The advent of digital technologies has leveled the playing field for small businesses. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to create and implement an effective digital marketing strategy. If you want to know how to market your business with a low budget, here are seven cheap marketing ideas that can help you achieve online success.
Low-Cost Marketing for Small Businesses with Low Budgets
Cheap isn’t always a bad thing, especially when you’re talking about cheap online marketing. Though paid marketing strategies are effective, they are not crucial to your online success. There are plenty of ways to market your business website without breaking the bank. Here are seven low-budget digital marketing ideas to get you started.
1. Create Quality Content
Content marketing is still one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website. To rank high on search results, though, make sure to create fresh, relevant, and quality content. You can have your current team members writing about what they know best — your business.
On average, it takes about 1 to 3 hours to write a blog post. As long as you keep a steady schedule, you’ll be able to expand your content offerings. If you need content inspiration, think about the most common questions asked by your consumers and start answering them through blog posts.
2. Conduct Keyword Research
Keyword research is an essential part of digital marketing and the best part about it is that it’s free to do. Businesses can use the Google keyword planner to identify search terms that they want their website to rank for.
If you have customer avatars, think about what keywords they may be typing on search engines to find your products or services. You can also look at Google Analytics to see which keywords they are already using to find your website. Make sure to optimize your website with your chosen keywords.
3. Diversify Your Content
Another low budget marketing idea is to diversify your content. If you already have great articles on your website, simply transform it into other types of content such as infographics, checklists, how-to guides, videos, podcasts, and so on. By diversifying your content, you can reach a wider audience and increase website traffic without having to spend on a content team.
4. Build Your Email List
If you want to get the best return on your low budget, consider investing it in email marketing. For every dollar spent on email marketing, businesses can expect a return of investment of about $42. You can achieve better results compared to if you invested your budget in paid traffic or social media ads. In addition, email is also one of the best ways to generate leads that convert to sales.
There are many ways to build your email list. You can offer special discounts or gated content that users can access in exchange for their email address. Make sure to have website capture forms such as landing pages and welcome popups, combined with compelling call-to-action buttons, throughout your website.
5. Utilize Social Media Platforms
The power of social media is undeniable. With over 40% of the global population active on social media, the marketing potential is almost limitless.
Small businesses can leverage social media to reach a wider audience and increase customer engagement. For Instagram, the best way to attract your audience is through high-quality photos. Meanwhile, on Facebook, create informative posts that will encourage engagement through likes and shares.
Influencer marketing is an emerging trend. Rather than influencers with millions of followers, though, consider sending sample products to micro-influencers, or influencers with 10-100k followers, as they tend to have a better return on investment. Video is also the most thoroughly consumed form of content today so make sure to incorporate it into your social media marketing strategy.
6. Optimize for Local Search
Small businesses may have a hard time ranking on global search results. If you have a brick-or-mortar store or offer physical services, it’s more worthwhile to optimize for local search results. You can reach local consumers who are most likely the ones to purchase your products or services.
One of the best ways to optimize for local search is to set up a Google My Business profile. Make sure to have complete and up-to-date business information. Customer reviews also help increase local search ranking because they signify to Google that you are an established and reputable business in your local area.
Encourage customers to post their experiences on review sites like Google, Yelp, and Trustpilot. Reach out to customers with negative reviews and provide solutions that can improve their overall experience.
7. Contribute to Groups and Forums
A great way to drive website traffic is to increase your online visibility on other platforms. Businesses can join Facebook Groups to provide useful and relevant information to prospective customers. You can also answer questions on Quora or post on Reddit to establish yourself as an authority in your field.
In each of these posts, you can link back to your website. If readers come to see you as an authority — or someone who has solutions to their pain points — they will not hesitate to click on your website. Once they land on your website, there are several paths you can take to further develop the relationship and encourage profitable customer action.
Cheap Marketing Ideas that Can Propel Your Business to Success
These cheap and creative marketing ideas are ideal for small businesses with low budgets. You’ll be able to see positive results without having to break the bank. As your business starts implementing these strategies, you’ll see a steady increase in sales and profits. You can then reinvest these earnings into your digital marketing campaigns for even better results. Over time, small businesses can gain digital marketing expertise that will propel their online business success.
Digital marketing is always a great investment for businesses, both big and small. If you need more marketing campaign ideas, do not hesitate to reach out to Tanner Grey today! Call us at 844.500.1339 or email us at web@tannergrey.com to learn more about our tailored digital marketing services.
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