Member Article

5 Low budget Marketing ideas for small businesses

Here is the thing:

Small businesses are vulnerable and fragile to cave-in.

About 20% small businesses crash in their first year. And only 50% make their way to the 6th year of business progression.

So, why do they fail miserably?

The two major culprits behind these daunting stats are insufficient capital and marketing weakness.

So what can you do about it?

Both the variables are correlated with each other and can be dealt with a strategic plan.

Although financial management is something you should process before the business execution, you can increase the cash flow with effective marketing strategies.

Here are 5 winning marketing ideas (strategies) that will develop maximum clarity for your small business.

Market your business online

It’s surprising that even in 2017 about 50% of businesses don’t have a website or online presence. Although the positive stats are growing and business owners are making way to online, the numbers still are disgraceful for the era dominated by the internet.

If you are a small business owner of web design company without a website, your first move should be to create one. Unlike 2000 era, you don’t need to be an extremely tech savvy guy to build a website. You can swiftly create a website using a WordPress theme and hosting that cost no more than $150. If you aren’t confident in your skills, you can always opt for a professional like this web developersydney to help you through.

What next? Creating a website is only one phase of the task. You should be able to market it strategically using SEO tactics. SEO is what helps your website climb up the search ranking and in the process brings qualified leads.

The best thing about small business is you don’t need a sophisticated mind to blast the search ranking. You need to follow a certain framework that everyone follows. Normally, it works for most niches. Invest time and efforts on content creation, citation creation, and link building. And see how your business moves on the rankings. At the end, you can also take tips from a local SEO consultant.

Stand as an expert in your community

Let’s take a practical example. When you can’t find a solution to a problem, what the first thing you do? You would probably search on Google or ask for an expert advice with your friend. So, Google and friend is the expert in your eyes. You trust them to give you the right solution.

This is what it means to be an expert. As a small business owner, you can market your expertise in many ways. Call a local media house and tell them you want to offer DIY tips as an expert. People love solutions that come for free. Additionally, you can also host a workshop targeting your local audience. Ask them to point their most common problem and meet them with your answers. You can also place some reward options to increase user engagement.

Be a social media sensational

No, you don’t need to create a revolutionary product to go viral in social media. Although it does help but it’s not the only factor. This simple DIY video of printing screen on glass has over 470000 views that tell the value of an expert.

The three platforms that I suggest every business owner should invest are Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

With a staggering usage of over 79% by Americans, Facebook is the go-to resource for small business. Work your efforts and time to increase engagement of your audience on these platforms. Create content that solves problems and adds values. Join a relevant community of your business and invest time to shed your expertise. Occasionally you can also host a contest that helps to spread your word.

Use your personal resource to advertise your business

This has to be one of the most creative ways of promoting your business. Heads up to the guys from Event Brite for an amazing idea.

There are resources that you use every day that probably gets noticed by many people. From your car to your dog, you can use these resources to market your business. Make your resources a mobile billboard that advertises about your service. You can use a printed signage in your car so that it gets noticed. You can also use a collar or belt for your dog with your business details.

Hey! Anything that works, right?

Network with your shoulder niche.

So what exactly is a shoulder niche?

Well, you can refer it to any businesses that are inter-connected with your business one way or another. However, they aren’t your direct competitors.

For example: If you own a taxi company, there is an equal chance that a limousine is something that your customers may also look into options. So, you can partner with a limousine business owner to swap the customers.

These shoulder niches are the business owners you want to start networking. Maybe send a friendly email or invite them for a dinner to discuss business.

Wrapping Up

Some of the tips above are extremely actionable and don’t need any time to get going. However, few may take some time to see in results. So, start working on it right away.

Which tips do you fancy on opting just right now? Let us know in the comments below.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Prajwol .