When a company is small, getting your name out there can be tricky, especially if your marketing budget is also tight. It’s important to be heard and seen from announcing a new product on social media to customizing your stand at an event. And it is often the small ideas that bring great results. 

Are you wondering how to promote your business without having a big budget? We are here to help you.

1. Social media

When it comes to marketing, social media weighs heavily. They are free, they offer statistics that are easy to interpret and put you in communication with a huge and loyal audience. That’s why they’re the right place to put inexpensive marketing strategies into practice.

• Choose a platform that works for you and your audience

Small business marketing ideas become a winner on social media if you already know how to navigate your chosen platform. Search the social media channels you already use and check if your audience is active there too. If not, broaden your range of action: exploring new digital shores, you may find that a change of scenery from time to time can be good.

• Focus on the visual content

As online attention is getting smaller and smaller, image feeds like Facebook or Instagram allow you to create fast and immediate content, capable of grabbing attention, but also communicating your message. We recommend curating your updates with a mix of inspirational content and promotional links to your products and services.

2.  Blog and editorial content

If there’s one thing everyone agrees on in small business marketing, it’s the value of storytelling. Start a blog and transform your business journey into content that can entertain. Blogs have been around longer than social media, but they remain a great way to tell stories that inspire your audience.

• Add images to the blog posts

Make your blog more attractive with quality photos and visual content. Not only do they break the text and keep interest high, but they also help customers understand your products and services better. If you have the resources to make it happen, even an infographic could be perfect for winning over readers. Infographics allow you to illustrate or explain an idea or process through a graphic image. Since they are easy to read and help you better understand the content, they are one of the most shared formats: that’s why they can’t be missing on your blog. 

• Expand your audience with guest posting

Bloggers can join forces to reach more readers: just get hosted on someone else’s blog and then return the courtesy. Guest posting, as this practice is called, allows you to make your name known to an audience who may not yet know you, but who may be interested in what you have to offer. This type of partnership gives you access to a wider audience, but it’s also a fun way to network.

• Show your readers’ content

From the beginning, blogs have focused on creating communities of readers. Celebrate your customers and fans by posting the content they have submitted to your blog. This is also a very useful way to enhance your product, as you can include reviews, recommendations from those who have used your products and services, and share the stories of those who have gained great benefits. Collecting all these types of content on your blog makes them more visible and less “passing” than posting on social media.

• Educational How-to Video tutorials

One of the most popular categories of videos on the web these days are how-to tutorials. People love learning to do things for themselves because it gives them a sense of accomplishment and being creative.

New small business owners often hesitate to create videos fearing that if they show people how they do their jobs, no one will hire them. But it’s not true. Some people may take the DIY approach seriously. Most, however, will come running to hire you once they try to make something of themselves and appreciate how much work, effort, and talent that task requires. So put your fears aside, get your best smile ready, and hit records!

3. Offline marketing strategies and techniques

Small business owners can take their business to a new level by using offline marketing tactics as their primary strategy locally. This type of marketing may reach a smaller audience than digital, but it can bring you quality results in terms of customer loyalty and business relationships with other small businesses. And there are also many possibilities for those on a tight marketing budget – some are even free.

4. Use the affiliate system

A win-win and cost-effective marketing idea is to team up with other small businesses to promote each other. Knowledge of the local area, customers, and the shared community can turn affiliate programs into an excellent opportunity for small business owners. If the two companies are not in direct competition, there is no risk of losing sales opportunities: on the contrary, it is possible to increase your audience and improve the convenience for customers.

5. What makes you special?

One of the most common questions is “How am I supposed to stand out from the crowd?”

I believe that every company is special.

You are definitely different from your competitors. include the things you do differently. Also, write down the things you would like to do differently.

Define your goals. Write a philosophy – why not?

What makes you special? Does your company work in an environmentally friendly way? Do you have a special service? An extraordinary motto? Or do you have an interesting founding story? Go ahead, write everything down.

6. Meet the requirements

Are you already online with your company? Do you have a website? If so, great! You are ready to go. If not: First of all, take care of your website. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars building a website. There are a large number of providers of website builders on the Internet. Alternatively, you can hire someone to create it, NetwalkersNG offers affordable prices to acquire modern websites. Do well to check them out.

