Effective and Affordable Ways To Advertise Your Small Business

Getting your business in front of the right audience can already be challenging on its own but more so when you have a limited budget as most small businesses do. Fortunately, in this day and age, advertising doesn’t have to be stuck to billboards, TV commercials, radio ads, and other channels that are too expensive. Small businesses now have access to a gamut of marketing tools that are cost-effective and trackable. Combine this with the best strategies for your business and you’ll be able to get your brand out there, get noticed, and grow. 

How To Advertise Your Small Business

Although traditional advertising is still effective, you have to look beyond these to make the best out of every penny of your marketing budget.

1. Social Media Advertising

Create business accounts on the big social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If your brand is image-oriented, you can also include Instagram. Advertising on these platforms allows you to target specific demographics with a small budget. You can target by specific parameters like age, gender, or interests similar to what you’re offering. Even if some users don’t immediately purchase anything, they might take an interest in your brand and share it with their circle. That way, it’s still a win. 

2. Paid Search Marketing

Google Ad Words and Bing Ads have come a long way in bringing in traffic and leads to your business. The key is to focus on industry-specific long-tail keywords to get your campaign better traffic and the best leads. With only a 20 or 30 dollar budget a day, you can generate a great click-through rate and conversions.

3. Email Marketing

Email marketing allows you to tap into a wide market of potential customers, however, it only works if you provide them valuable and relevant information. This makes them trust and remember you. You can also gain further favor by granting them the occasional coupon.

4. Publish Great Content

Whether it’s a blog, a video, an infographic, or a social media post, great content does wonders. These provide affordable advertising that isn’t too in the face of your customers and builds positive word of mouth. The more specific it is, the better since you’ll be appealing to those who are already looking in your specific niche. 

5. Referral Promotion

Never be shy about asking for a referral. Customers who love your brand would also love to tell their friends about you. To give them further incentives, you can provide sign-up bonuses, points, coupons, or discounts.

How To Market Your Small Business Locally

Small businesses don’t always have to start out advertising big. Focusing your efforts on your local area can help you gain more loyal customers and help you build your brand at a steady upward rate. To maximize your local advertising budget, here are some ways you can dabble in. 

1. Local Listings

When people are looking for specific services on the internet, a majority of these searches end up on listings. Providing your business information on listings like Google My Business and Yahoo listing is free and very helpful to your customers. Make sure that you have complete, accurate, and updated information in all of them. You can also avail of any paid options that can help increase your business’s visibility. 

2. Optimize for Local Search

Optimizing your business website gives your business more visibility and allows local search users to find you more easily. Some of the things you should do include listing your business on business directories, targeting relevant keywords with your content, and responding to queries and both positive and negative reviews.

3. Involvement or Hosting Community Events

The more active you are in the community, the more you’ll be able to get in front of prospective customers. It also reinforces a positive image of your brand in the community. You can contribute money to charities, host events or giveaways, or host any leisure activities. 

4. Partner with other Small Businesses

Be open to opportunities to create cross-promotional deals with other businesses, especially those that complement yours. You can gain access to each other’s client pools and advertise for free. 

To make the best use out of these options, it’s best for you to have strategies in place because no matter how often you advertise, you can only reach the right people and turn them into paying customers with the right tactics in place. Otherwise, you might just be wasting your marketing funds even if it does give you a little bit more exposure. Plan wisely and make sure every penny counts.