Most people believe that for a business to be successful, a great amount of money should be spent especially when it comes to marketing. While it can be true, it doesn’t mean that small businesses with a small budget don’t have a chance. If you don’t have much money to spend on marketing your business, there’s no need to worry because there are plenty of marketing tactics you can do without spending much. Here are some marketing ideas for small businesses working on a limited budget.
Create a Website
If your business doesn’t have a website yet, you might want to create one. Having a website is important because most of the people today use the internet to find all sorts of things. A simple website which presents the who, what, where and why of your business will work. Having a website will give your business a chance to appear in local search engines, where most of the businesses are found in the present time.
Publish Great Content
When marketing a business, it’s very important to have great content because it’s something that will give people the idea of what your business is about. It’s even better if you can create it yourself. However, if you’re not into writing, it’s not that difficult to find someone in your team who can write some blog posts for you. Blogging will allow you to create a bigger market for your products and services.
Create Instructional Videos
Aside from written contents, video content is also valuable. Getting someone to produce professional YouTube videos can be expensive, but you can find cheaper alternatives for it. You can even try it yourself or maybe hire a film student who will not ask for much money for a project. If you find producing videos challenging, you can also create slide decks which you can share on SlideShare.
Use Social Networking Sites
You can create business accounts in big social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Since a lot of people use these platforms on a daily basis, it can be a great way to reach out to them and let them know about your business. If your business is image oriented, you can also create an account on Instagram. Developing a presence on social media is a great low budget marketing.
Create Your Own Infographics
One of the powerful marketing tools is infographics because they can catch attention and are easier to understand. However, hiring a designer may cost you a lot. If you do not want to spend that much for infographics, you can try creating your own as well. There are lots of free vector kits available as well as online infographics maker you can use. You can use published infographics as inspirations on creating your own.
Recycle Your Content
If you’re running out of ideas for content, you can recycle your old ones. For example, you can turn a collection of your blog posts into an eBook. Don’t be afraid of mashing up your content because some people might not be able to see the old contents you’ve published. Even if you recycled an old content, it will be a fresh and brand new content piece for a larger audience.
Industry Partnerships
You can also team up with a business that is related to your industry for a joint project. You can choose between doing this offline through some special events, or online through a webinar or some promotional giveaways. Partnering with an industry-relevant business will introduce you to a whole new audience related to your field.
Give Out Business Cards
Giving out business cards can also help you in making your business known. Create your own business card and give them out to every person you meet. The more people that will know your business the better.
Create a Brochure
Aside from business cards, brochures are also great sales tools. They can help you discuss to people what your products or services are about. You can also give out brochures as a form of advertising. You can also give customers time to think about your business by having something to take away with them.
Host an Event or Class
Hosting an event or class can also help in promoting your business. You can use flyers which you can post on community bulletin boards. In fact, it’s easier to post educational events promotions compared to business advertisements on community bulletin boards. Events and classes can also help people better understand the products and services your offer.
Create an Email Newsletter
A great way of getting people engaged with your business is through email marketing. Once you’ve established your website, you can get website visitors to sign up for your newsletter. Through newsletters, you can offer them bonus content pieces for subscribing. Some bonus content pieces are a free eBook or other tips which are related to your business.
Join in on Local Contests
Another way of presenting your products and services is by donating them as a prize in a local contest or event. This way, you can get the interest of the people who will win your products. It’s also a good way to let your business name be heard even just locally.
These are just some of the great marketing ideas you can do for your small business but we hope these will be helpful for you. Some of the big businesses you see today also started small and with a limited budget as well but they were able to become big in time. You just have to work hard, be creative, and do your best for your own business to be successful.