7 Affordable Advertising Ideas For Small Businesses
Small business advertising should be smart and cost effective. However, the big question is, how can a small business advertise in a world cluttered with advertising, spam and big-budget messages from big money brands?
The answer is that it is possible for small business owners to advertise effectively for free and at a low cost. There are several ways to achieve this and all you need is a bit of imagination and lots of hustle. If you use these advertising methods properly, you will be able to get big advertising results with even a tiny advertising budget.
Use mugs with your info on the inside instead of business cards
Some people get overwhelmed with very many business cards and end up throwing them away. A mug with your business information on the outside is more effective as it ensures that your name will be seen every time.
Postcard thank-you notes
When was the last time you sent a thank-you note to one of your favorite clients? Have some colorful postcards or photo cards printed with your photo, your business logo, photos from your business or your family's photo.
Doing this is very important as the personalized thank you notes will always make the customer connect with you on a human level. The customer will be able to always remember that they are buying products or services from a business run by real people.
Ask for referrals
After you have build a good relationship with your customer, find ways that you can use to ask them to refer new customers to you. You can either make your referral program precisely targeted or informal and ad-hoc. Either way, ensure that you put some thought into it and approach your customers carefully.
Don't just ask anyone for referrals. You are asking your customers to do you a big favor by sharing names of their friends and colleagues. This is why you should think of ways of rewarding them accordingly by giving a nice gift to those customers who refer new customers to you. What is a new customer worth to you? It is good to be generous accordingly.
Use a customer loyalty program
Small businesses can set up sophisticated low-cost customer loyalty programs to track and reward their customers as there are great tools available online. Encouraging the existing customers to give more repeat business is one of the best ways to boost your sales.
Revamp your social media strategy
Posting on social media is free of charge and can provide a platform where small businesses can spruce up their social media presence without having to spend a lot of money. You can contact local SEO companies like DoubleSpark to help you with this, if you are unsure how to make the most of social media.
Buy Facebook ads
If you are planning to use a paid media approach to social media, consider buying Facebook ads. Why am I advising you to use Facebook paid ads? It is due to the fact that Facebook has some of the best targeting tools in social media advertising.
This enables you to target a certain demographic group that perfectly matches your ideal audience. For example, you can target your ad to reach an audience based on gender, age, geographic location, behaviors, interests and whether they are already connected to your business on Facebook.
Don't forget email marketing
Even though social media is regarded as the most effective way of reaching your online audience, email marketing is still a reliable way to reach your audience of customers and online followers/fans. Check out this article so that you can know how to create an effective email marketing program.
