As business owners, we’re all looking for ways to market our company without spending too much money. The return on investment (ROI) needs to be demonstrable in most cases to warrant the risk of the marketing spending.
Here are a few ways that you can market your business better at a lower cost.
Social Media
Most businesses don’t really understand social media. The reason for this is because many business owners are from an older demographic that didn’t grow up with social media apps like the millennial generation has done. Sharing their thoughts on a Twitter account or producing articles just for their Facebook company page doesn’t feel like a natural fit for them.
The approach to marketing needs to be upgraded because going social is one of the least expensive ways to let people know about your brand. Done right, accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms can gather thousands of followers who are interested in your type of business.
Just look at GE Aviation’s Instagram page. You wouldn’t think that General Electric’s aviation division would hold much interest, yet their Instagram page has over 24,000 followers who enjoy their photos and comments featuring their airplane fleet and other aspects of the business.
Local/National Promotion Using Leaflet Distribution
The art of leaflet printing has come a long way in the last few years. The technology necessary to print leaflets has fallen in price considerably, making cheap leaflet printing a viable option for SMEs. Leaflets have changed from being single sheet handouts photocopied a million times using weak toner on low-quality recycled paper to premium options produced on quality paper stock using state-of-the-art printers.
The modest leaflet is now something that is produced on paper of various thicknesses to suit each customer’s requirements. Take the flyer printing at print24.co.uk for example where you can get 20 different paper types which all vary thickness, opacity and colour. Utilising services like this flyer printing company enable you to request whatever specifications you need, so your design is guaranteed to impress.
Two-colour, four-colour and 25 colour printing is possible using printing technologies that widen the colour palette to get the attention of the recipient until they’re viewed the entire leaflet. This way, the whole marketing message is received, not just the headline.
Free Promotion by Helping a Reporter
A free service called Help a Reporter Out (HERO) is available that lets knowledgeable sources get in touch with reporters who need quality information for a story. In many situations, the reporter ends up quoting several people throughout the article and many times links directly to their company’s website. Both the web traffic that is received from a popular article and the link from a respectable publication to your website both have value to the business.
Once you become known as a good source of industry information, it’s possible to be asked by local news stations to comment on-air about topical news items and be seen as a local expert too.
Sponsoring a Local or National Event
There are many local events held every year that are in dire need of corporate sponsorship. In most cases, the cost of the sponsorship is only a few thousand pounds, serves a good purpose and puts some good vibes out into the local community.
When there are few local events that are suitable, look regionally or nationally. There are always events that require further funding to achieve their goals. It’s possible to develop a multi-year arrangement that works for all parties concerned and puts the company brand in a prominent place at events that serve a greater good.
Flyers that Truly Impress
The idea of a flyer is that it’s almost like a leaflet, only a slightly better quality one. That’s not true any longer. Flyers are now produced using quality card stock of different gsm thickness levels, which gives them the same (or better) robustness of a gift card. A flyer that is designed to fan out will stand on its own across a flat surface and can be used as a visible promotion tool in its own right.
Flyer printing now allows for dual-sided, matte or glossy finishes using a variety of colour choices from two-colours to 25-colours at the top end. The quality of print flyers is far higher than it’s been in the past too. Distinctive designs, clever use of coloration and shading, along with excellent marketing prose offer new opportunities to capture a customer’s imagination at a reasonable cost.
There is a wealth of opportunities new and old to market your business in an affordable manner. Sometimes it’s a matter of opening yourself up to ideas that you’re maybe not comfortable with like learning about social media. Other times, getting creative with what your message is and how it’s to be conveyed makes the difference between it being effective and falling on deaf ears. The most important thing is to do something every week towards promoting the business in a different way and to follow-up with previous marketing efforts to see which is bearing fruit and which should be doubled-down on.