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Here are Some Low-Cost Marketing Ideas for Limited Budget Businesses.

Over the years, I have come across many interesting advertising quotes. Most of the sayings trumpet the virtues of advertising, while others show the folly of it. Here are some of my favourites…

“Advertising is a good deal like marriage. There may be a better way, but what is it?”
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but she doesn’t.”
“Advertising is the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.”

Suffice to say, from ancient times—advertising has been important for all types of businesses. The means and mediums of advertising may have changed from word-of-mouth chatter to bombastic neon signs, but the fact still remains that no one will purchase something that they’ve not heard of or about. This reminds me of yet another exciting quote; “A man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.”

A business, whether big or small, can’t do without some form of advertising. However, the majority of startups don’t have enough money to hire an experienced marketing or advertising consultant, let alone an entire Ad agency. What to do? Here are some advertising hacks.

Small businesses can advertise with limited or no budget.

  1. Create business accounts and participate in social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. This not only gives your business mileage, but you also get to know what other businesses in your category are doing.
  2. Get some Ad promo credits from Facebook and Google ads. There are often coupon offers and even promotion codes with advertising discounts given as part of membership offerings. Don’t let these offers go unused.
  3. Get a blog going. Yep, that’s precisely what I am doing right now. It is not hard to create “killer” content that draws and holds attention. If you can write it yourself, great! If not, try to get someone within your team to get the creative juices flowing by coming up with universal content like —top 10 lists, Interesting tips, industry best practice, the latest scoop. Etc.
  4. Shoot some videos. No need for big bucks video productions, loads of people are now producing perfectly entertaining and educational videos using their mobile phones. To know how to shoot a credible video using an iPhone click here.
  5. Whenever you have awesome information that you’d like to recycle, do a DIY Infographics. This is the ultimate easy to digest visual aid that makes you look like an expert while spewing out some serious data. For inspiration, check out this site—“visually by rockcontent.”

It pays to remember that before you start blowing the trumpet about your business, you must already have a strong concept of what your brand stands for. This means having a consistent brand image and tone of voice. You should also know what sets you apart from your competitors, and have a defined marketing goal.

Of course, none of these efforts will come to fruition unless you know your audience and where they can be found. To find out how to profile your customers, watch this video; “4 Steps to Profile Your Customers”.

Note to my future self.

Don’t entertain ideas. Put them to work and very soon, they’ll be entertaining you.

Signed…

O.K!