Cost-effective marketing techniques to boost your business

​If you run your own business, you are probably well aware of the importance of having a strong marketing strategy. In order to be successful, potential customers need to know about your brand and what it is that you have to offer them. At the same time, you might not have much of a budget to dedicate to marketing – especially if you are a small business or just starting out. Luckily there are a number of excellent tactics you can try that don’t cost a lot of money but can still be incredibly effective. Here are five suggestions to get you started.

​Utilize social media

​Social media can be one of the best ways to engage with your potential customers and build brand awareness, and yet it doesn’t have to cost you anything. Find out which platforms are most popular among your target audience, set up your profiles, and post regularly. Be sure to engage directly with your followers, and use the opportunity to showcase your company’s unique selling points and personality – people love a brand they can relate to.

​Make the most of external events

When a popular external event such as Halloween or Christmas rolls around, try and use it to drive sales. For example, you could promote themed products, run special limited-time offers, or post about what your staff are doing to celebrate. Don’t forget to browse Black Friday ideas for eCommerce so that you can generate traffic to your website when people are in the mood to shop.

​Set up a blog

Content marketing is a fantastic way to get more visitors to your website, and it doesn’t have to cost you any money. Blogging is great for your SEO and can also be used to demonstrate your business’s knowledge in the industry that you work in. The key factor to bear in mind is that each post should be interesting or entertaining to keep people coming back. Another option is to try setting up a podcast, but this takes more work and technical expertise – appearing as a guest on an established and relevant podcast in your industry is often a better and simpler way to reach people.

​Build an email newsletter

When you have an email list, you have a way to speak directly to people who you know are interested in your brand. This could be to announce a new product, introduce a new service, or encourage customers to join your loyalty scheme. Use discount codes or free giveaways as an incentive to get people to sign up, and be careful not to send too many marketing emails, as this can be off-putting

​Try partnering with local businesses 

​If you have a number of other independent businesses in your area, which are not direct competitors, partnering up can be a mutually beneficial way to increase custom for everyone. For instance, you could offer referral discount codes, mention each other in your emails or blogs, or advertise on each other’s premises. You could even set up a network so that lots of different companies can get involved and help each other out.