Low-cost strategies to market your business

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1. Utilize Social Media

Besides your business website, social media is a priceless low-budget marketing tool you can’t afford to neglect. A study published on Statista found that as of April 2024, 5.44 billion people, or 67.1 percent of the global population, used the internet. Among them, 5.07 billion, or 62.6 percent, were social media users.

Of course, these figures tell you a large percentage of your prospective buyers are on social media. If they are there, why not your business?

Of course, having an online presence through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter (now ‘X’), Linkedin, etc. allows you to engage with your audience for free and get feedback seamlessly from your customers while you consistently share relevant, engaging content that addresses their needs and concerns.

As your business expands, you can decide to run paid advertising on these platforms to get results that outweigh what organic efforts can give your business. 

2. Use the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies

Search engine optimization isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a core aspect of digital marketing that offers many benefits for any business. With the right keywords you can help point potential clients to your business.

But having the most effective keywords is not that easy. The truth is that you’ve got to work on critical SEO tasks like researching keywords, creating content, building links, and other SEO strategies. Together, these boost your chances of appearing higher in search results and gaining more traffic to your business. 

If you're new to search engine optimization, it would mean investing yourself in understanding and implementing essential SEO strategies like localized SEO. You can use location-specific keywords relevant to your services to help potential customers find your business on Google.

While SEO is a low-cost marketing strategy to promote your business, it takes time and consistency to see significant results. 

3. Set up a Google Business Profile

Every business wants a strong online presence, but many business owners need to learn how to achieve that. As mentioned, search engine optimization is a low-cost marketing strategy involving local SEO. 

Setting up a Google Business Profile (GBP) is an effective way to connect with potential customers in your local area. Now, what exactly is GBP?

It is a free tool from Google that helps businesses (like yours) manage their online visibility on Google Search and Google Maps. Google Business Profile helps more people find your business easily by showing it at the top when they search locally. It gives all the essential details, like when you're open and how to contact you so customers can easily learn about you. 

Another great benefit of having your business listed on Google by signing up for Google Business Profile (GBP) is the ability to interact with your customers. You can reply to reviews and share updates, which helps you build trust and credibility with your audience.

4. Take networking seriously

Despite the rise of digital marketing, genuine human interactions remain powerful. And that makes networking a cost-effective way to market your business. At networking events, you can meet potential customers and professionals.

You build authentic relationships, create trust, and give your business more exposure as you make these contacts and engage in quality conversations.

Networking events also offer opportunities to form future partnerships, improve your marketing efforts, and inspire new ideas.

So, how can you seize networking as a low-cost strategy to market your business? Start by identifying and joining local business groups and organizations that host face-to-face mixers and events. 

5. Build an email list 

Email marketing is another low-cost marketing strategy businesses can use to achieve better results with their marketing efforts. You engage with new visitors and maintain relationships with existing customers through it.

While email marketing is an old strategy, it’s one of the most reliable for a strong return on investment. 

Managing and growing an email list can be challenging, but tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and others make sharing your content with your audience seamless. When you create new content, you can send it directly to your subscribers through a newsletter. 

That way, you update them with valuable information about your business, like special events and offerings like discounts, coupons, etc.

You must pay attention to the basics to succeed with email marketing as a low-budget marketing strategy. That includes crafting attention-grabbing subject lines and actionable offers in every email you send your subscribers. 

6. Set up a customer referral program

“Referrals aren't received easily. If you don't take the time to establish credibility, you're not going to get the referral,” says Author and founder of BNI Global, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Dr Ivan’s quote suggests that every business should cherish referrals because they are invaluable for business growth. However, you don't easily get them. They come from people who know, like, and trust your brand. 

That's what setting up a customer referral program helps you achieve. It's a cost-effective way to expand your business reach while helping your business bypass the initial objections a new prospect may have. 

How does the referral program work? 

A referral program works when customers refer your business to their friends or family, thus establishing a vote of confidence in your business. And the fascinating part is that you don’t have to know or market to these new customers who trust your business brand more based on the recommendation of a loved one.

Often, this trust leads to higher sales and increased customer loyalty.

Unlike traditional marketing, where upfront investment is required regardless of outcomes, a referral program rewards those who successfully refer prospects. This ensures incentives like discounts, cash rewards, or exclusive access are provided based on the referrals made.

7. Personal branding 

We cannot talk about low-cost marketing ideas for business and ignore personal branding. 

It involves you or your key team members establishing your business as industry experts on social media platforms. When done well, you foster credibility and visibility of your business without hefty advertising costs.

But it isn't a piece of cake as it may sound. Of course, you’ve got to invest your time and money in developing and sharing content through mediums like LinkedIn, blogs, or even podcasts. The goal is to build credibility and attract loyal followers and potential customers. 

8. Run social media contests or giveaways

You may have participated in one social contest or giveaways at some point. One thing is sure: social media users always find them fascinating. While creating an exciting buzz for your audience, you earn a boost in your brand's visibility too.

As a low-cost marketing strategy, social media contests and giveaways help you attract new leads. Also, they allow you to engage with potential customers effectively. 

Running social media contests or giveaways for your business doesn't have to empty your bank account. You can organize a contest with a small investment in a modest prize. Alternatively, you can offer a free product or service. 

For instance, as a bakery owner, you can decide to run a social media contest offering a dozen cupcakes to one lucky follower who tags their friends in the comments for free. This simple gesture can increase your follower engagement and attract new customers to your store.

So, focus on your business goals, when running a contest or giveaway on social media. As Meredith Wood from NerdWallet advises, "When planning an incentive campaign, it’s important to know what you want to get out of it." This emphasizes the importance of setting clear objectives for your campaign, whether it’s to boost brand awareness, drive sales, or expand your customer base.

Conclusion

While we've highlighted low-budget market strategies you can use to market your brand, product, or business, the key is to prioritize providing value upfront before seeking returns. This is similar to the principle of sowing. As the old saying goes, as you sow shall you reap. You cannot give enough time and attention to such efforts. You must put in a lot of time and effort to promote your business through blogs or by hosting online classes, events, or informative webinars wherein your goal is to share valuable content and resources. As already said, if done well, you can then sit back and reap the rewards when customers begin to trust your brand.