Inbound Marketing Insights

Are you just starting as a small business owner? After developing a perfect business plan and getting all the paperwork in order, the next logical step on your journey to success is getting the word out and attracting customers. Understandably, when your company is still in its infancy, gathering the funds needed to pay the marketing costs may be quite challenging. But is this a cost? If you play your cards right, it’s much more of an investment than anything else. By implementing the following four tips, you will find that even a small budget can carry you a long way:

1. Recognize the Power of Social Media
Everyone can and should leverage social media for their business. As long as you know what to post to keep your audience engaged, it has no costs except your time. It's all about experimenting with types of posts, content, and the most effective days and times. Once you have an engaged audience, you can amplify your message quickly.

Regarding popularity, it all depends on your business. If you are B2B, LinkedIn is probably where you should invest most of your energy. If you are B2C, you should consider Facebook and Instagram. A platform like TikTok may be best if you can produce enough video content. It depends on your business and where your prospects spend their time online.

2. Create an Infographic
Everybody loves infographics! They’re colorful, full of facts, and a pleasure to read. Due to their rise in popularity, almost every graphic designer knows how to create one. If you’re smart enough to leverage the power of competition to work in your favor, you’ll easily be able to negotiate an excellent price to get one made. Alternatively, if holding onto every dollar is necessary to get through the day, you can also attempt to design one yourself using one of the many free tools out there.

The secret to the true power of infographics is their tendency to grab eyeballs. And the best part of all? It’s easy to distribute them because people love them so much – in essence, they’re at least as effective as sharing helpful content and then some.

Expanding on our previous point, you can always post them on your website, social media, and other places without the fear of duplicate content penalties. After all, it’s just an image! Given that you only need to pay once to make one, they’re an incredibly cost-effective marketing investment.

3. Repurpose Promotional Materials Whenever Possible
Moving on to the brick-and-mortar realm, attending professional conferences and organizing events is what every company should consider at some point. Some of the most meaningful professional contacts can be established this way, although the Internet is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to promote your business. So, what can you do to make people remember you in person?

The answer is promotional materials. Think tablecloths, flags, exhibition stands, branded mugs, and everything with your logo. The more events you organize or attend, the more it makes sense to get these made. Since doing so is a one-time cost, what’s stopping you from taking advantage of all the recognition they can give you?

When you can afford it, you should also consider investing in branded promotional materials (pens, mugs, mousepads, and so forth) you can give away. As long as they’re high-quality and useful, people will gladly use them around their homes, effectively being reminded of your brand every single time.

4. Organize a Giveaway
Speaking of free stuff, who doesn’t love getting something of value? This can either be a tangible product or a voucher for a service. How often have you seen a giveaway on Facebook? Chances are you’ll be able to stumble across one of these without even looking for it. If you need inspiration, look at how the most successful business owners do it and follow in their footsteps.

You can also go one step beyond and make a contest, so everyone who wants to participate must contribute something valuable. Whether it be an idea, a logo concept, or simply rewarding the person who shares it with the most friends, you can get a good return on your investment when organizing one of these. Since they can quickly go viral and reach thousands of potential customers, they’re worth the effort.

As you can see, running and advertising a business on a shoestring budget can be done if you’re clever enough to take advantage of all the opportunities the modern age presents you with. With the help of these four tips, you can get your name out there and obtain all the customers you need.

If you're interested in discussing your current marketing strategy and how you can better incorporate these four tips into it, we invite you to schedule a consultation with our team.