In
case no one has told you yet, social media is the perfect
place to be if you are a business owner. Not just because it presents your
business with its billions of users, but for its multiplicity of cheap options.
Unlike other traditional marketing methods, such as media and broadcasting,
social media doesn’t need you to spend hundreds of thousands before you can
become a household name in your field or industry. In fact, depending on how
effective your strategies are on social media, you can even gain more global
recognition, and at a faster rate, than a competitor who has settled for other
marketing techniques. Such is the effectiveness of social media marketing.
In
this day and age, having a functioning business social media profile is no
longer an option; instead, it is now a necessity. Take it or leave it, 8 out of
every 10 consumers, nowadays, start their purchasing process through online
research. And out of these eight, six will turn to social media as their
starting point. To further put that into perspective, people go on social media
to research about products, check reviews, and read comments before proceeding
with their purchases. And guess what, there’s simply no putting a marker on the
types of products people search for. From regular groceries, like candies to
industrial products like the Base IBC
Container Heater, medical products to fashion accessories, consumers use
social media for researching almost anything.
With
such alarming facts and figures, it is clearly evident that you would be doing
your business a whole lot of good when you get it on the digital fray. And
luckily for you, we’re here to share with you some cheap ways to go about this.
Post catchy content
You’ve
probably heard this one before, and once again we’re stating it again. One of
the cheapest social media marketing methods you find out there is content
creation. It is so cheap and effective, so much so that you can even create the
contents yourself without necessarily spending a dime. With content creation,
all you need to do is understand what your audiences pain-points are and create
contents that solve these issues. For instance, if your business is a
furniture-based one, you can create contents stating the differences between
plywood and MDF, which is better, which is best for certain conditions, and so
on. The whole idea is to inform your audiences about things they probably
wouldn’t find elsewhere, thereby promoting your digital presence and
recognition in the process.
Facebook is king
With
its over two billion users, Facebook represents the best social media channel
for businesses. And guess what, you don’t even need to drill a hole in your
wallet to use it. Start by creating a Business Fan Page for your business. Pay
special attention to the page layout, as visual component plays a key role in
user experience.
It
must be noted though that you can only reach so many people through organic
(unpaid) advertising on Facebook.
If
you want a paid advertising method that’s cost-effective and saves you a lot of
time, consider running a Facebook Ads campaign; there’s a reason why 94%
marketers prefer Facebook Ads over any other paid digital marketing channel.
Create visual content
Did
you know that it only takes a few dollars to create an instructional visual
content (a video)? Well, contrary to popular opinions, video creation doesn’t
necessarily have to cost a fortune. And more importantly, social media users
appreciate visual content more than textual content. The reason is because
people don’t really have all the time in the world to sit and digest your textual
posts (provided the social channel you’re even using allows you to post lengthy
contents); instead, they want a quick response to their queries, and this is
what they get with videos. Little wonder why many businesses have started
embracing the idea of video creation. In fact, according to a recent study by
hubspot, it was revealed that 87% of businesses, these days, have started
using video as a marketing tool. And out of which 76% confirmed how much it
helped them improve their online growth and increase sales.
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If I’m to take an educated guess now, I’m sure not many business owners know
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package. If your budget doesn’t allow you to run massive ad campaigns, look for
coupons and discounts for paid Google ads or Facebook ads.
In
addition to many online sites, a few web hosting services also offer ad
discount codes to their members. Contact your web host and see if they offer ad
coupons too.
Become a dedicated social networker
There
are several social media networks you can join – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. Create business accounts on all these platforms (if
they’re right for your business) and start connecting with your audience.
Create infographics
Infographics
have become immensely popular in the digital marketing world. People find them
great because they make it so easy to digest even the dullest information. In
addition, people love to share them, so they are an incredible way to drive up
links and referral traffic
You
can decide to create an awesome infographic on your own if you don’t mind the
challenge. With a little understanding of Adobe Illustrator and some free
vector kits, you can create an infographic yourself.
Create a referral program for your
customers
How
about offering your present customers a free month of service? It could also be
a free product or maybe some other kind of reward for referring new customers.
The can mean a lot your business growth.
Remember,
word-of-mouth can be a pretty powerful marketing tactic for a business.
According to The New York Times, 65% of new business comes from referrals.
Forget about using other cheap social media marketing tactics; this costs you
almost nothing.
Use email marketing
Yes,
guys, email
marketing still works!
It’s
a great way to attract new customers and get them to engage with your business.
It also gives you incredible opportunities to maintain relationships with your
existing customers. The best way to do this is by offering a highly valuable
piece of content to your website visitors who sign up for your newsletters. For
example, you can get a free eBook detailing the #1 digital marketing strategy
to triple your sales when you sign up for our newsletter.
Host a contest
Nothing
draws the crowd quite like the promise of free goodies. You don’t really need
to break your bank for an expensive prize; a stylish backpack or fancy coffee
mugs might be enough to attract some users.
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