There are 30.7 million small businesses active across the United States.
You’re one of these small businesses trying to build brand awareness, expand your reach, and beat your competitors. The best way to do this is through marketing but you’re not sure how to do this without breaking the bank.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are inexpensive marketing ideas for small businesses to use so your company booms in popularity.
Benefits of Marketing for Small Businesses
Before you invest in affordable marketing, it’s important to understand the advantages.
Builds Relationships and a Reputation
To ensure the longevity of your business, you must build a relationship of trust and understanding with customers. Marketing shows customers the value of your products, their usage, and provides extra information that can help others.
Boosts Sales
Through marketing, you can use different techniques to promote your products or services. Once you’ve released a product and executed your business advertising ideas, you increase the chances of leads.
Targeting the Right Audience
When you use marketing strategies, you’ll understand and target the right audience. This gives you a metric so you can share relevant content and connect with the right customers without a long trial and error process.
Benefits of Marketing for Small Businesses
There are many cheap advertisement ideas you can use, for example:
1. Create a Website
Over one-third of small businesses don’t have a website which means they’re losing out on customers.
When people do a web search for your business, your website should be at the top of the results. The same goes when prospective customers are looking for products and services you offer.
It’s essential your website is clear so people can find your location, hours, and contact information. It should also display a clear photo and explanation of your product alongside customer testimonials.
2. Use Social Media Marketing
Before brainstorming creative marketing ideas, make sure your business is on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
You should pay for advertising on various sites so users can see your adverts and learn about your brand. If you’re on a tight budget, encourage customers to leave a review on your social media channels so people will know you’re credible.
3. Publish Brilliant Content
HubSpot reports that companies who publish 16 or more blog posts per month drew 3.5 times more traffic to their website than companies who don’t.
Creating a blog and publishing content is a great way to improve SEO and give value to your customers. Doing this builds trust and credibility with those who engage with it.
For blog post inspiration, publish:
- Numbered lists
- Collection of tips
- FAQs
- Interviews with industry experts
Once you’ve written a blog post, add images. For example, add a truck graphic if you rent out trucks.
When it’s completed, share blog posts with your audience through social media, email, and other channels to boost visibility and increase engagement.
4. Email Marketing
Once you set up your website, ask visitors to sign up for your newsletter by offering bonuses for subscribing. For example, offer to send your ebook detailing how to fix common truck problems when you sign up.
Email marketing lets you keep in touch and build stronger relationships with current and future customers in a cost-effective way.
5. Develop a Customer Referral Program
83% of Americans say recommendations from family and friends make them more likely to buy a product.
To implement this, ask existing customers to bring in friends by offering them incentives like discounts or free products.
You could also introduce a rewards program to encourage customers to return and spend more. For instance, offer a punch card for a free product or a coupon for 25% off their next purchase.
6. Collaborate With Other Businesses
Stumped for advertising ideas?
Team up with another small business and promote one another. You can feature one another in your email lists or give your customers a voucher for the other business.
Although, it’s important you don’t collaborate with competitors. Aim for complementary ones like a coffee shop collaborating with a chocolate store.
7. Re-Use Old Material
If you’ve got writer’s block or can’t afford to pay for a content writer, polish up data studies already available online. Find a study that relates to your industry and highlight the important bits.
Add images, create a chart, and share your own thoughts and predictions of the data. But always cite your source and give credit where necessary.
8. DIY Infographics
Another inexpensive marketing tool is infographics. They’re easy-to-digest and people love to share them which is a great way to drive traffic to your site and increase brand awareness.
You can hire a graphic designer to try free vector kits online to create an attractive infographic.
9. Revamp Your Branding
It takes around 7 seconds to make a first impression so ensure your branding is up-to-date.
Make sure your brochures, website, and business cards have the same design to create a cohesive and strong brand identity.
10. Brand Your Company’s Vehicle
If your business uses a vehicle, why not also use it as a mobile billboard?
Full wraps are expensive so use magnets and window decals to advertise your company. So, whenever you drive around, people will see your business’s name and services, encouraging them to call and search for you online.
Those Are Our Inexpensive Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
It’s possible to find inexpensive marketing ideas for small businesses, you just need to get creative. For instance, start by creating a website so people can search for you and post industry-related content to drive traffic.
And ensure your brand’s design is modern and cohesive to create a strong brand identity. Good luck!
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