Marketing on a Limited Budget

Breaking into the world of digital marketing can be intimidating. It’s a complex beast with many layers, and what works for one company might not work for another. Money can speed the process along, yes, but great marketing campaigns aren’t successful because they’re expensive. They’re successful because they’re measured, planned and neatly executed with clear targets in mind. For this reason, you shouldn’t let lack of funds be an obstacle in getting started – you just need to think carefully about how you do it.

Digital marketing’s advantage over other disciplines is the ability of the practitioners to choose exactly how much they spend. There is no minimum spend: if it comes to it, you can simply spend however much you have. For example an email marketing campaign can be completely free, provided you know your target segment well enough. Other free options include a basic social media accounts on sites like Facebook or Twitter. Without payment to their host sites they may not drive in heavy revenue, but they can be a platform to build a rapport with customers – an invaluable marketing tool.

If your business is suited for it, video is another option. It’s easy to get caught up in the worries of what video-camera to buy or which high-end editing software to use, but the truth is you don’t necessarily need any. Most decent modern smart-phones have perfectly capable inbuilt cameras, and basic free editing software is easy to find online. Remember that you don’t have to be making a feature-length mastery of cinematography for people to be willing to watch it. A short video of a few minutes in length can work wonders to build awareness of your brand. Can you make your video interactive in some way? Could the viewers influence the content of the next one? The basic rules still apply: think creatively about how you can involve your customers.

If you have an artistic hand, visual content is always readily consumed by vast swathes of the internet market, and sites like Instagram and Pinterest were created especially to cater to it. Photographs and other artworks are an easy way to communicate information in an easy and informative way, and visual content has an increased chance of ‘going viral’; that is, shared over and over again by different individuals, potentially reaching millions of people. If you’re in the creative industry, you may find that the quality of your content almost does the marketing for you. If your business is more numbers-focused, infographics or other informative visuals can help you get across your data quickly and in layman’s terms. As long as you’re utilising the correct channels, visual content is rarely a bad call.

Of course, there’s only so far you can get on zero marketing budget, and long-term marketing campaigns – even online ones – do need some form of proper investment eventually. But there’s no reason you can’t get yourself started in the meantime. If you need advice on how, talk to a friendly member of our team today by calling 01538 750 538.