Smaller startups might have issues coming up with a marketing budget if their cash is tied up in paying employees or purchasing product inventory. This causes these businesses to have to utilize a budget friendly marketing campaign. Small companies tend to have more flexibility with these campaigns as there generally is not a board that has to approve every article or strategy. This flexibility gives the small company the ability to compete with larger companies that might resort to throwing money at a marketing problem rather than solve that problem. Without this luxury smaller companies need a creative as well as effective marketing strategy. The following are tactics that can help save money without sacrificing effectiveness of a small company’s marketing campaign.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is free to use and can help expand the reach that a piece of content has regardless of where it was published. This is also the perfect platform to engage with followers and converse about certain topics related to your business or industry. Social media posts have to catch the eye of people whether it is a comment or a picture that attracts a reader to a post. Not all companies should be using the same social media approach as travel agencies for example would be far better off using Instagram versus Facebook. The need for interesting photos can be the one aspect that attracts a customer to a specific agency instead of a competing agency.
Network Marketing
Network marketing can be a perfect way to create extra income for freelancers or those looking for part-time income on the staff. This usually involves a smart upfront investment of time or money depending on the knowledge the person has about company offerings. This can help create a network of people selling for your company without having to pay them unless a sale is closed. For those companies that do not have a large amount of cash to pay salary plus commission to a sales team this could be the answer. Creating business through network marketing allows a company to increase the reach of its sales team.
Off-Site and On-Site Content Marketing
Content marketing could not be more important as it helps drive search engine rankings which directly impact website traffic. Contributing to industry publications is wise as it helps build a brand name as well as helps the company website rank for certain terms. What a company needs to watch out for is that of creating generic content as this will not drive traffic and could end up being a complete waste of time. Testing out a few types of content can be important as well as not everyone likes content in article form as some people want their content in video or podcast form. Take the time to track traffic to the site as you could just be utilizing the wrong type of content for your target demographic.
Referral Marketing
Current clients can be the best resource that a small company has as staff often times rotates depending on the industry. Referring a lead can be rewarded with a discount on the customer’s next order. Everyone loves saving money as well as helping out a company that has provided about average services or products. Staff that has made a move professionally should be contacted to see if their current company might need services. This could be rewarded with a portion of ongoing orders as compensation to help entice those who might be able to refer quite a bit of business.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has to be done quite carefully as it can be a complete waste of money to pay an “influencer” that has bought their followers. These types of social media personalities do not build a sense of community and do not have followers that trust them. There are plenty of influencer platforms that allow companies to do test campaigns with an influencer of their choice. You might find that paying for medium size influencers gives a much higher ROI than partnering with an influencer that costs thousands of dollars per post. Track test campaigns to see which influencer will give your small company the most bang for the buck.
The above tactics can allow cash strapped companies to market according to their goals without going over budget. What are some tactics that you market with that are cost efficient?
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