There is an unwritten rule among marketing experts that champion the use of between two and five percent of sales revenues on marketing efforts. For more established brands, that suggestion is easy to follow. They can even go beyond that and spend as much as 30 percent of their earnings for promoting their products and services. For startups, however, it’s a different story. Most new businesses have limited capital. The profit they make from the first few years of business is usually allotted to strengthening the foundations of the business, such as buying essential equipment. Still, even small businesses cannot do without aggressive marketing. If you want your target audience to know about you, you need to announce your arrival as loudly as you can. Even if you’ve already arrived, you need to keep reminding consumers that you exist.
Thankfully, there are ways to market your products and services without eating too much into your profits. Here are some ideas.
Mobile marketing
There’s the so-called mobile marketing where you send promotional texts to customers. That’s not what we mean. By mobile marketing, we mean promoting your brand using cars and other vehicles. Think of car wrap enhancements that feature your brand logo and slogan, plus other details you want your target market to know. You do not have to invest in a new car for this purpose, either.
If you have a company car or two, use them to your advantage by placing ads on them. Your brand will literally go places. If you come up with a compelling design, people will stop and stare for sure. That’s like media mileage without paying a hefty price.
Commission a street art
This is closely related to the previous idea. Your goal is to create something that will catch the attention of people on the streets. Find a local artist to commission. Clearly share your goal and expectations with them. Then, collaborate with your chosen artist and come up with unmissable street art together.
Make sure that your brand is prominently featured in the artwork. Your goal, after all, is to market your products and services. Find the best location, too. The more people who see the artwork, the better it will be for your brand. Be mindful of local laws about street art, however. You do not want bad publicity to taint your marketing effort.
The best-case scenario is that people will take a picture of your commissioned street art. They will share it on various social media platforms. Maximize user-generated content by sharing them on your official accounts with relevant hashtags.
Maximize social media hashtags
Speaking of hashtags, here’s another free marketing tool at your disposal. Social media is inundated with seasonal hashtags. Stay updated about which hashtags are trending. Do not shy away from joining the bandwagon to market your brand.
Make relevant content where you can use the most popular hashtags. People on social media don’t just scroll their feed for content. They use hashtags too to discover public content that won’t normally appear on their feeds.
Come up with games and contests
People love games and contests. They’re especially fond of those where they can win something. You do not have to offer prizes that are too grand and expensive. A dinner for two is enough to excite a consumer.
Your focus should be on how to make your games and contests as fun and interactive as possible. Your best resort is to conduct this marketing effort on social media. For example, you can sponsor a dance contest online. If you’re selling food, you can challenge social media users to come up with a dance bit where they highlight one of your products. The post with the most likes and shares wins. The winner gets a year-long supply of your product — or something to that effect.
Your games and contests should be shareable. The mechanics should be easy to understand. Make sure you follow through with whatever promise you make to consumers.
Brand marketing should be included among the top priorities of every business, regardless of size and industry. It’s not true that if you build it, people will come. If you decide to build something, you might as well invite people to pay whatever you built a visit. Otherwise, that thing you built from scratch will stagnate, unknown, and unappreciated.
Follow the ideas included in this list. Come up with other inventive marketing efforts, too. With a little brainstorming with your creative team, you’re sure to find novel ways to sell your products and services.
