The domain of marketing was once ruled by select professionals who were hired by the big players in the commercial sector. The stakes were high, and so were the costs.
However, things have changed now.
The Internet has opened a wide array of opportunities for the individuals who looking to start their own business.
Today, there is a lot you can do for your company online at little to no costs including setting up an e-commerce store, finding logo design and branding solutions, and even marketing!
If you want to improve the online presence of your business and increase sales on a shoestring budget, then the following are the top 5 ways to do it:
1. Blogging and Guest Blogging
Even after so many years, blogging continues to be one of the most powerful ways to market a product or service. It’s no surprise that even the well-established companies have their own blogs which they update on a regular basis.
The advantage of blogging is that you don’t have to be marketing genius to avail it. You don’t even need any money to start with as there are plenty of websites including the famous Blogger and WordPress that provide a free blogging platform with several tools and features.
However, it’s strongly recommended that you at least register a domain (i.e. a website name) as it will make your blog appear more professional and credible. Besides, it doesn’t really cost much.
Apart from publishing posts on your own blog, you can also write guest blogs, which is when you publish posts on other blogs. While you may not be paid for this by the blog owners, you will be able to reach more people. The blog owners, on the other hand, will get a free quality post. So, it’s a win-win for both.
2. Video Tutorials
Video content prevails the digital media today. So, one way you can market your products or services online is by publishing video tutorials on free platforms like YouTube.
People are always looking for information online. So, by teaching about a particular subject through a video, not only you can enhance your brand’s credibility, you can convert the viewers into customers.
Just be sure to use the best equipment you can for the video and sound recording.
3. Social Media Marketing
There are a number of small businesses that shot to fame just because of social media marketing. Many of these didn’t even need to do much as their products were so interesting and appealing that the social media users popularized the same by sharing related posts with friends and family.
Social media marketing is fairly easy. However, you must monitor your campaign regularly to learn about the kind of content that’s getting the best results, the best times for publishing the posts/content, demographics that are showing interest in your company, etc.
As you will collect and analyze this information, you can modify your campaign and thus improve performance.
4. Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is not just a free marketing technique, it’s a something that you absolutely need to apply if you want your company to find recognition in the online space.
There are countless websites already existing on the Internet, and thousands are created every day. However, most web users don’t go after the first 5-10 listings on a search engine results page (SERP). So, you need to make sure that your website makes it to this list for the maximum number of keywords that the people search with. This can be largely made possible with SEO.
Although you need to research about how SEO actually works, especially because it’s standards and methods change from time to time, the gist of it is that it helps you alter your website’s content in a way that its ranking is improved on the popular search engines.
5. Email Marketing
It’s natural to think that e-mails have lost their importance in a world where IMs and social media platforms are thriving. However, that’s not true.
There are various stats about emails that show they are an excellent way to market your business even today. For instance, they offer the best ROI compared to other marketing methods, their subscribers are highly engaging, and their opening rates are increasing too!
Who said you need a lot of money to create a successful marketing campaign? If you are passionate and committed, then nothing can stop you from becoming an entrepreneur you dream of. The marketing techniques given above that cost next to nothing just go to show that.