Ten Budget-Friendly Ways to Market a Startup Company
There are 620,000 new startups every year. That means there is a very high chance that there can be a lot of competition out there. Marketing can be a very integral component for company development because it helps to establish an individual brand identity that separates your company from the rest. Marketing sometimes can add up and turn out costly. One of the biggest obstacles that new businesses face is a tight budget. Between customizable websites and promotional ads/content, bills can add up. But there will be no traction if no one is informed about your company. All you need are how to market a startup company and an effective and strategic plan that will help you make the noise that is required to pull in more business for a meager price.
Here are ten budget-friendly ways to market a startup company:
Content Creation
Creating engaging content that will capture the attention of your targeted audience is critical. Educating about your products or services is a sure way to bring in the interest of your target audience. 70% of customers would instead learn about a company through an article or visual guides over any advertisement.
Content creation can be achieved by lots of different techniques like
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Blogs (see point 8)
- Explainer videos
- Visual guides
Creating your content can be extremely budget-friendly if you make your content in-house. You can outsource it by hiring marketing or content creation companies to do it for you.
Power of word/ Referral programs
The most reliable way of growing your business is by positive reviews and word of mouth. If an existing client is happy with your products or services, he/she can spread the word into the community, which brings in more clients with no incentive or suggestive factor whatsoever.
Referral programs such as referring to a friend or family who gets you a cool award or a gift card are always welcomed. This mostly works because of their viral nature of being extremely simple and people trusting their family or friends for reviews.
Networking online and offline
The best and most efficient way to connect with prospective clients is by networking both online and offline. Many flourishing businessmen emphasize the significance of networking to construct a successful company. Networking generates more leads, creates company references, and gives you the chance to share thoughts, ask questions, discuss company challenges, and learn from other business owners. It also enables you to meet new individuals and expand your professional connections. Networking also makes your brand more visible and helps to enhance it.
Make sure you make the connection to the right individuals/people and keep the relationship alive and consistent. This is another place where there is not much to invest, but the ROI is comparatively higher.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has a bright future with the growing social media world. 71% of marketers rate the quality of customers and traffic from influencer marketing as better than other marketing sources.
Influencer marketing helps build trust and expand reach for your business. It influences consumers into buying your products/services through authentic brand endorsements and reaches the right audience who is much more engaged in the content.
There is a small investment with influencer marketing such as a fixed amount of money or freebies, but 89% of marketers say influencer marketing ROI is as good or better than other marketing channels.
Recycled content
Making new content on a regular basis is exhausting. Producing continuously periodically and maintaining the quality across various channels is hard, especially if you’re doing it in-house. It is not enough for consumers to hear from you once; they need to see your presence regularly so you can stay relevant.
Therefore, it is not surprising that many give up, while others keep slogging on without seeing measurable outcomes. However, the load of generating content can be lightened by recycling material.
The most effective way is to run into different media channels. A small tweet can become a discussion topic at a forum that can later be turned into an exciting podcast topic or can be explained further in a blog. This can be reversed and used by turning more prominent blog posts into narrower topics and posts. This is both budget-friendly and not as time-consuming as coming up with new material each time.
Industry Collabs
For all small and new business owners, collaboration is a powerful instrument, regardless of the sector, you are in or the sort of company you have. It is the connections that you develop with others and the distinct ways in which you work with those individuals that will assist you in taking your company to new levels. Cross collabs can be done between two none competing companies from the same sector where both of them can take away something.
Industry collaborations are inspiring, educational, helps you grow your network, and helps you save money. Many collaborative relationships require dividing hands-on work and sometimes spending. If you work with another company and part of the terms involves spending on development sharing and marketing, you can double your budget while lowering costs.
Freebies
Giving out free product samples or complimentary services is one of the most successful marketing strategies to build brand awareness and the identity of your business. This age-old ‘try free before you purchase’ practice is nowadays very pervasive. Free things help people move from being unfamiliar with you and your company to trust you, which is when they finally buy.
The initial investment is low compared to the ROI where people who try the products or receive the services turn into genuine leads.
Blogs/Newsletters
Blogging is a reliable way of promoting your company online, particularly when merged with social media. Blogging is a cost-effective way for startup companies to drive traffic to their site, boost inbound marketing efforts, and attract more clients. They help build a community in your particular sectors, as well as creates a precious person-to-person connections. Newsletters are an excellent way to interact with customers and potential future clients in your business, and they can yield leads and revenues that will assist your business to thrive. They deliver relevant information to the right audience, which helps spark conversation. Blogs and newsletter cost nothing to maintain and is the next big thing on most websites.
Online Contests
People enjoy free things.
The term “free” carries such a drastic emotion on its own that it can hike up anything’s value— often far beyond the real value of the item. For a very long time, free product giveaways and competitions were used to attract clients. There can be several types of contests that can be promoted on social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
A few of them include
- Instant win contests
- User-generated
- Fan voted
- Quizzes or trivia
- Entry contests
Consider timelines, terms and conditions, cost price, and contest requirements before selecting a type of competition that is most suitable for your product/service.
Attractive business card and brochure
Because business cards are an important component of an introduction, they are essential to make a first impression favorable. An appealing, eye-catching business card with all appropriate contact details can catch your prospect’s attention and aid you remain in his or her memory well after your initial meeting. Business cards can also increase credibility, as they can give your company a feeling of professionalism and legitimacy.
Brochures are one of the most flexible and versatile marketing techniques used to educate clients about your services or products. They are easy to manufacture, economical, and easy to distribute. When developing a marketing strategy, brochures are well worth your money and time. By generating short but informative content, you can: Relay key ideas, Introduce fresh products or services, Explain current products and services, and introduce new deals.
Printing business cards and brochures in bulk can help you save a lot of money in the long run.