Utilizing social media and the internet are some of the least expensive ways to improve your marketing outreach. Effective use of online tools can save your company a ton of money over more traditional advertising strategies. In fact, most social media and blog traffic can be generated with a limited budget.
Blog Content
Blogs are an excellent source for customer outreach that allows you to interact and speak directly to potential customers by answering their questions in advance. Many shoppers spend time online researching products and services, comparing prices and gathering information before they make a final decision to buy. Potential customers have become more savvy and no longer put up with pushy sales tactics and overbearing advertising.
A blog that aims to educate and provide pertinent information without making a pitch is viewed as a valuable resource and will build trust with new clients. This can be done either by hosting and writing your own blog, or by reaching out to local bloggers and industry professionals and asking them to share information about your products and services, or provide links to your website.
All of these methods will drive traffic and can be inexpensive. The most important part of blogging is consistency, using some search engine optimization tactics and not expecting an immediate surge in growth after only one blog post. As you build your content, you can use theses tips to repurpose your content to drive more sales. Begin to build a community that trusts you and your brand.
Social Media
Creating social media posts that resonate with your intended audience can be time consuming. In many cases social media sites dictate the number of people who actually see your ad based on algorithms they have set in place.
To overcome this barrier, you will either need to make a concerted effort to share your posts and ensure they are being re-posted by current customers, or pay to have your posts placed as a high priority. Even if you do pay for this service, you will only be spending a few dollars a week to have your advertising reach thousands of viewers, which will inevitably lead to more sharing overall. There is potential for exponential growth if you create a post that goes viral.
Social media tactics combined with blogging will generate you more leads and sales in your business.
Paid Advertising
Another inexpensive form of online marketing is the use of paid ads. We all are aware of the major search engine Google. It will provide a template for you to create an ad and then be charged per the number of clicks or impressions that your ad creates. This allows for very targeted ads by placing your company’s name in front of people who have already searched for related services and products.
If you are not famaliar with Google adwords it’s a great idea to start with Bing or Facebook. They are typically easier and definitely a cheaper way to get your online marketing strategy up and running. And no doubt is more cost effective.
You can take your newly created blog post and send some traffic to it through Facebook ads. You can get some great engagement through promoted posts at a fraction of the cost.
Conclusion
The internet has created a myriad of new advertising strategies. Your marketing strategy should include both short and long term goals, which means using social media and clickable banner or sponsored ads.
In the interim you’ll be building an informative and valuable resource through an SEO blog and reviews from other bloggers in your industry and local area. All of these can be done with a limited budget and are far more cost effective for small businesses than traditional print and commercial advertising strategies.
Not to mention the freedom you’ll have in designing your own life.
