Most startup owners dream of unlimited budgets and top-notch marketing teams. But the reality is, very few of them have access to these things. Yes, some entrepreneurs manage to secure angel investments, but most have to get by with bootstrap budgets and hard work.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that new business owners often seek affordable online marketing tricks to maximize their reach and ROI. And, if you’re one of those entrepreneurs, you’ve come to the right place. After all, great results don’t have to have a high price tag.
If you’re ready to get down to work, here are the best budget-friendly tips to take your marketing to the next level.
1. Get Familiar with Analytics Tools
One of the most important things you need to understand about marketing is that the best marketing strategies are always based on a combination of two things: data and authenticity. And sure, you may have the authenticity part down. However, data is a bit more technical. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to understand, as long as you know where to look.
If you’re really serious about building your brand online, the best investment you can make is to learn about all the available tools you have at your disposal. Becoming familiar with free apps like Google Analytics, Facebook’s Business Suite & Analytics, Instagram’s Insights, and SEMrush is going to give you a significant advantage over your competition. Even when that competition is a well-established business with years of experience behind it.
Why? It’s simple: measuring your marketing performance and tweaking your strategy to work better for your audience works without fail. Every. Single. Time.
2. Win at SEO
There’s no way of making your business succeed if you’re invisible to your target audience. And the best way to gain visibility is by investing in search engine optimization.
Let’s look at the data. In 2019, Baclincko analyzed over 5 million search results. And the data they got is quite clear: unless you’re in one of the top 4 positions on SERPs, the likelihood of getting a potential customer on your website is less than 10%.
So, if SEO is an irreplaceable online marketing strategy, how do you get started? Well, for one, you focus on getting the right message to your target audience. Second, you boost your site’s technical performance so that it loads quickly, is easy to use, and is built to be picked up by search engines. Finally, don’t forget about targeting local customers. After all, they’re the ones most likely to visit your location, so make it easy for them to find you.
3. Work with Satisfied Customers & Micro-influencers
There’s no better way of proving to potential buyers that you’re a trustworthy business than to show off the positive feedback you’ve received.
Seeing how consumers regularly do research before making purchasing decisions, how they dislike advertising, and how they trust peer recommendations, showing off social proof on your distribution channels should be a no-brainer.
And the best thing about this marketing strategy is that it can be done with an almost nonexistent budget.
You can encourage customers to leave feedback with hashtags and discounts. Alternatively, repost user-generated content on your website and social media profiles. Create content around your satisfied customers’ stories. Or collaborate with micro-influencers who have affordable fees and offer higher engagement rates than their celebrity counterparts.
Even when your brand grows enough to afford a substantial marketing budget, remember to stay focused on customer experiences. It won’t cost much, yet it’ll provide one of the highest ROIs out there.
4. Repurpose What You Have
Content marketing is clearly one of the best ways to get the word out about your business. Whether you’re producing visuals for Instagram or writing articles for your blog, high-quality content is always a great idea.
But the thing is, most distribution platforms require consistent posting schedules that can be difficult to meet if you’ve got limited resources. Fortunately, however, that doesn’t mean you can’t use what you already have.
Whether you’re re-sharing an article on Twitter or adapting a blog post to fit a more visual format (e.g., Instagram stories), know that it’s OK to repurpose your content. What is more, it may be the smarter thing to do, especially if you’re able to find a new way to reflect on a story or share it on a low-competition platform that offers wide reach.
5. Invest in Branding, Every Step of the Way
Last but not least, if you’re looking for affordable ways to grow your business, remember that every single online marketing campaign offers an opportunity to strengthen your brand. Whether you’re paying for Google Ads, offering customer support via Twitter, or sharing content to your Facebook Page, understand that it’s an opportunity to show who you are as an organization.
Are you committed to social issues or ecological practices? Incorporate social responsibility in your marketing campaigns.
Do you take pride in your team’s achievements? Recognize them for the world to see.
Are you committed to improving your products every step of the way? Share your process and explain why you feel it’s important.
You can even turn mishaps into something positive, as long as you do it with tact.
Remember, most people aren’t interested in supporting faceless corporations. They don’t just want products – they’re after connection and experiences. So use your brand. Enrich your marketing strategies with everything that makes your company unique, relatable, and familiar. You’ll see, it will offer much better results than spending a fortune on flashy ads.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are numerous ways you can invest in your online marketing, even if you’ve got a limited budget. With the right strategy, a little can go a long way, and creativity, authenticity, and transparency always elicit positive consumer reactions. Moreso, if you have a strong understanding of your campaigns’ performance and know how to make the right data-based decisions.
Nonetheless, it’s equally important to recognize that exceptional results take some amount of risk. So, don’t be afraid to spend money on marketing. As long as you understand your audience and your product while also maintaining a strong sense of who you are as an organization, you’re sure to see great results.
