The following marketing ideas are provided to you buy Threadsy:
No matter the size of your business, marketing matters! It’s important for small and big businesses alike to attract new customers, establish brand awareness, and to create buzz around products and services. But we know that not every business owner has tons of funds to devote to their marketing strategy. The good news? There are some highly effective marketing tactics that are also budget-friendly!
Here are seven low-budget marketing strategies for small business owners and side hustlers to grow their reach:
1. Sponsor Local Events
One of the best ways to get to know potential customers? Actually meet and talk to them! When you sponsor local events, you can be on-site to help people put a face with your business’s name. Sponsoring events is also a fantastic way to offer branded merchandise that can help you get your name and your logo out there.
Besides branded materials like signs, banners, or fliers, think about offering some fun items like wine bags to give away to attendees. Goody bags also make fantastic take-home options for local events. A branded canvas tote can be repurposed as an environmentally-friendly grocery bag, lunch bag for work, or a carry-all accessory for conventions and tradeshows. Print your logo on the outside and fill your goody bags with customized items like water bottles, notebooks, pens, and towels.
2. Let Your Colors Fly
Make some cool t-shirts featuring your logo! Wear them to the sponsored events mentioned above, out in the community, or anywhere you may encounter potential customers and can strike up a conversation. You can also offer t-shirts at a discount in-store or online, and turn your loyal customers into advertisers.
Quick tip: Purchase wholesale shirts to reduce manufacturing costs.
3. Social Media
If you’re not already leveraging social media to promote your business, it’s time to start! Think your customers aren’t using social networks? While certain demographics use various platforms more than others, according to fundera, 74% of consumers rely on social media to guide purchasing decisions. Plus, 96% of small businesses say they use social media in their marketing strategy.
So use your social media channels to level the playing field. To maximize your time and effort, determine where your audience members spend their time. Which platforms are they using? If you have a dedicated social media strategist on staff, they can perform audience research to tailor your approach to your existing and potential customers. If you’re running your own social strategy, spend some time digging into the demographics to determine which platforms make the most sense for your brand. From there, you’ll need to decide on the types of content you want to post, how to interact with your customers online, and create a social media calendar to plan your strategy.
4. Host a Giveaway
Once you’ve got your social media strategy up and running, why not host an online giveaway/sweepstakes to build some buzz, boost engagement, and attract followers? Pick a social media platform where you already engage with your customers. You’ll want to offer an item as the prize. This can be anything from a free product, a discount on an expensive product or service, or inexpensive swag like hats to help you promote your brand.
Once you’ve chosen the prize(s), decide on the terms for your giveaway. For example, an Instagram sweepstakes might look like this:
- Create posts about the giveaway and explain the rules (multiple stories and 1 or 2 posts depending on the length of the contest)
- These posts should specify the terms, for example:
– In order to enter, potential winners must follow you
– Encourage your followers to tag other people who may be interested. Each “tag” gets them another entry into the contest
– You can also specify that contest applicants must share your post on their own profile
- Once the contest has ended, pick a winner. Tag them in a post and story announcing what they’ve won and ask them to also share these posts to their own profile
Quick tip: You can also offer smaller or less-expensive items as consolation prizes. People love free swag and it’s an easy way to get your name out there!
5. Referral Discounts
Offering friends and family discounts on your products or services can help you establish loyalty and promote exclusivity. Offer discount codes or create a refer-a-friend program. You can also offer small incentives for customers who share about your brand on social media. Referral discounts are a great marketing strategy whether you use them in-store, online, or both.
6. Create or Update Your Blog
If you already have a website, you can put it to use to help build brand awareness and attract high-funnel customers. Blogging is a low-cost way to generate organic traffic (website visitors via Google or other search engines). If you don’t already have a blog, there are a number of free and inexpensive blog platforms you can use including Wix and WordPress.
You’ll want to write about topics that are related to your product or service and are of interest to your customers. For example, if you offer graphic design, you might want to create content about how to find an effective graphic designer online, or which projects you can do with an online platform like Canva vs. more complex projects where you should hire a professional designer.
Your website and blog are also great places to post “about us” content to offer website visitors an opportunity to learn more about you, your business, and your mission and values.
7. Update Your Google My Business Profile
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to share important information about your business like your address, hours of operation, and contact information. When your listing is optimized with this information, it’s displayed in Google Search and will also appear in Google Maps, which can help you attract local customers.
To get started, you need to create a GMB profile and verify your business information. This is a relatively simple but important step to ensure customers are able to find your business or service online. Make sure to keep your listing updated if you change any information like your website URL, address, or hours.
The takeaway:
When creating your marketing strategy, remember to stay true to your brand. Not every tactic will be the most effective for every business. Choose the tactics that make sense for your brand or product offering. Another way to prioritize is to consider the perceived impact and effort of each marketing strategy. Use the strategies that require the lowest effort but will potentially drive the highest return.
Once you have those in place, decide which of the other strategies make sense for your customers and your business goals. Also, make sure to keep track of all of your marketing expenditures and the sales from these tactics so you can assess which ones were successful and which ones you may need to re-evaluate or alter.
Remember, when it comes to marketing, it’s an ever-evolving system. Trust the process and try to have some fun with your marketing strategy!
Jamie Geiger
July 1, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Congrats on all you new changes and your team addition, sound like this is a very exciting time for you and your family.
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Thank you Jamie – it’s an amazing time! no complaints! 😉
Jason Sandquist
July 1, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Congrats on the new endeavor and keep me posted. Possible thinking of making a switch as well by years end.
