Almost every day, I see a campaign and think of how, if I’d had that marketing budget, I could make it bigger, better and more engaging. But unfortunately, the reality is that small businesses often have tight marketing budgets, and are unable to undertake the elaborate marketing efforts that someone with a multi-million dollar budget can.
Recently, the team at our Florida advertising agency has been consulting smaller businesses about ideas that they can put into play with small marketing budgets, in order to see big returns. While every business has its unique strengths and weakness, there are a few universal tools that marketers can put into play at a grassroots budget in order to help market their businesses.
Celebrity Endorsements: Okay, so we realize that not every person is friends with a celebrity, or even if you are, it might not be the type of celebrity who is willing to endorse your brand for free. But recently, a friend of mine gained headway on her brand’s social media page when she posted images of her fashions appearing on a popular network prime-time sitcom. It was a huge draw for her brand’s target demographic. Though it wasn’t technically a celebrity endorsement, it showed celebrity affiliation, which was great self-made PR for the people who purchase from her store.
Go to Your Target: If you specialize in vintage silver, and your products are available online, why only reach out to your current “followers” when you could be gaining new ones? Though it’s sometimes hard to believe, the types of message boards that were popular years ago are still popular with thousands of people, people who identify with a given community. Additionally, sites like Reddit and Craigslist feature bulletin board systems, allowing people to involve themselves in conversations based on niche topics. You can also use social media monitoring to reach out to people who love your products or services to engage with them and reward them for posting.
Establish Yourself as an Expert: If your business is the leading website that offers realtime information about finance and interest rates, you can establish yourself as an expert in these fields by writing about these topics. You can start your own blog, post informative slide decks on SlideShare, or can actively post in forms such as Quora to show off your expertise. Expertise in a specific field is great publicity and marketing. It helps lend credibility, not to mention helps your search engine ranking for people who organically search for keywords related to your terms.
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Connect with Potential Customers Online and Offline: If your digital followers are also real-life customers, it’s important to make them feel as though they are part of your community both onscreen and off-screen. A friend of mine incentivizes people to come into her store by offering exclusive discounts for birthdays and other life events, which she keeps track of through constant communication and a host of social media tools. Though it can be difficult for her do this with every one of her hundreds of followers, the ones who do receive treats or discounts from her almost always react positively or share their finds.
If you’re looking for more ways to stretch your marketing budget, our Florida advertising agency can help introduce you to fun, interesting and innovative campaigns to help sell your product or service by connecting with your audience.
