9 Ways to do Marketing on a Budget

When it comes to advertising, many companies don’t want to throw marketers the budget they need to really succeed. The best way to convince the guys at the top to give you more money to play with is by getting excellent results with the little you do have.

Here are some cheap advertising ideas to get you started:

If you have next to zero budget, then social media is where you should turn to. After all there is very little cost behind this strategy, just the time you invest into the project. There are a huge amount of benefits to taking on social media – most importantly is the ability to solidify your brand. People spend more time on social media networks than anywhere else on the internet, so by making your presence known here you can reach a huge target audience.

Nowadays you can’t afford to have a website that doesn’t perform well. Take some time out to ensure that everything works and looks the way it should. Eliminate the clutter and ensure that it is mobile compatible. Changing little bits here and there could drastically increase the sales you receive.

There are a huge amount of benefits associated with blogging. Not only does it benefit your SEO by creating fresh content, but it allows you to engage with your audience on another level. Many companies who regularly blog find that their blog accounts for over 70% of their monthly traffic – traffic that can easily be converted into sales.

Search engines are increasingly becoming more and more local, often picking up local businesses near you when looking for certain keywords. That means that you shouldn’t be ignoring things such as Google Local, which can help to drive relevant local traffic to you.

Never underestimate the importance of being an authority in your field. If you get the chance to go to a conference then do it! By showing people that you know what you’re talking about you can increase your customer base and find more companies that want to work with you.

Need free marketing? There’s nothing better than affiliates for this, as people promote the products you want to sell for you – the only catch is that you have to pay them a percentage of each sale they bring to you. However, this helps you to build links and get your products features on pages all across the web.

While social networking is great for building up an online presence, you can’t neglect interactions and networking in person. Go to industry events and mingle with other people who are there. While some people will be useless others can turn into very important contacts.

Try to attend as many of these as you can, not only will it get you out of the office, but you’ll also find lots of fresh contacts.

Already have lots of loyal customers? Ask them to promote you or refer their friends. If you give them incentives, such as a discounted rates or freebees for sending new customers your way, then they are usually more than happy to pass on your company to friends and family.

More often than not though, if you provide an excellent service then people will give you referrals without any other incentives.

Has your business done something awesome lately? Get in touch with your local press and tell them about it! Having news segments on your business doing great work can be a massive bonus for you. Plus, if they have a website and link to you this will look great for your SEO! People take a lot of stock from things they read in the news and if they see your business then chances are they’ll use you.

By doing all of the above, you’ll see huge results without having to spend a small fortune. When the people up top see this they’re much more likely to give you a bigger budget allowing you to start doing even higher performing activities such as quality SEO.