The important thing is to make sure that your website has a responsive design (this means that it is optimized for mobile viewing). It is important for Google and your prospects that the site can be easily reached on the go.

7. Google MyBusiness

Everyone knows Google, (almost) everyone uses Google. The company from Mountain View, California, offers not only advertising options but also practical tools for beginners in online marketing. An elementary tool is the free Google my business, a kind of micro-website for your company directly in the Google search. Created in a few moments, the finished business entry offers your customers a whole range of great options, because the tool cannot be understood as anything else.

 In addition to first impressions in the form of pictures, reviews can be made available to read and submit about your company. All relevant information such as your website, opening times or your phone number is immediately visible. Last but not least, viewers of the entry can ask questions that will be answered by people they already know. It seems simple, but Google MyBusiness is an effective tool in online marketing, even for small businesses. Ultimately, it increases your visibility on the internet.

8. Sell ​​more through email marketing

Email is one of the most powerful means of generating leads and turning them into customers, whether it’s a freelance business or a small company. Of course, that’s a little easier said than done, especially if you’re new to the game, with one bad move potentially ruining your chances of success.

To help you get started (and avoid disaster), we’ve put together these email marketing tips and best practices to convert leads to customers, share your message, and ultimately ensure a successful email marketing campaign that does know your products and services to the right audience.

• Define your audience

When developing your strategy, the first step you need to take is to identify the audience you plan to serve. Find out what their problem is, how they feel about it, and what they are currently doing to try and fix it. Knowing these little details will benefit you immensely, as you will be able to better target them with the content they will respond to.

• Create your email marketing list

Intend to build your email marketing list. While it might be tempting to buy an email address list, it’s pretty much a one-way ticket to blacklists and spam folders. In other words, you need to ask for people’s permission before adding them to your email list.

You can do this on your website or blog, through the use of landing pages or registration forms, or even during live events. Another great way to get people to sign up is through lead magnets: offer them something in exchange for signing up, such as a free eBook.

Make sure subscribers understand what they sign up for and consider sending a confirmation email after signing up. Also, it’s a good idea to remove all inactive subscribers to keep your list up to date (don’t forget to make it easier to unsubscribe).

• Choose the right type of campaign

There are many different types of email campaigns and it’s important to choose the one that best fits your end goal. Some ideas include:

1. Email newsletters: These can be sent on a weekly or monthly basis and are perfect for keeping your business and products in people’s minds and bringing them back to your website.
2. Marketing offers: These are great for displaying your latest stock, offering a discount or special promotion, and encouraging people to make a purchase.
3. Ads: This type of campaign is perfect when you want to promote a new product, feature, or service.

9. Run an online contest

Online contests can help greatly increase your audience and attract potential customers. When people enter a contest or a giveaway, they show interest in the products or services they stand to win. And even if they don’t win the free prize, many people are likely to go back and buy from you once they become familiar with your business and brand.

10. Host a free event or class

There is no better way to get your name out there, show your expertise, and make new leads than by hosting a free event or class for your community. Ask your local community center if they host you (they can even do it for free!) Or find an adult education center that might be interested in holding a class in your area of ​​expertise.

11. Start a customer referral program

The best way to get new customers is also the oldest way to get new customers – word of mouth. No advertising or marketing trick can work better in convincing new customers of your credibility and authority than your current happy customers. And the best way to help push word of mouth is through a customer referral program.

Happy customers offer a discount for inviting their friends to you and give friends a small discount too – for added incentive to give your business a try. If each of your happy customers brings a friend then – boom! – you just doubled the customers of your new small business.

12. Show bright testimonials

When people say positive things about your business, you don’t want to keep it quiet. Users will almost always trust the opinions of other customers over those of a company, so if you have the ability to advertise your business using testimonials, you should take it.

To get testimonials, you can contact current and former customers for feedback. You can also apply the last tip remarketing tactics to encourage customers to leave a review. Then you can post your testimonials on your website and social media pages.

This article was published by Netwalkers.com.ng/blog,  a software developing company focused on developing solutions for the hospitality & health care industries. We also support businesses with e-commerce solutions, our goal is to support innovative small & medium scale businesses in Nigeria with intelligent business without putting a hole in their pocket.