Marketing Your Small Business on a Budget

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Marketing your small business is important, not just to get new customers, but also to keep the ones you have already worked so hard to get. But marketing can be expensive.

marketing-your-business-on-a-budget-logo-300x200There are ways you can promote your business without breaking the bank, and today we’re going to share some ideas. Not all of these will work for every business, but the key is to try new ideas and find out what works best for you.

Social Media

Social media has become one of the top methods consumers use to find out more about businesses, and to reach out to businesses for support and advice. Having a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account can help your potential customers find you. If you sell lessons or crafts, consider other social media services as well, such as YouTube and Pinterest.

Be sure to keep your pages current and post relevant information regularly. If your last update is six months old, visitors are likely wonder if you’re still in business.

Encourage repeat purchases and referrals

Make sure to keep your customers’ email addresses. If they haven’t purchased anything in a while, sending a coupon to them in their email will help encourage them to return. You can also offer deals to your past and present customers when they refer someone new to you.

Consider creating a MailChimp account to help you keep track of your customers’ email addresses. For most small businesses, MailChimp’s free account offers more features than you will likely need.

Be a Blogger

Let’s face it – you are an expert in your industry. That’s why you do what you do, and the more that people understand about your products or skills, the more they feel they are a part of what you do. When people feel that they are a part of what you do, they are more likely to make a purchase from you.

You will want to post regular updates – at least once per week, but you don’t have to do much more than that. You don’t have to write a novel either. People spend much less time reading a website than they do a magazine or book, so keep your blog posts short and to the point – generally between 150 and 300 words, but that’s a guide, not a rule.

As an added bonus, search engines such as Google like websites that update regularly and will reward you with better page rankings in search results. That means people will be able to find you easier and that leads to more customers.

Keep your website content fresh

If your customers come back week after week and see the same thing time after time, they will eventually stop visiting altogether. By updating and changing your content regularly, your customers will look forward to coming back and seeing what you’ve done!

You can do simple things to keep your website content fresh, such as changing your featured products on your home page, or changing your color scheme occasionally. You should also keep your ‘About’ page updated with your current information.

Support your local businesses

Support of local businesses starts with us. To succeed, we need our small businesses to be involved in our communities to keep our local economies strong. Don’t wait for someone else to promote your local economy – get involved.

It begins with shopping local and getting to know the other business leaders in your area. Find out who your local economic development groups are, and contact them. You will likely meet some very helpful people, and they will be more likely to refer people to you and think of you when they need products and services that you sell.

Finding the best methods of marketing your small business effectively takes some trial and error. You’ll have some flops, but don’t let them get you down because you’ll have some home runs as well. Don’t be afraid to try new things – you might be surprised where you will find your next best customer.

Share your tips for marketing your small business with us on Facebook or Twitter!

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