they can fulfill a need or service. Once you can clearly state what your business does, then you can start building around your brand.
Now you can start getting ideas for your logo. You can use common images that reflect the service or solution that your product provides. And the reason I suggest this is because you want to make sure that when I (Potential customer ) see your logo, I can make a quick correlation to what you do. You can use Canva as a free option or Paid.
However, if you are on the other side of the spectrum, you can purchase an abstract logo and spend on ads until people remember what your logo represents. And I just bring this up for the sake of the conversation. But what your business represents and what your business does are different stages of your business and budget.
So make sure that your brand is solid with “what you do.” The faster they can make the connection, the better changes you have of getting a sale.
Goals of Small Business Marketing
Your marketing efforts will achieve two main things. Brand awareness and a sales pipeline. In 2022 and beyond, you have technology on your side, which makes it more cost effective. But one thing that most small businesses fail to understand is the timeframe it takes to build brand awareness and a sales pipeline. Once again if you have the cash to spend them this process will be faster for you.
A small example would be instagram accounts.
There are IG accounts that have over a million followers. And in those following, there are only 200 active users that comment and interact with such accounts. These accounts only look good on paper. Meaning, what’s the point of having an account full of shadow?
And if you see people selling these accounts at a low rate, Stay away.
So the process of building your marketing brand or sales pipeline takes time. Remember that if you are on a budget to keep the investment in consistent portions that will keep your business in front of your customers.
For example: Google ads are around $600 a month to run. Meaning that this amount will keep you in front of your Customers. Without getting into deep with google ads, just know that $5 a Day Budget is no longer an option and is a waste of money.
Know your customer is the most important step
The same way that you want customers to know what you do, you want to know who they are. If you're still in the 2000 era, then it’s time to reflect that 21 years have passed and your business should already have a website. We recommend WpLynks a website design and development business that focuses on making sure that your business is relevant to your audience.
Aside from the shameless plugin, there are free tools that can help you know who your audience is and how they interact with your website. These free tools will help you track the interaction that your customers are having with your website.
Please note that you want to have events added to these tools. In a short cap: Event tags can track specific information about what your customers did on your site.
Let’s say that you sell digital items or products online, and you want to know how many went through the purchase process vs what was the last click on the page before they left. This gives you an idea if there is something that didn’t connect with your customer in your sales pipeline.
Or if you want to know how many customers called vs how many customers went through your IVR system. Let’s say that you have 10 events recorded (meaning that you have 10 customers who click on the phone number on your site) and notice that only 5 calls come in. That means that 5 dropped during your IVR set up.
So now that you know that your customers’ are impatient , you can consider shortening the process or hiring more agents to take calls.
Here are Tracking tools that are free and paid:
- Google Analytics
- Adobe Analytics
- Kissmetrics
- Spring Metrics
- Youtube Analytics
Understanding these tools will help you know who your customers are and help you meet your business goals.
I will be honest, there is a large learning curve to use these marketing tools. Yet, knowing who your potential customers are can help you make the best marketing plan by far. And if you still are not inclined to learn how these tools work, at least learn how to find your results and what they mean.
Map out your channels and tactics
Once you have run a few ads and know who comes to your website, or if you already understand who your product service fits, then you can start to identify the different platforms to create a community.
For 2022, community is key to build confidence and growth.
If you're a business for example: a small Boutique with lots of images, then I would suggest using pinterest. Your images should have location and keyword embedding with hashtags that connect customers with your item.
If you have a service, then use Google Business Profile. Make sure you fill out everything and so on…
“The point is knowing which platform will give your business more exposure” You have to learn, regardless of paid or free marketing.
Google Business Profile (GBP) can be the most powerful tool for any business owner. GBP recombines all the Google platforms that you are currently using at once. It can include your Google profile, Google Maps profile, your Google reviews, access to data on Google Analytics and Google Insights. How to rank GBP listings in general? It simply requires that you optimize(fill out everything) on your profile and then gather reviews and citations.
Key Points:
Google My Business Marketing Strategies lets you:
– Add and manage your business information like address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and photos.
– Get found by customers searching for your business on Google Maps or Google Search Engine.
– Manage your reviews from customers who visit your location or interact with you online.
– Share updates about what's happening at your business with followers
If you are not sure how to set this up. Or would like to have a tool that can help your Business or if you want to make it your Business to help Clients with their Ranking on Google my Business Profile, then Get this!
Do some local SEO
The algorithm of Google is designed to deliver the most accurate high-quality data for the search query. It's not pay to play. So it improves the playing field and also allows small businesses to compete with major rivals for page one. Local SEO is free but this process has to take some time, so start it soon and work hard: the benefits in a short period of time may be enormous. So a well ranked local SEO website in Google will show you as a three pack. Here are all of your search engine optimization must-dos.
- Fill out your Google Business Profile
- Get reviews from customer or friends
- Quick Backlink on yelp, facebook page, etc.
- Connect your Business to social Media
Organic Social Media
Organic Social Media can only work with engagement. There is nothing worse than having a Twitter account full of shadow accounts. So the question is how do you engage them, and the answer to that will be, “what is the result that you expect from them?” Knowing the outcome goal, can guide you on the construction of your campaign.
