Advertising on a limited budget. It almost sounds contradictory in itself. You have to spend money to make money as the old saying goes.
If you are like most new small business owners, you have put all your hard earned and budget into your business set up. You have an kick-ass website, rockin’ logo and the most awesome product on the market, but no one can find you. The hurdle with online business is you need to put yourself out there for people to find you. You are not a shop front where people will walk by and wonder on it for a sticky, you are on page 100 of Google and no one knows you are there.
Well, thankfully the age of social media has put a spanner in those works… well, to a certain extent anyway. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter should be your new best friends. These platforms are free for the most part and there are millions of users on them every day. If you don’t have a Facebook and Instagram page set up, then you had better make that priority number one! Once you have these set up, you can work on building your presence and building a fan base.
So, how do you get yourself out into the big wide world on a limited budget. Here are our top pointers for advertising on a limited budget.
1. Social Media:
You might be pleasantly surprised to know that Facebook and Instagram advertising can be managed on the one management platform – Facebook Ads Manager.
The beauty of this platform is you can set your own budget – either a daily budget or a campaign budget and manage your ad to the cent. If you feel it is not performing, simply put it on hold.
You can target your ad audience so only people who you want to market to will be shown your ad, therefore increasing your odds of a better ROI (Return Of Investment).
The stats on this platform are great and you will soon know if you are on the right track or not. This form of advertising is particularly viable if you have a seasonal product that will tug at the impulse buyers. Mothers Day gifts anyone?
2. Join Facebook Groups:
As you may well know by now, there are thousands of groups on Facebook – all of which are free to join. Have a browse around and find groups that allow business advertising.
Try looking at reputable Buy Sell Swap groups or even business focussed groups that aim to help promote small businesses. This will give you a free platform to post your products or services or even just link to your website or Facebook page.
Your post will be seen by members of that group and you never know, you might just hook a sale out of them.
Bingo bango there’s a free hit!
3. Advertise in Newsletters:
As a member of several business groups, I often see other small businesses offering advertising spots in their newsletters.
This is a good way to use the mailing list of another business and broaden your audience.
Most newsletter spots are advertised for as little as $10-$30 depending on the list size, so this is a cost-effective way to advertise your business and tap into a new market.
When doing this though, make sure the newsletter you are advertising with has a target audience that will compliment your business but not conflict with it.
4. Cross-Promotion:
The beauty of the social media community is there are fans everywhere.
Just because people aren’t a follower of your page (yet!) doesn’t mean you can’t reach them. You just have to be clever in how you do it!
Post swapping and cross promotion with other small like minded business can work for both parties. You can reach their fans and they can reach yours, therefore doubling your potential reach!
This can be particularly effective if you have a sale or promotion happening that would appeal to another set of fans.
You might sell organic baby washes and lotions that would appeal to a page that sells organic baby clothes.
Both customer bases are the same (new parents that prefer organic products) and you are not taking potential sales away from each other. Your businesses compliment each other instead of fighting against each other.
They post your post and you post their post, each business gets a referral and hopefully some new fans.
5. Guest Blog:
This isn’t a direct advertising method, but it will help with cross promotion and getting you and your business name out there.
It will also give your SEO a nice little booster too… but that is for another day!
Some magazines and special interest pages love to hear stories from Mums and business owners as it gives them new content and engages their readers. What it does for you is give you a point of reference to mention your business and website link.
At the bottom of most guest blogs, they allow you a short space to write a spiel about yourself. This is where you can creatively include a little bit about yourself, your business venture and a sneaky little back link to your website!
You don’t generally get paid for this type of guest blogging, but you don’t have to pay either so it’s a win-win for both parties.
So, as you can see, advertising on a limited budget is possible and done the right way, can be quite effective. You just need to plan your strategy, map out your advertising campaign and target the right people at the right time. Remember, social media is a continual thorough-fare, so post regularly with engaging content that people want to see. No spamming!
Steal my list! I’ve put together a list of over 50 different places you can advertise, from blogs to websites, Facebook groups and more, some even for free. Download now for instant access.
