How can you advertise your start-up when money is tight or you’re just starting up and get your name in front of potential prospects on a limited budget?
Promoting a business is an ongoing challenge for small business start-ups. This is because of the limited resources available. To market your business successfully you need a planned, organized approach. Hit or miss marketing wastes time and money. Start by defining your marketing strategy and setting a budget.
Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, these advertising and marketing tactics are proven and will help your business find new customers without spending a fortune.
Let’s jump in.
1. Leverage Referrals
One of the best ways to market is to avoid marketing altogether; instead, create a system that lets your customers do the marketing for you. Consider the fact that people are four times more likely to buy a product when it’s referred to them by a friend.
People still trust personal recommendations more than anything else. What’s more, establishing a referral program doesn’t cost much, and depending on how you structure it, might be entirely free. You could offer your current customers a discount on their subscriptions in exchange for referring a new customer, or offer a cash reward if you’re really invested in this strategy. Just make sure to get word to your customers.
2. Social media marketing
Social media marketing isn’t something you can do casually, but it is freely available, and it’s something you can master if you invest the time. Start by establishing profiles for your business on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Flesh out your profiles, and start syndicating content that your target market would like.
Reach out to individuals, and make sure to stay connected. In time, you could grow to an audience of thousands, driving more customers to your business.
3. Email marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most cost-efficient marketing strategies around, with some sources claiming a return on investment of 400 percent or more. As long as you have a good list that should be organically acquired and a steady but non-invasive stream of outgoing email blasts, you should be able to see a significant return on any time or money you put into it.
4. Have a website for the start-up
A working website is critical for marketing your business even if your business has a big social media following. Depending on what you sell, your website serves as a lead generation tool, online brochure, catalog, and information source for your potential customers. You have complete control over how you promote your products and services on your website and how long promotions and other content is visible. Control you will not find when using social media
5. Business cards
If you’re just starting out and don’t have a business card and business stationery, have them made up immediately. They tell prospective customers you are a professional who takes your business seriously. Your business card is important for marketing your business because it helps people you meet remember you and what your company does. Be sure to list your website address on your business card, letterhead, and any handouts you create. Include your main social media profile link, too, if possible. Call your friends and relatives and tell them you have started a business. Visit them and leave a small stack of business cards to hand out to their friends.
6. Get featured in Press and News releases
6. Get featured in Press and News releasesPeople read the news regularly, and if you have something newsworthy to report, most news outlets will gladly report it for you. Press releases are an inexpensive way to get your brand mentioned in major publications, and possibly pick up some inbound links along the way. If you do all the work yourself, hunting down and emailing journalists, press releases can actually be a free marketing strategy.
7. Connect with another brand
If your startup is too small to draw a large audience by itself, the answer to building a huge group of loyal fans might just be to partner with another company larger than you. Even if you can’t partner with a large company, look to find a strategic partnership that can help your brand gain visibility in the marketplace.