Everyone will say, I need sales. If you're just starting out then I would suggest having content that benefits the Customer first. Then making sure that it meets most of their requirements. And not necessarily in that order.
Inshort, give your customer’s solution to problems they are facing and let them know that there is a paid version that is faster, smarter, shorter, longer, etc, that will make things easier for them, so that they can focus on their business goals.
Also, you can reach new customers that are not aware of your social media accounts, And can promote your business to this target audience, since word of mouth can only get you so far…
Post (and engage) on social media
Social media is a valuable tool to improve your company's sales. Create business accounts and take part in big social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and other. It would be easy if you had minutes to increase your social media engagement. And thank God for the Web. Try Free Crowdfire. You can start posting on all these social media platforms at once and can also Schedule posts.
Tag people (and brands) on social media
Also encouraging your fans to tag your business location on Instagram will increase your engagement to those searching in the area. You can also tag happy customers in your own postings which will expose your business to the network of “that customer” (for whom you have their permission). These are a few of the Social Media Posts that you can start doing as your social media marketing.
Social video for small business
97 percent of marketers who use YouTube reported gaining a new customer. Video generates 1200% more shares than photos and text combined. To maximize the efficacy of your efforts, video can be integrated into your social marketing throughout the customer journey. More than 90% of all online shares from YouTube or Facebook are video, while more than 60% are photos.
And the best software that you can use with using your face and still getting your product or service notice is Explainer Videos.
Things that you can create:
Tell a Story of a Customer who had an issue that your product or service solved.
Product: James had neck pain while sleeping and he had long nights and irritating working days. [Product Name] benefits and resolves James neck pain in 3 days. Now you can get rid of your neck Pain in 3 days, when you order today.
Services: James was looking to sell his home, and noticed that his foundation was infested with termites and [Name of the Service] gave him inspection, Cleaning, and free [your offer]. He was able to sell at the price he wanted.
These can be the types of videos that you can create on social media to showcase your products and services. Use this Marketing tool
Your Website for marketing in small Business
A website is the basis for a firm's marketing strategy. It is the first thing that prospective customers see when they want to confirm your business. Sometimes a landing page is enough for some businesses. Others need content. And this is where Content Marketing comes into play.
What is Content marketing?
According to 18% of marketers, content has the largest commercial influence for businesses. Information marketing entails developing and delivering constantly relevant content in order to attract an audience and drive profit. Content marketing, as opposed to paid ads, seeks to provide long-term results. Since when content is shared, it will reach your ideal customer.
Although the first return on investment is typically minimal, a successful business can drive long-term revenue. However, content marketing is not easy: a good strategy in your posts will target new clients. The Strategy here is to do keyword research about what your Clients are looking to get answered. Then you ask for the sales of your service or product with a call to action.
Small Business Website
It is the first chance any company has to make an impression. If your company does not even have its own site it's easily accessible. Use a CMS for upgrading websites. You can subscribe for host and service hosting to host a website and service it to customers. There are several free templates but if a company wants something unique and customized then we recommend Wplynks and get a free estimate.
Blog content
Small businesses use blogging to generate revenue for their website, increase user engagement online, improve their online visibility, and enhance their overall SEO. A blog post isn’t always long or does it have to be complex. There are many tools out there that can help you write the content if you get writer's block. Check out our Spin Rewriter 11 & Guide If you're running a business and don’t have time then do hire a pro. Wplynks
Video isn’t expensive anymore
Creating a video has never been easier. Add text to your videos without any need to worry about expensive headphones or expensive audio equipment. You could combine this with a low, intuitive video editing tool. And you should check out our Create Studio explainer software 2022.
These types of videos are great for Youtube, Tiktok, Facebook channels. You can use your smartphone instead of an expensive video camera. Use free stock photos and videos to start. Use this market to create a budget marketing strategy. A small business can Thrive in these markets.
YouTube video marketing for small business
YouTube is the third largest search engine after Google. On the web consumers seek out review articles and other information on YouTube. Making videos for YouTube will give you more prospects for videos related to your industry or product or services. Create YouTube videos to help your company grow. However, just adding videos isn’t enough. Get VMB
Email marketing
Emails are an important component of digital marketing. The majority of visitors to your website will not make a straight purchase. In 2022, emails are still the most effective way to communicate directly with leads. Leads are the foundation of email marketing funneling. This is something appealing that may be provided via emailing information to web visitors. Free digital downloads, free service trials, webinar seats, subscriptions, or vouchers are examples of these chances.
Direct Mail Marketing isn’t Easy
This Marketing Strategy should be part of a small business owners strategy. Mailchimp is one of the marketing tool that you can use. Local Business should ask to email clients their invoice and ask them to reply back to confirm that they received it. The Email marketing Channel has guidelines that will depend if your email hits the inbox or spam. So asking your current customers to reply to the invoice is a strategy to have your emails hit the inbox and show gmail that people are opening and are interacting with your email content. So when it's time to start your email marketing campaigns, then your products or services should hit its target audience.
Conclusion
Whether it be email marketing, word of mouth, facebook ads, or use google adwords, these marketing strategies can help you understand potential customers, and get your small business noticed. A small business owner should use blog posts on their site. Create a marketing plan through market research.