Starting a small business can come with a number of unforeseen costs. One which you may not have really considered is that of marketing, which can be quite expensive if you don’t really understand the niche or what to expect. Aiming for a low or non-existent budget, then, in those circumstances it may be best to do with a little more knowledge.
With that in mind, here are five things you should consider to ensure good marketing for your small business.
1 – Content is Key
If you’re a small business with a small budget, it’s important to utilise every aspect of your potential marketing calendar. One big aspect of that is content. If you’re able and comfortable with creating your own content – such as blogs, FAQs and regular onsite content – then it is important to use this to your advantage.
Creative content can be great to inform your users, draw them in with your expertise knowledge and bring a good PR angle to potential link attraction activities. The better your content, the more likely you will be able to utilise it in your favour in terms of your overall small business marketing.
Lots of people say ‘content is king’, so putting more effort into your potential content marketing strategies is vital.
2 – Utilise Social Media
Small to non-existent budgets can often be hard to navigate. Especially in terms of paid social media campaigns, where you likely expect to pay a lot of money in order to get the results you desire. But, despite Facebook’s ramping up of paid channels in recent years it can be more cost-effective than you expect.
Everyone is on some form of social media these days. Whether it’s on popular sites like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you can likely find the right audience to reach out to. And if you’re looking for a more niche audience – or more business oriented – then, you might find the best place to seek out an audience is LinkedIn – especially if you cater to a more serious audience, such as mediation solicitors Manchester. As a professional network, this is a good place for those with more of a B2B focus to aim their social media marketing.
3 – Run a Contest
Contests are a great marketing tactic and may very well go viral, especially if you’re a small business in a niche offering a great prize. People love free stuff, so it can really help. You can grow participants, collect user data and even create new leads. As, if someone wants to win the prize for free, they may also be willing to pay for it on top of that as well.
A contest doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive affair, either. Even offering something as simple as a free cake or tray of doughnuts can be great incentive, especially as people are more likely to see that as a ‘real’ chance of winning versus bigger items like an iPad, for example.
4 – Try Infographic Syndication
The more you try to get your business out there, the likelier you will find more direct traffic and brand exposure paying off later down the line. Which is why investing in DIY marketing materials like infographics can be quite a good idea. This can include lots of data, from app optimisation statistics to corporate solicitors Manchester standard client fees.
At the end of the day, the data and visualisation of an infographic is a very powerful marketing tool on the whole. It can present data to users in a much more engaging way and draw their attention surprisingly well. So, if you want to push an amazing fact or interesting facet of your business, then, an infographic is the perfect way to do so.
5 – Guest Post on Other Blogs/Podcasts/Etc.
Pushing your expertise in a guest capacity, such as on blogs or podcasts is one way to grow your audience. Especially if you can manage to do so on a publication which has a large audience already, then you may be able to expand your reach organically that way. If you make a habit of this it can also be valuable from a digital marketing perspective, especially if you gain links back to your own website as you do so. This has benefits from an SEO perspective. And could grow your internet reach exponentially