10 Smart Ways to Advertise Your Small Business on a Budget
You already know that marketing is vital to the success of your small business.
After all, if you don’t reach out to people, how will they know about what you’re selling? And if they don’t know what you have, they won’t buy it.
But, it can also seem nearly impossible to market your small business when you don’t have the budget for it. That’s why we gathered this list for you.
Keep reading to learn ten cheap ways to advertise your small business.
Cheap Ways to Advertise
There are many cheap and free ways to advertise a business. These are just a few of them.
Keep two things in mind while reading this: you don’t have to do all of these, and not all of these will necessarily work for your business. Instead, try to pick just one or two of these to start with.
1. Start a Blog
A blog is a great way to gain an online presense. It can show the world you’re an expert in what you do, and provide content to share on social media. This also helps bring more people to your website if they search for what you’re posting.
If you already have a website for your business, it’s easy to add a blog. Talk about your product or service and show how it can help solve the pain points of your potential customers.
2. Get Your Business Card Out There
Despite what some people will tell you, business cards still matter. It’s a great way to personally share your information with someone which leaves an impression on people.
Make sure your business card is eye-catching and then look around town for places you can post it. Many stores have bullitin boards for this purpose. Keep your target customer in mind, though, so you’re not wasting your cards.
3. Attend Networking Events
Find networking events in your industry and start attending them. There are two ways this can help you market your business.
First of all, you may find potential customers at these events. Be sure to bring plenty of business cards so you can get your contact information into the hands of those who are interested.
Secondly, you can reach out to other businesses in your industry to work with them. If another business has a different product or service for the same target customer, you may be able to share contacts and help each other out.
4. Use Social Media
You don’t need a professional website to brand yourself online. After all, a website is expensive! But, you can use social media to reach out to potential customers, which only takes your time.
Figure out where your customer base is, then make a profile for that platform. It’s always better to focus on one social media platform and to maximize your potential there rather than having multiple accounts that don’t do anything.
5. Ask for Reviews
After you’ve landed a few satisfied customers, don’t be afraid to ask them for reviews. Having positive reviews on websites like Google Business and Yelp will help more people find your business.
Be careful about your wording, however, as some of these sites prohibit businesses from asking directly for reviews. So, you’ll instead want to use phrases like “Check us out on Yelp!”
In addition to getting reviews, you’ll also want to make sure you’re responding to existing reviews to help build customer relations.
6. Speak at an Event
There are conferences for every industry, so you should be able to find a good number for yours. Come up with a few ideas of things you can share with people in that industry, and try to land some speaking engagements.
This is particularly good if your target customers are businesses. However, if you get creative, there are plenty of ways you can engage any potential customer at speaking engagements.
Another option is to create your own event and inviting people to come and hear about your product or service.
7. Make Custom Buttons
Custom buttons are a fun and inexpensive way to promote your business. Simply wearing one can spark conversations, but you can also hand them out at events around town.
View here to learn more about how you can make your own custom buttons. As you’ll see, it’s cheap and can be a lot of fun. Be sure to make them big and bold enough that they catch people’s eyes.
8. Donate to a Charity
Another great way to advertise your business is to donate your products or services to a charity. This is especially helpful if it’s a big charity event like an auction.
Alternatively, you can help a charity by hosting a food, toy, or clothing drive at your business location. This brings people to your business and shows that you care about the community.
9. Have a Contest
If you can’t find any charities to work with, why not have a contest to get more customers? Create a list of prizes from your products and services and start spreading the news.
Your main goal with this one is to get the contact information to everyone who signs up for the contest. Then, contact them afterwards and let them know how they can still get your product or service.
10. Tell Your Story on Air
Human interest stories are an important part of every news broadcast, and sharing yours can help you get more customers. Think about what makes your business unique or something your business does to help others.
Then, contact local TV news stations or radio stations to get your story aired. People watching should get excited about what you’re doing and be eager to come visit your store in person.
Want More Business Tips and Tricks?
Now you have ten cheap ways to advertise your business. These should help you get your small business more traffic as you’re starting out and lacking in a marketing budget.
If you want more business tips and tricks, be sure to check out our blog. We’ve got tons of information that can help any business, including this post about 2019 digital marketing trends.