Starting any business can be challenging. Launching it tends to drain most of your capital before you even begin to consider promoting it. Nevertheless, you should get your brand online pronto. You need to be picking up likes and engaging with your future customers, even if it’s on a shoestring budget.   

Marketing is a vital tool for business growth and prosperity. Getting your message in front of the right targeted audience to generate leads and make conversions – that’s the name of the game. So, let’s explore how you can make big waves with low-cost digital marketing ideas for your small business. 

Create Video Content 

Video marketing is massive right now, and with good reason. Video has shown to grow revenue 49% faster than other content, with 52% of marketers citing video as the best return on investment (ROI) of all content types. 

Video has been on a roll for the past few years, and with the recent introduction of Instagram reels, its superior potential for reach is even greater. The possibilities of video are truly endless. It can aid your efforts throughout every stage of the sales funnel – from brand awareness (introductory videos) all the way through to conversions (offers).  

Pro tip: Keep it short. Psychologists suggest the average human attention span is approximately 20 minutes, yet when it comes to online video content, it dramatically shrinks to about 60 seconds. 

You don’t need to hire a videographer to capture your audience’s attention. High-quality video content can be created simply by using your smartphone. At the end of the day, it’s not the advanced equipment or graphics that matter. It’s about creating an emotional connection. 

Promote Personal Connection 

Here’s where small businesses have a leg up on major brands. They can offer a level of personal care their larger counterparts cannot. It has a sense of attention and connection. This is an edge bigger brands have to work a little harder to achieve. 

Take this opportunity and capitalise on it. Use your social channels to really listen to your audience, respond promptly with actionable advice or answers to concerns, basically show them you care. Encourage your audience to interact with you. Set up multiple channels for them to do so – email, social, even phone, and text – highlight the fact that your customers have easy access to a real person when they have problems or concerns. 

Create Multi-Purpose Content 

The emergence of prominent online sharing platforms has made content marketing a cornerstone of modern business and the foundation for many marketing activities. Creating multi-purpose content is an art form, as one piece of good content can be leveraged in many ways. 

For example, you could create a blog post, share it on social media with a link back to the article, record a video or infographic that presents the same content, but in a visual way, then create graphic tiles with quotes from the post to share on Pinterest and Instagram. Voila, you have just created a variety of content for your audience without breaking the bank – that’s low-cost digital marketing at its best.    

Leverage Online Reviews

User-generated content, a digitised version of word of mouth, is a great way to promote your business, especially if leveraged properly. Online review platforms are where this content gets generated. Customers can leave their opinion of your business publicly for all to see. A little daunting, isn’t it? But, if their feedback is positive, you can use those testimonials on your website and in your marketing materials. Should the feedback be less than stellar, an opportunity presents itself to resolve the problem publicly and provide exceptional customer service.  

Start a Blog 

Blogging is an effective way to generate organic traffic, particularly for those in your audience who have not yet reached a purchasing decision. Also, it can establish credibility for your business within its’ industry and position you as a thought leader. 

Even if you only publish once a week, a blog will improve your website’s visibility online and help educate your potential customers on why they should trust you. Once you have written a blog post, you can add a call-to-action to that post for visitors to subscribe to your blog and begin receiving emails from you. This is a proactive way to collect leads and offer potential customers a way to get further information if they aren’t ready to buy anything from you yet. 

Collaborate 

As your brand develops, you will discover other businesses with products and services that complement your own. Consider teaming up with them to co-host an online webinar, Twitter chat, or teleconference, which could showcase both of your brands. 

By teaming up, you can split any costs involved in hosting the event, combine your knowledge and expertise within your sector, and reach twice the audience. Associating yourself with another well-known brand also means you can build trust within your audience. There’s strength in numbers, and a well-chosen partnership could prove invaluable to your business and your low-cost digital marketing efforts.   

See, no money, no problem. There are many opportunities for marketing a small business on a limited budget. All it takes is a little creativity and the willingness to invest your time to grow your business.