Lani Anglin-Rosales
July 1, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Ines, I know that changing is so much more than just ordering business cards, so I commend your going through this massive stress not just for yourselves but for your clients. You really are an inspiration- JUST DO IT, right? 🙂
Barry Cunningham
July 1, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Cool! Hope it works out for you neighbor!
Rudy from Trulia.com
July 1, 2008 at 1:54 pm
That’s Awesome Ines!
Change is good.
Will you be working out of their Lincoln Road office? I hear they have a nice motion sensor video display in the window – hehehehe 🙂
All the best to you and Rick!
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
Mack in Atlanta
July 1, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Congratulations Miamism Team. You deserve the best.
Jennifer in Louisville
July 1, 2008 at 2:41 pm
While I’m not familiar with the Majestic brand (they aren’t anywhere around in our area), I’m glad to hear that you were keeping an eye out for making a change in improvements. While a lot of persons view the relatively soft national real estate market as a time to cut costs/services, I think that now is the time to lay the seeds for establishing dominant control of market share when the market turns positive again.
Eric Blackwell
July 1, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hey Ines;
Very cool! Best of everything in your new digs…
Eric
Jeff Turner Says Congratulations!
July 1, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Ines… Congratulations on the move and your new team member!!
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Jason – I will surely keep you posted, it was not easy to do (still not easy with the transitionless move), and congrats on the Inman TIX!!
Lani – it’s been really stressful and our customers should not even feel it – you know I will write about the process when I clear my mind – thanks!
Barry – I have absolutely no doubts! And the energy is amazing! thank you.
Rudy – we are actually going to be working from the Design District Office (down the street from Michaels), but will visit the Lincoln Road office often.
Hey Mack! thank you! It’s comments like yours that keep us going.
Jennifer – you hit an important point. With Majestic, we will have the support we need to take over market share….which is one of our goals.
Eric – and very cool digs at that! The owner of Majestic (Jeff Morr) is hands on, with a great design mind and a visionary – we are psyched!
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Hey Jeff – you are always sneaking in there – thank you! and Congrats to you on that awesome video feature. Your product is superior and all of us that use it know it!
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Damn Lani – you already changed my profile! Holy Cow! THAT’s what I call being efficient! 😉
Mark Eibner
July 1, 2008 at 6:12 pm
we’re at it again Change is Good: Getting out of the feed reader and commenting on this.. https://tinyurl.com/6yyudf
Holly White
July 1, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Congrats on the move Ines! I agree that it takes alot of nerve to make a huge change like that. Kudos to you!! I hope it’s better than you ever imagined.
The Harriman Team
July 1, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Congrats Rick & Ines! Pat and I have been thru this change ourselves twice before so we can relate to what you’re going thru. We wish you all the best and best of luck to Karen, too!
Pat & Wayne Harriman
Matthew Rathbun
July 1, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I love to see that good folks are growing. God speed!
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Holly, that’s very sweet of you – no better wishes than that!
Hey Pay and Wayne – I think the one that will need the most luck is Karen! 😉
Bill Lublin
July 1, 2008 at 8:36 pm
No matter where you go, you guys carry your success with you. Best wishes for a smooth transition. May the move provide you with everything you hope for and more. Congratulations and Best Wishes fromyou rfriend in the frozen North (alraight its 90 degrees here today but still its Philly!)
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Bill – the support has been unbelievable – just with the encouragement from the blogosphere I know we will surpass our own expectations (which are tough ones) – stay wam in the “frozen North” 😀
Paula Henry
July 1, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Ines – Congratulations! I, too have been considering a change, so know the thought and time which dominates such a decision. Best to you!
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Paula – timing is crucial to making a change – procrastinating about the change is easy to do – I will confess that Rick and I butted heads a couple of times but finally came to a consensus and here we are – no regrets and not even going to look back.
I am grateful that our Office Manager is a great person and was not at all antagonistic. We understand she needs to follow CB Protocol and expect her to do her job.
Andy Kaufman
July 1, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Hey Ines, congrats on the evolution of your business!!
I’m looking forward to hearing all about it when you’re out here in a few short weeks 🙂
Ines
July 1, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Andy – I like the way that sounds, “The evolution of our business” – I will certainly share….stay tunned.
Jonathan Dalton
July 2, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Good luck with the change, Ines … as long as it doesn’t change the mooooo-jiiiii-tooooooos!
ines
July 2, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Jonathan – you and gotbob are worried about the mojitos!! They now have a Majestic Kick! 😉
Ken Smith
July 2, 2008 at 8:57 pm
That is exciting news. Make sure to report back after a few months about how things are going. Sure there are more then a few agents reading this that can’t imagine leaving their National Name brokerage. Hope stories like yours will help empower others to take control of their business.
Matt Fagioli
July 2, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Hi Ines,
It’s great to see the trend in action. More and more savvy agents will be leaving the big box brokers and find great partnership in the innovative new 2.0 brokerages.
I wish I had met you before your change. Maybe you’d be “MiamiDwellings” by now!
See you at SF Connect.
Matt Fagioli
Jonathan Dalton
July 2, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Great minds think alike, Ines!
Jay Thompson
July 3, 2008 at 12:13 am
Very cool Ines. Rock on!
ines
July 3, 2008 at 7:47 am
Ken – I will definitely do that! You are right, leaving a big National Name is never easy and most people don’t even know what their independent contractor agreement reads and what the repercussions can be.
Matt – just checked out diamond dwellings and you definitely have a cool concept going on there. I’ve always had clear objectives in my mind and we are now working on making those a reality – nice to know that there are similar minds in the blogosphere.
Jonathan – you betcha! 🙂 especially when it comes down to mojitos.
Jay – 😀