5 – Search engine optimization. When someone enters a search query into a search engine about something relevant to your company, obviously you want to be one of the first results displayed. So how do you make this happen? Essentially, you need to make your website more appealing to search engines. Do this by using keywords that are commonly searched, backlinking your site, customizing the headline and description, etc.
SEO can admittedly be a complicated and time consuming process, however the time needs to be spent here to ensure your website is getting found. Your best bet is usually going to be spending a bit more of your budget and hiring the right people to do the proper research.
7 Tips for online Marketing on a Tight Budget – Part 2, Video Marketing, Orem Utah
6 – Blogging. The more content on your site, the more opportunities there are for search engines to pick it up. Blogging can be a great (and free!) way to generate leads and links into your site. But don’t just be producing content to produce content. Write quality blog posts that will engage the readers. Guest blogging on more established blogs is another way to get more traffic to your own site.
7 – Social media. Don’t just sign up for these services and then forget about them. Start being active on social media. These sites should be used to promote your blog posts and communicate with customers. However, most people don’t follow companies on social media unless the company gives them a reason to. So, of course, give them a reason!
The World Wide Web is a tool with endless limits. Creating and maintaining a business presence online is more practical than ever before. In fact, online companies are popping up out of the woodworks. However, sustaining a successful online business is easier said than done.
With the immense amount of information on the Internet and users largely having the control to view exactly what they want, getting your product in front of potential customers can be challenging to say the least. Today, times are tough. Most companies have little room left in their tight budget when it comes to marketing. Here are 7 tips to follow to develop a successful online marketing strategy on your startups limited budget.
7 Tips for Online Marketing on a Tight Budget – Part 1, Video Marketing, Salt Lake Utah
1 – Know your market. Your marketing strategy will never be successful if you do not have a clearly defined audience. Before you spend a dime on marketing, figure out your target market first. There’s no need to pay top dollar to hire a fancy market research firm. If you know your product, you should be able to figure out your market yourself. For example, who will be most interested in your product? Men or women? What is their age group? What are your customer’s interests? What is their likely financial situation?
Once you have a thorough profile of your customer, determining how and where to reach them is much easier. This step may take awhile, and that’s OK. If you start marketing before you have a clear customer profile though, you will likely be wasting your dollars in places that will never reach your customer. Just because Pinterest is growing rapidly, doesn’t mean your audience is the one making it grow.
2 – Set and reset goals. Determine what you are looking to gain from online marketing. Increased awareness? Increased revenue? You will probably have multiple goals, but keep track of what they are so you can measure your success. When you reach your initial goals, set new goals so your company can continue to improve.
3 – Set a budget. Now that you know who your target market is and have set goals, plan your budget accordingly. The good thing about online marketing is that you can be successful even when on a tight budget. A lot of platforms are available at no charge. However, sticking solely with free forms of online marketing might not be the best strategy for your company. Carefully determine what outlets are most necessary for your product and be willing to spend some money to get results.
4 – Brand yourself. Set yourself apart from the competition. There are thousands of companies trying to sell products on the Internet. Thus, you need to make your brand unforgettable. This begins with your website. Your domain name should be your company’s name if at all possible. If there are other companies online with names similar to yours, you may even want to consider changing your name to one that will not be easily confused with another product. Acquiring a domain name has a fee involved, but using a hosting service is very affordable even for the smallest budgets.
The way you want your brand to be viewed by customers is really up to you. But once you figure it out be consistent and stick with it. Having a professional website and a strong social media presence is important here, but you should also take the time to interact with potential customers and build relationships with them. The main cost involved in this step is just the man hours put into the process, which will drastically be reduced when you’ve established your brand.
6.Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They’ve Purchased
Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with “this note” they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.
Ten Powerful Marketing Tips for the Small Business – Part 2, Video Production, Orem Utah
7.Newsletters
Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.
8. Seminars/ open house
Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you’ll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it’s a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.
9.Bartering
This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company’s product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.
10. Mail Outs
Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn’t cost any additional postage and you’ll be surprised at who could use what you’re offering.
1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market.
People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
2. No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach.
Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don’t be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.
3. Use buddy marketing to promote your business.
For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers.
4. Answer Your Phone Differently.
Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, “Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer.” The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you’re tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven’t heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller’s urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.
5. Stick It!
Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.
Think about including a jingle in your marketing video. The point of a jingle is to get into your viewer’s head. If you create a short song that is catchy you have the ability to cause people to sing about your product or service throughout the day, which then leads to increased sales.
11 Video Marketing Tips to Help get you Started – Part 2, Video Marketing, Orem Utah
8 – Leave some questions open
A great way to engage users with video marketing is to leave a few questions unanswered or make your videos thought provoking. This will encourage your viewers to engage you with comments and will give you a chance to speak to them on a personal level. When you communicate with your viewers, you end up building a bond with them on a personal level.
9 – Keep an eye out for comments
If you are using videos as a part of your marketing campaign, closely monitor all comments and respond quickly. Many times other marketers will post a video comment to your page. Decide quickly if you are going to allow those types of comments to be placed on your YouTube page.
10 – Stay Natural
Do not script your videos. You should have a detailed outline such as a list of points you want to talk about. If you read from a script, you will quickly lose your audience. Instead, you should relax and be as natural as possible. Edit your video later to get rid of the unnecessary information.
11 – Be Unpredictable
Videos which are unpredictable work. If you can do something in your video which is surprising and yet not cheesy or lame, you’ll catch your viewer and they’ll share the video with family and friends. Go with cute, shocking or funny and avoid gory or juvenile humor as much as possible.
Hopefully these tips have given you some ideas and guidance that you needed. You may need to try several different strategies before you find the perfect one for your company, but diligence in trying will pay off! Use the advice from this article to help as you dive into the world of video marketing.
