Great Marketing With Zero Budget
Throughout my marketing career, I have heard almost every excuse in the book as to why some business owner was not marketing his or her business.
“I have no time,” “I don’t know what to do,” “It costs money,” “I don’t need to market,” etc. etc. But the excuses I’ve heard most often relate to how “expensive” marketing is.
So I decided to publish this article to convert you, if you think like this, into a real marketer. Because the truth is there are a whole bunch of ways to market your business for little or no cost.
“Let's begin your transformation...”
Start a Website or Blog
Although you might think that you need to hire a professional web design company to develop a website or a blog for your business, this isn’t the case. Yes, if your business has been around a while or if you want a tailored look or special features, such as high-end design or an eCommerce platform. But if you are on a tight budget, you can probably do it on your own. There are free platforms out there that you can use to create an attractive, fully-functional site without paying a dime!
Get Active on Social Media
If you haven’t used social media (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, etc.) to promote your business yet, you are missing on an opportunity to potentially have your company or its products go viral (“viral” refers to a marketing campaign that takes off through massive sharing among social accounts or email).
Hundreds of millions of people use social media sites on a daily basis, and the chances are that you use them too for personal reasons.
Although you might have seen advertisements for pricey social media marketing campaigns and social media tools, you don’t need any of these things to get started to promote your business. You can sign up for business pages on LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for free.
By creating complete business profiles and pages, working to gain followers by regularly posting interesting and informative content is a great way to make your business more well-known and to keep your audience base satisfied.
Get Added to Internet Directories
There are a ton of highly reputable website and business directories out there, and you need to make sure that your business is listed on them. For example, Yahoo and Google offer these listings, as do Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.
The listings are mostly free and you might be surprised by their value.
Many of these sites have top search engine rankings. So people looking for your business will find these links quickly because they end up on the first page of search results.
You can also gain traffic and potential customers from those who are viewing these sites looking for businesses that are similar to yours.
Get Active with Online Communities
From forums to social media groups and more, these communities can provide you with many great opportunities to promote your business.
When interacting with others on these sites and communities, it is important that you contribute useful and helpful information and not promote your business overtly. But in the process of doing so, you can post a link to your website and say with which business you are associated.
Email Marketing
Sending emails is free. When you’re sending an email, you should always keep your website’s URL and your company’s contact information in your email signature. It’s free and easy to do, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a powerful tool. It can spread awareness about your business and help people connect your name and face with the name of your company.
With most free email programs and on most forums, you can set your signature once, and it will appear at the bottom of all of your correspondence without you having to take any additional steps. Quick, easy promotion.
Ask for Reviews
Review sites like Google+ and Yelp make it easy for people to rate their experiences with your business. By asking your valued customers to leave feedback on these sites, you can help spread awareness about your business and get valuable feedback from your client base at the same time.
Plus, you might be surprised by the number of people who use these sites. Positive reviews can help encourage users to give your business a try rather than checking out what your competitors have to offer.
Share Pictures and Videos
Sites like Instagram and YouTube are very popular, and you can become a member of these sites easily and without spending a dime.
Once you have set up an account and a profile, you upload your videos and photos and take it from there. You start to interact with other users to spread awareness and drum up business.
For example, your videos can tell people about your business. Or you can focus on education-style videos that will teach people more about your industry or type of product.
Offer Deals or Giveaways
People love free stuff. So offering a good deal or a giveaway on your website or social media business page is a great way to get more interest and business. You don’t have to offer anything big. Often, a small item will do the trick.
These can be something like a coupon code for free shipping or a percentage off an order. But the business this generates can be great and people often share the good news with their friends.
Don’t put yourself in the hole with the offer. But offer something.
Do It
While you may be a bit uncertain about doing some of these strategies yourself, learning how to promote your business with little or no cost is a great way to increase traffic, improve your bottom line and help you achieve your goals.
Luckily, the Internet can help you with all of these things and more. If it’s too overwhelming, we are always available to help!
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