5 Top Tips to Market on a Shoestring

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does” You may have heard this quote from the marketing guru Steuart Henderson Britt, but how do we do it without breaking the bank? Well here’s our 5 top tips to market on a shoestring. 

The thought of marketing makes many business owners jittery because of the cost associated with the exercise. You would not be surprised to know that many successful business owners key to growth was finding ingenious cost effective ways to market. If you are genuine, and believe in your product, the self-marketing ideas we list below will connect you with your customers and can even make marketing fun!.

1. Blogging

Blogging is one of the cheapest and most effective strategies that you can use to market your business (hey, you’re reading a blog!). The information that you provide to your readers needs to give them value. Informative, authoritative and interesting information will keep readers engaged. The benefits of blogging are multi-faceted; it builds an interested audience of potential customers, informs existing customers, increases your Web assets and provides content to share via social media.

Effective blogging is a skill you’re going to need to learn (there are plenty of resources on the Web to help), but it’s a really valuable skill once obtained.

2. Social media marketing

Social media has greatly leveled the marketing playing field. Thanks to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ .and Pinterest  you no longer have to be a media mogul to reach millions of potential customers.  The secret is to learn how to harness the power of social media effectively. Social media is about building and forming relationships, as with any relationship it’s what you give, not what you take which forms the bond.

Don’t be fooled, there’s a learning curve but when it works your customers will become your ‘friends’ and visa versa.  Remember that social Media sites, like Facebook, have great insight into the lives of users so they can provide much better tools to target niche markets than search advertising.

3. Word of mouth.

You may think it’s outdated, but ‘word of mouth‘ is one of the most powerful marketing tools, especially in this connected world. Build a solid brand, good products plenty of customer attention, they will love you for it (and share the good news).  Although this technique can have geographical limitations, conversion rates will high. Think outside the box when it comes to providing opportunities for your customers to share their joy in using your  product or service – invite them to social events, business group meetings!.

Don’t forget you have a mouth too … always have your well-crafted sales pitch ready for social gatherings; may they be birthday parties, family get-together or fun outings with friends. Remember, marketing your business is a full time occupation.

4. Workers as brand ambassadors

It does not matter how many workers you have, they might be two or ten, it does not really matter, what matters is making sure they become brand ambassadors. Happy workers become motivated workers and motivated workers become great brand ambassadors. Continually nurture a culture of ‘brand ownership’ through training, mentoring and positive brand re-enforcement in the workplace. Workers who feel ‘brand ownership’ are much more likely to talk enthusiastically about their place of work and products or services, thus indirectly marketing your business.

5. Online Video

With advent of the smart phone and sites like Youtube and Vimeo getting video content online has become relatively quick, easy and affordable. Viewers no longer expect TV studio production levels (in fact they may find your ‘home’ content more natural and engaging. What’s really changing is how we digest video. Here’s a few statistics that may shock your marketing socks off; Viewers are anywhere from 64-85% more likely to buy after watching a product video. 55% of people watch videos online every day. Including video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%.  Video now appears in 70% of the top 100 search results listings.  So don’t waste time getting your phone out …3…2…1…Action.

Conclusion

Marketing is an integral part of any business, it’s certainly essential for startups. But if financing is a problem, don’t let that stop you – Try our list of top tips above to create your shoestring marketing strategy.

And don’t forget your metrics, time is also in short supply, so constantly review metrics and refine your methods, then measure again.