I love small businesses.
Thanks for reading this post and Brass Ring also thanks those whose content is shared here on our website. We present it in order to pass on their knowledge to our small business clients so it can help them remain informed, healthy and growing their businesses. Please bookmark our site, subscribe to our newsletter and come back for more marketing, small business & WordPress tips, advice, tools & news! - Edward A. Sanchez
As a small business, there are many opportunities for growth with a smart marketing strategy.
But you’ve probably noticed a problem. Most of the marketing tactics out there are expensive!
A simple Facebook or Google ad campaign can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
So how can a small business use online marketing without the massive budgets of multinational corporations?
I’ve launched a few startups of my own, and I can tell you exactly what works. Here are 27 free or very inexpensive ways to market your small business online.
By Neil Patel…you can read the entire article HERE on Neil Patel’s blog.
1. Set goals and plan
Before you can start developing an online marketing strategy, you need to decide what your goals are.
This will dictate where you focus your efforts, where you choose to spend money, and ultimately how you define success.
If you have a low budget, you need to spend most of your time driving sales. Traffic is helpful, but it will only help your business grow if it leads to sales.
Decide exactly what you want to achieve in the next three to six months with your online marketing plan and write it down.
Do you want to get 50 new leads? Sell $100,000 in inventory? Make it clear so you can reach your target.
2. Build an email list
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: The money is in the list.
The simple truth is that an email list is the single most effective way to market your business online, and it doesn’t require a lot of time or money to get set up.
If you want a free option, you can start with MailChimp. You won’t have to pay a dime for your first 2,000 subscribers.
Grab the code to embed a simple opt-in box for subscribers. Even if you don’t have email marketing in place right now, you should get started with a list right away.
It will return huge rewards months or years down the road.
3. Start blogging
There’s a reason that 70% of B2B businesses plan on increasing their content marketing in the next year, according to the Content Marketing Institute.
Content marketing works.
In years past, small businesses couldn’t compete with the million-dollar advertising budgets of major brands. But today, that’s changed.
There’s a race for the most helpful content. If you’re passionate and knowledgeable about a topic, you should start teaching what you know.
This is a long-term strategy, but it pays huge dividends once you begin. Two years from now, you’ll be glad you started when you did.
4. Promote your content on Reddit
Reddit is an odd community, but you can drive massive amounts of free traffic and conversions through the platform if you know how to use it.
To get started, sign up for a Reddit account.
Be sure to use an email address that you have easy access to.
You can verify your email for a special badge, which is Reddit’s way of proving that you’re not a spammer, troll, or electronic bot.
Go to SnoopSnoo and search for your general topic.
Find a few subreddits that are relevant to your industry.
Click on the title.
Review the next page for details on the subreddit. If it looks like a good fit, click on the title again to go to the subreddit page.
Scroll down the subreddit until you find a subscribe button on the right-hand side. This will update you on posts in the community.
For the first few weeks or months, visit the subreddit once a day or so. Be helpful and friendly.
After you’ve established a presence as a helpful resource, post one of your most popular pieces of content. Ensure that it isn’t promotional, and you can get a ton of traction.
5. List your business on Google
If you haven’t registered your local business with Google, you’re not on the map!
Solve this problem by going to Google Businesses and selecting Start Now. Follow the prompts and register.
Google uses these listings when it delivers local results, and the money that comes from those local results is no joke.
If you register your business, you will acquire dozens of new customers and start establishing a solid web presence.
6. Create a video channel
Video content is the fastest-growing form of content online right now.
If you haven’t started a YouTube channel yet, now is the time to work on it.
Most small business owners I know are reluctant to get started with video because they think the products need to be perfect. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Some of the most successful video campaigns by small businesses have been simple projects, like this one from animal trainer Catmantoo.
It’s simple footage of a cat on a skateboard, but it got millions of views!
Don’t worry about the videos looking homemade and authentic. It could be helpful!
According to Sprout Social, honesty is the #1 characteristic consumers want from brands on social media right now.
By posting candid videos of your business, you can build an audience of customers who believe in you and are interested in learning about what you’re doing.
7. Boost your best Facebook posts
If you’ve ever tried Facebook advertising, you know the major frustrations.
Facebook Ads tend to be difficult to predict. While they sometimes work well, they frequently fall flat and fail to generate new conversions or customers.
These failed campaigns can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars before you realize the money has been wasted.
So, what’s the solution?
Boost Facebook posts that you know have already done well. To do it, find the Boost Post button at the bottom of your page updates.
If you’ve posted a piece of content with a call to action, like a link to your e-commerce store or email signup page, these are even more effective.
For just $5, you can promote this post to people outside your existing circle of fans and get even more traffic.
Article continues…CLICK HERE to read on Neil Patel’s Blog.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.