August
Small Business Marketing on the Cheap
Comments Off Posted in: Marketing, Advertising, SEO & SEM DiscussionEven though you’re not swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck, it shouldn’t really matter anyway when it comes to your marketing needs because it’s entirely free in today’s digital age.
Submitted for the approval for the Midnight Society, I call this story, “The Tale of Dream Marketing!”
*Tosses “midnight dust” from a medicine pouch into campfire*
Long before the Internet even existed, startups had only a limited choice when it came to marketing their product or service on the cheap, using either flyers or throwing a couple of dollars at a local shindig. Thanks to the tremendous growth of the net, you now only have to spend a few hours researching the latest marketing sites, register, add your info, search for existing contacts, add new potentials, join in on an existing group discussion(s), and presto blammo… marketing on the cheap.
With that said, here are some tips and tricks that’ll help you get your brand out there without costing you an arm and a leg.
Become active on WholesaleForum
Anything that you can think of has its own community online that you can become active in. On other hand, simply registering and starting a couple of topics here and there won’t cut it, and it’ll just irritate the regulars who’ve been there before you. By routinely replying and building a reputation within the community, only talking about your business when asked, you greatly increase the value you contribute by not sounding spammy. Imperceptibly (say that ten times fast) marketing your product or service as a forum signature or casually adding it in the discussion when it’s reasonable is alright.
List your business online
If you haven’t done so by now, list your business on Google Places since it increases the chance of local people in your neck of the woods walking through your doors. It’s really simple. Just go through your average registration process, get verified by phone, add your business details, and now you’ll show up on local search results. You can even check out Yahoo’s own thing called Yahoo! Local. It’s free just like Google Places, and it’s definitely worth the extra effort of signing up with them too. Oh yeah, I shouldn’t forget about BG’s (Bill Gates) Bing Business Portal that’s pretty much the same as the other two, but it should help your cause since people have their own search engine preference.
Press releases still work
If your company does something that’s worthy of a press release, then by all means fire one off to the world. It’s still a workable solution to build some buzz for your brand, and using one of the many free outlets is a huge plus. Feel free to check out some of the free sites out there that specialize in press releases, such as PR.com and OpenPR.com.
Love social media
Working the social media angle is just one of many strategies that you utilize to gain an advantage over those who don’t quite get it. Anyway, it’s now the de facto when it comes to business in general. It’s so easy to add your own logos, ads, deals, coupons, etc., to your Google+/Tweeter pages. Even working a more professional site such as LinkedIn can prove beneficial on both a personal and professional level, especially if you’re a young and nubile startup.
Seeoh the fug out of that mothertrucker!
Search engine optimization isn’t that hard to understand at all. Just pick up a couple of books here and keep on browsing through our Marketing, Advertising, SEO & SEM Discussion section to remain in the know of the latest tips and tricks.
Business blog it
This’ll greatly help you when you have to get your brand out there, and, on top of that, you’ll make friends with your most loyal fans. But keep in mind that one of the drawbacks that comes with blogging is that you have to keep your swagger swaggin (fresh content). A here and there updated blog will never work for the long-term, so make it a priority to always be publishing.
Add video
Thanks to the power of YouTube, you now have the power to share your promo videos, but if you really want to make a lasting impact on the collective consciousness of humanity, upload heartful and insightful clips that are directly related to your business. Even a simple Flickr account can be of use when it comes to adding pics to your articles or blog posts, and it helps with your ranking by linking it back to your site.
