When you start a business, you need capital to get everything needed for operation. But before you can see a stable return on your investments through patronizing customers, you have to market your company successfully. However, it’s a tricky situation wherein you need money to make money; and if you’re just starting, you wouldn’t have much of it to spare.
Here are a few things you can do for brand marketing without breaking the bank:
1. Networking
Networking or word-of-mouth is one of the most straightforward strategies you can do, and without costing you anything too. You can build connections through socializing and talking to people. Here are some of the ways to do that:
- Talk to your family and friends first and tell them that you’re starting a business or, in French, démarrage d’une entreprise. Letting them know that you’re starting one will make them supportive and help you in spreading the word about your business.
- Meet with your friends as well. Like your family, they would be supportive and try to help you by sharing your social media pages or promoting your business to other people they know.
- Attend events where you can meet people who are in the same industry as you. Talk to those people and ask for some guidance too.
- Sponsor community events and be there. Talk to the townspeople and introduce yourself. You can use that opportunity to share your goals and your plans to be more involved in the community.
2. Utilize social media
Thanks to advancement in technology, there are effective ways to reach a wider audience, even those who are thousands of miles away from you. It’s crucial for every business to have a social media presence. It’s your way of reaching, communicating, and engaging with your target market. Here are some social media techniques:
- Choose a platform that is most appropriate for your business. Start with one or two, so you can utilize your tools.
- Don’t create an account for every social media platform if you won’t be able to handle them all at once. You can use Twitter when you are at an event to post regular updates as things happen, or you can use Facebook Live or Youtube Live to document the whole event.
- Create regular content, and it should be different each time. Repetitive content might irritate your audience, and it won’t be good for your brand’s reputation.
3. Ready your business cards
Business cards will only come at a small price so you most probably can afford them. Though some fancy ones may cost more than regular, it won’t cost you as much paying for a television advertisement. You need to have business cards because:
- It’s handy in case people need to contact you.
- It shows that you have a legitimate company and that you mean business.
- It may not give you immediate customers or clients but in case they need you in the future, they’ll know who to call.
- There’s also a chance that the person you hand it to, will share it with other people they know who might need your services as well.
You’re bound to meet new people wherever you may go. You could strike up conversations with people at coffee shops or maybe get invited to a party. As you introduce yourself, it’s almost automatic that people will ask you what you do for a living. You tell them what it is and give them your business card. It should have your name, job title, and contact information.
4. Write content
Your social media pages and your website should have high-quality content. Since you need to make social media pages and nowadays, having a site is one of the most basic things a business needs, you’re going to have to fill those up with content. Writing blogs is the cheapest way of adding content to your pages compared to videos or graphics. It won’t be expensive if you do it in-house.
Blogs are your marketing content, and they help drive traffic on your site which means more people could discover your website which could then lead to potential conversions. If you manage to write a blog that ranks high in SERPs, you have higher chances of finding new customers too. Make sure that you use the right keywords and create useful content so that you gain the interest of the readers.
5. Don’t pass up on public speaking opportunities
If ever you get invited to speak to a conference or a school, go for it as long as it won’t hurt your business. Public speaking not only gives you growth as a person but for your business as well. You get to build up your self-confidence, and you also reach out to more potential clients.
It’s vital to present yourself as someone who is an expert in your industry. Even if you’re only a startup, there’s a high chance that the people you’re talking to know less than you do. But don’t make it seem as if you’re looking down upon them. You need to be inspiring so that you can build your credibility.
Final thoughts
For your business to grow, marketing is imperative. There are no excuses to skip marketing just because you don’t have the budget for it. So your business is small, but that’s all the more reason you need to market your brand. Try the tips above. They are simple and inexpensive, but if you do it right, they are very effective.
