Small Business Marketing - Keep it Simple and Inexpensive!

Mar 19
08:17

2010

Dan Toombs

Dan Toombs

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

This article looks at some of the inexpensive ways of promoting your business. Topics include article writing, business gifts and social media.

mediaimage

If you run a small business,Small Business Marketing - Keep it Simple and Inexpensive!  Articles you may find it hard to believe that you are in a better position to compete with the big guys than ever before. Think about it. Only five years ago if you wanted to compete with your large competitors you would need to put your hand deep into your pockets, spend a lot of money on magazine, PR, trade shows and other forms of expensive advertising and hope for the best. In those days the companies with the largest budgets almost always won the competition. That is no longer the case.

Now it is possible to compete and have your marketing be very successful and you do not need to break the bank to do so. This can be done in a number of simple yet slightly time consuming ways but these methods are becoming increasing important in the success of companies large and small. Here I would like to tell you about four of the most cost affective ways of promoting your business on a very small budget and making a real success of it.

Article writing: There was a time when only reporters and other professional writers did the writing which we read in magazines, newspapers and brochures. Using professional writers was often essential in getting your message out to the masses. You would pay someone to write for you and then pay again to have advertisements or printed brochures printed and then possibly again to distribute your work to your customers though the post or at expensive trade shows. Thankfully, this is no longer needs to be the case. Now you can share your expertise by submitting articles to article sites like EzineArticles.com. In doing so, people will read what you have to say and if they are interested will click on the link to your website or blog for more information. This costs you nothing but your time. Write as often as possible. The more articles you write, the more people you will attract.

Blogging: Like article writing, this is a free way of promoting your business. It is important to understand that when writing articles and blogs, you are not expected to be Hemingway! Try to write in a way that engages your readers similar to how you would speak about something you are very passionate about. I have personally used both Blogger and Wordpress to write my blogs. They are both very similar so give them both a look and see which platform works best for you. Then, get writing!

Social Networking: Get yourself a personal and business Twitter and Facebook account. This is just a start as there are a number of excellent social marketing sites which you should explore but these two will get you started. Again, these are both free platforms so you will not be out of pocket. Get into in now, however, because before long all of your competitors will have Facebook fan pages and Twitter pages. Avoid the temptation to sell your business too often as this will be frowned upon. Get to know the people who follow you on Twitter and Facebook. Share information with them and they will know where to come when they next require your services.

Promotional Gifts: Business gifts are one of the least expensive ways of promoting your business to your customers and target customers. Products such as printed pens, mugs, stress balls and keyrings can get your name and logo out and about. You can use these fun promotional products to promote and attract people to your blog and website. After all, people love free stuff. As your articles and blogs become more popular your promotional gifts will become increasingly important to your business. It is worth considering the fact that in comparison to other promotional media such as magazine advertisements, television, brochures and catalogues printed business gifts are the low cost leader.

Traditionally, promotional gifts were given out in person, at trade shows and through the post. Trade shows are fast becoming outdated as they are expensive in comparison to the amount of customers you can help to find you through new, free methods of marketing. Promotional gifts can be used as incentives and a reminder to people which not only help them to get interested in your business but keep them interested in you and your company.